Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 28 of 60 TV series by recommenders
Funny, well-researched segments on news topics, with a research team behind them. Critics say it shows only evidence that fits its argument and chases outrage.
Funny, well-researched segments on news topics, with a research team behind them. Critics say it shows only evidence that fits its argument and chases outrage.
15 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 87%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 6.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Strong research and fact-checking team
“a very serious research and fact checking team”
Comment from 6 Aug 2026 in “Cities Are Ditching Flock, Replacing It with Axon License Plate Readers” “yet he backs up what he says with sources, unlike Fox Talking Heads shows”
Comment from 5 Aug 2026 in “All of Winona Police Department's Flock cameras cut down and stolen” Excellent segments on specific issues
“John Oliver did a fantastic segment on that and called it torture AFAIR.”
Comment from 5 Apr 2026 in “Common drug tests lead to tens of thousands wrongful arrests a year” “John Oliver does an excellent segment on how batshit these laws are”
Comment from 31 Dec 2025 in “Court report detailing ChatGPT's involvement with a recent murder suicide [pdf]” “Basically, Ticketmaster owns all the concert halls too.”
Comment from 8 Jun 2026 in “Ask HN: Why hasn't there been a real competitor to Ticketmaster yet?” Humor and clear framing of issues
“John Oliver's team expresses these concerns with more humor and better framing than I can give myself”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “NPR finds "no sign" of Polymarket at its Panama HQ address” “LWT has great montage on this.”
Comment from 7 Nov 2025 in “Majority of teens hold negative views of news media, says report”
Other TV series people recommend
The four most recommended other TV series, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halt and Catch Fire | 166 | 20 | 89% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Babylon 5 | 86 | 21 | 80% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Silicon Valley (TV series) | 52 | 1 | 98% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Andor | 52 | 5 | 91% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Last Week Tonight with John OliverThis page | 13 | 2 | 87% | 7 | — | Approved |
What people said
14 of the 15 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Includes an example of a Flock camera flagging a number plate that the police pulled over”
“a very serious research and fact checking team”
“yet he backs up what he says with sources, unlike Fox Talking Heads shows”
“I find John Oliver entertaining, but I'm acutely aware that he gets eyeballs by stoking outrage.”
“He's a comedian playing the part of an opinion news reporter.”
“they're usually well-researched, but by the nature of the format he only ever presents those which fit his argument”
“He's a lightning rod only because some people get unnecessarily triggered by facts that don't fit their world view.”
“Basically, Ticketmaster owns all the concert halls too.”
“John Oliver's team expresses these concerns with more humor and better framing than I can give myself”
“I recommend watching the latest Last Week Tonight about prediction markets”
“John Oliver did a fantastic segment on that and called it torture AFAIR.”
“I watched a little of Stephen Colbert and John Oliver and it's mostly boring stuff”
“John Oliver does an excellent segment on how batshit these laws are”
“LWT has great montage on this.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.