John Oliver on Paramount Buy Warner Bros. Monologue

John Oliver discussed the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount during Sunday night’s episode of “Last Night Tonight.”

“We might get a new business dad!” Oliver joked at the start of Sunday night’s show. “Last Week Tonight” airs on HBO, part of Warner Bros. Discovery. Under the announced terms, Paramount plans to purchase all outstanding WBD shares for $31 per share in cash, with the companies saying the deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval and WBD shareholder approval.

“Yes, not great news,” he continued. “If I can quote anyone who has ever accidentally touched their Roku remote, I’m in Paramount right now…how the hell do I get out of here?”

Netflix formally declined its bid for Warner Bros. on Thursday afternoon. after WBD declared Paramount Skydance’s latest offer a “superior proposal” to the deal it already had with Netflix.

This isn’t the first time Oliver has targeted Paramount. Amid early talk of a possible partnership between Paramount and WBD last September, the comedian said, “Please stay the fuck away from us. You’re not my real business daddy, and you never will be!” Oliver’s concern underlying the joke was that if Paramount Warner Bros. Discovery could be brought closer to a broadcast-like corporate structure — including potential sensitivity to FCC oversight and regulatory burdens — something he has previously contrasted with the relative freedom of premium cable.

In that same episode, while walking through a hypothetical situation in which someone could hand Donald Trump a $15 million check intended for a foundation for a presidential library and still stay within the rules, Oliver pivoted to a punchline about what kind of “soulless” corporation would ever do such a thing — and flashed Paramount’s logo on the screen to punctuate the point.