John Oliver Takes ‘Hard Pass’ on Comedy Advice From Jay Leno

Jay Leno was doling out comedy advice to late-night hosts a few weeks ago, counsel that seemed prescient when Stephen Colbert was fired just a few days later for running afoul of the current political administration — er, for not generating enough advertising dollars. President-bashing comedy wouldn’t have happened on Leno’s watch (except when he was telling Clinton blow-job jokes).

“I don’t think anybody wants to hear a lecture,” Leno told the completely nonpartisan and apolitical Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute. “Why shoot for just half an audience? Why not try to get the whole? I like to bring people into the big picture. I don’t understand why you would alienate one particular group — or just don’t do it at all. I’m not saying you have to throw your support. But just do what’s funny.”

But despite a tremendously successful run as Johnny Carson’s successor on The Tonight Show, don’t expect HBO’s John Oliver to be taking notes when Professor Leno pontificates on comedy. “I’m going to take a hard pass on taking comedic advice from Jay Leno,” Oliver told The Hollywood Reporter this week.

The Last Week Tonight host disagreed with Leno’s assertion that comedians should try to appeal to everyone. “Who thinks that way?” Oliver asked. “Executives? Comedy can’t be for everyone. It’s inherently subjective.”

Oliver wasn’t necessarily saying Leno was wrong — just that his rules for comedy, late-night or otherwise, aren’t absolute. “When you do stand-up, some people try to play to a broader audience, which is completely legitimate,” he said. “Others decide not to, which is equally legitimate.”

Comedy can take on tough topics without aligning with a single political perspective, Oliver argued. “I think our show clearly comes from a point of view, but most of those long stories we do are not party political,” he said. “They’re about systemic issues. Our last few shows were about gang databases, A.I. slop, juvenile justice, med spas, air traffic control. I’m not saying that these don’t have a point of view in them. Of course they do. But I hope a lot of them actually reach across people’s political persuasions.”

In some ways, Oliver’s show is insulated from the pressures of network television since HBO doesn’t have advertisers or the FCC to appease. (Pay cable shows aren’t regulated.) But that doesn’t mean Oliver isn’t worried about his future as well. He makes plenty of jokes about his show’s several Emmy Awards being the only thing standing between him and cancellation. “It’s not entirely a joke, that’s for sure,” Oliver explained. “I think it is objectively very, very helpful to have won Emmys with the show. I think it has helped us keep our independence and keep the show on the air.”

Prestige-thirsty HBO loves awards, Oliver said, so he’s “massively grateful that we’ve won them, and long may that continue. Please! I don’t want my theory tested.”