‘Daily Show’: John Oliver Makes Hilarious Debut as Host (Video)
The temporary Jon Stewart replacement gets through his first day without a hitch, but acknowledges having an "anxiety dream" about interviewing Jaden Smith.
John Oliver, the Emmy-winning correspondent and writer on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, has signed with WME.
Daily Show fans need not lament the absence of beloved hostJon Stewart: his temporary fill-in,John Oliver, has got it covered, and on his first day subbing for Stewart, managed to make theComedy Central late-night staple his own.
“I am John Oliver, and let’s all acknowledge for a moment that this is weird. This looks weird, it feels weird, it evensoundsweird,” said the British comic in Monday’s opening monologue.
“If you hadn’t heard by now, Jon Stewart is going to be away for the summer. He’s gone to a small Italian village to learn how to cobble shoes,” he quipped, drawing big laughs with a reference toDaniel Day-Lewis. (In reality, Stewart is istaking the summer off to direct his first feature film.)
STORY: John Oliver Will Try Not to Destroy ‘The Daily Show’
Over the course of the show, Oliver, 36, channeled Stewart’s mix of bemusement and exasperation but with an added dose of self-deprecation. He’s “barely out the door, and it turns out that not only is the government tracking everyone’s phone calls, but that’s just the tip of the [bleep]-berg,” complained theDaily Show correspondent, who predicted in an earlier interviewwith The Hollywood Reporter:“The ratings are going to go down.”
Here is the substitute anchor-satirist’s opener, which leads — not surprisingly — with commentary on the National Security Agency leaks.
Oliver also introduced the new segment “Good news! You’re Not Paranoid,” which “is brought to you by tinfoil.”
During his first on-camera celebrity interview withSeth Rogen, Oliver confessed to having an “anxiety dream” involving Jaden Smithin which he faced retribution fromWill Smith after giving the teen a negative review ofAfter Earth.
Twitter:@ErinLCarlson
E-mail: erin.carlson@thr.com
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