John Oliver's Last Week Tonight Confirms New Episode Will Air Just Days After Strike End

After 148 days on strike, the Writers Guild of America is officially back to work and that means late-night television is coming back as well. On Wednesday, just hours after the WGA strike officially ended, John Oliver's Last Week Tonight announced that they will be back and perhaps sooner than anticipated. The show's official social media announced that the show will return on Sunday with a new episode — and that after five long months they're letting Oliver "out of his hole".

Now that the WGA strike is over, we’re so excited to say we’ll be back this Sunday with a new episode! That’s right, after five long months, we’re finally going to let John out of his hole. But we promise, he’s been very happy in there. He's had water and toys and everything.

— Last Week Tonight (@LastWeekTonight) September 27, 2023

"Now that the WGA strike is over, we're so excited to say we'll be back this Sunday with a new episode! That's right, after five long months, we're finally going to let John out of his hole. But we promise, he's been very happy in there. He's had water and toys and everything,' the post read.

John Oliver Isn't the Only Host Returning

Oliver's Last Week Tonight isn't the only show coming back in short order. Also, on Wednesday the group of late-night hosts — Oliver, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and Seth Meyers, who had been co-hosting a podcast called Strike Force Five during the strike — announced that the podcast would be coming to an end because their shows are returning.

"Flash! Their mission complete, the founding members of Strike Force 5 will return to their network television shows this Monday 10/2, and one of them to Premium Cable on 10/1," they said. "Of course, in a greater sense, the Strike Force 5 is not a people, Strike Force 5 is barely a podcast…Nay, Strike Force 5 is an idea. An idea that five men could talk on top of each other for 12 episodes, and maybe somebody would listen. As we say goodbye, we would like to thank all those somebodies. Truly, you were the heroes. We were mostly the heroes, but you were in there, too."

"We want to thank the entire Strike Force 5 team. Our wives, our special guests, and apologize to Conan O'Brien, who agreed to do the pod. But, Stephen forgot to send him any possible dates, and then the strike ended," Strike Force 5 continued. "Goodbye for now, and hello for later. Because we still have a few more episodes, unless Ryan Reynolds cuts off the cash. This is the Strike Force 5 signing off and the late night 5 signing back on… What was the password to my work computer again? Babysomoza? – Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, John Oliver. P.s. Boom."

Other Aspects of Hollywood Are Getting Back to Work

On Wednesday, it was also announced that studios were starting to reinstate overall deals that had been suspended during the strike. Specifically, a new report from The Hollywood Reporter noted that Warner Bros. Television is lifting suspensions that it had in place for some of its biggest showrunners, including Greg Berlanti, Chuck Lorre, Bill Lawrence, Mindy Kaling, and J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot. With the suspension lifted, these producers and showrunners can go back to work on new and existing projects.