7 Times 'Last Week Tonight' Needed To Be Nightly

Everyone knows the feeling of wanting infinite episodes of your favorite show — for me, it’s The West Wing (ily, C.J. Cregg) — and that feeling can only get better when that show also makes you smarter. Last Week Tonight does a remarkable job of blending comedy and information, and with only one episode a week, it never really feels like enough. When the news runs on a never-ending 24-hour cycle, the world needs more John Oliver to put some sanity and perspective on everything that’s happening. These seven times that John Oliver should have been nightly would have helped to interpret the news cycle a lot, which is one of the difficult skills at which Oliver excels.

Unfortunately, the structure of the show pretty much mandates that it be aired on a weekly basis. The best part of LWT is the atypical, long form segments that showcase a contentious or underreported issue and its various complexities, a feat which takes time and careful consideration to achieve. It's unlikely that Oliver's staff could keep producing episodes of the same quality if the show were converted to a nightly schedule, and sacrificing quality for quantity wouldn't be worth it. Still there are some times, such as these seven below, when the world really needed an extra helping of John Oliver.

The Conventions

Oliver made an appearance on Late Night with Stephen Colbert, but it really wasn't enough. He definitely should have done some live shows from Cleveland and Philly — I'm sure I'm not the only one who needed to laugh to keep from sobbing.

Brexit

Oliver's British upbringing gave the perfect perspective to the confusing and tumultuous Brexit from the European Union. Since Americans are usually ambivalent to foreign politics, it would have been really useful to get a Brit's play-by-play interpretation of what was going down across the pond.

SCOTUS Abortion Decision

Oliver did a segment about abortion laws in February just before the historic Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstadt was argued, but I definitely could have done with another segment when the decision was announced in June.

#NoBillNoBreak

The incredible sit-in that the Democratic representatives staged on the House floor in June got a ton of coverage, but it definitely could have used Oliver's unique tone and insight.

Dallas

Oliver's had to do an unfair amount of coverage on mass shootings and gun control, but his take on the shootings in Dallas would definitely have reassured a lot of loyal viewers in the wake of the unsettling and tragic loss.

Turkey

The absolute craziness of the attempted coup in Turkey would have been made a lot clearer by Oliver's ability to boil down complex issues. The story died really quickly from the major news outlets, so hopefully LWT will come through with an update on the situation.

Rio

OK, technically this hasn't happened yet, but I'm preemptively wishing Oliver was going to be covering every day of the Olympics. Between Brazil's reported lack of preparation for the Games, a claim that it continues to deny, and the ongoing doping scandals that continue to pervade the competition and threaten the integrity of the Olympics, I want Oliver giving me the rundown of the goings on in Rio.

Oliver probably won't switch to a daily show any time soon, but a girl can always dream.