John Oliver Slams Paramount Amid HBO Takeover & Fears Show Might Get Canceled

John Oliver didn’t shy away from insulting his potential new bosses on Sunday’s (March 1) Last Week Tonight, as he shared his thoughts on HBO getting a new “business daddy.”

“It turns out we might be getting a new business daddy,” the late-night host said at the top of Sunday’s show, referring to Paramount Skydance’s successful bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of HBO.

“Yeah, not great news,” Oliver continued. “In fact, if I may quote anyone who’s ever accidentally sat on their Roku remote, ‘Oh s***, I’m in Paramount now, how the f*** do I get out of this?’”

On Thursday (February 26), Netflix announced it wouldn’t be matching Paramount’s bid, saying the deal was “no longer financially attractive.”

The Paramount deal, which is for all WBD properties, including the linear networks, is worth $31 per share in cash. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.

Oliver continued to mock Paramount on Sunday’s episode. In a later segment about the police and body camera footage, he quipped, “[There’s] no point in the police just stacking up thousands of hours of footage that no one’s ever going to see. Especially given that we all know that that is Paramount+’s job.”

“Hey, what are they gonna do?” he added. “Take us over and immediately cancel us? I’m genuinely asking.”

This isn’t the first time Oliver has commented on Paramount’s bid for WBD. He previously touched on the situation in a segment about the future of CBS News after Paramount CEO David Ellison hired Bari Weiss as the network’s new editor in chief last October.

Speaking about Ellison’s bid, Oliver admitted it “isn’t ideal” for his show, but added, “Although, I’ve gotta say, if what he likes about Bari is that she forces him to have hard conversations, to get a bit uncomfortable, maybe he’ll like this.”

He also commented on the takeover last September, when talk first emerged of Paramount’s desire to own WBD. “Please stay the f** away from us. You are not my real business daddy, and you never will be!” Oliver said on his show.

What do you think about the Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger? Let us know your thoughts below.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Sundays, 11/10c, HBO