HBO announced on Tuesday that it has renewed Last Week Tonight with John Oliver through the year 2020. The show will produce 30 episodes per year for the next three years. “We are thrilled to have John Oliver as an integral part of the HBO family and to continue to share his comedic brilliance with the world. His extraordinary genius for rich and intelligent commentary is second to none,” Casey Bloys, HBO's programming president said in a statement. “First: I firmly disagree with everything Casey just said," Oliver added. “Second: We’re very grateful to Richard Plepler, Casey and everyone at HBO for letting us continue to do whatever it is we actually do. And finally: We’d also like to thank our staff for all their hard work. We’re incredibly proud of all of you, and rather than tell you that to your face, we’d like to do it in the cold, dispassionate form of a press release.” The renewal comes after a lawsuit was filed against HBO, Time Warner, Oliver and his writers by coal baron Robert Murray that alleged character assassination following a June segment on the coal industry.
