Today's Entertainment

2 • February 12 - 18, 2017 • Brainerd Dispatch By Cassie Dresch TV Media J ohn Oliver sure won't be lacking for subject matter when his weekly talk show returns. The Brit- ish comedian, who rose to fame as a writer and correspondent for Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show," is never one to shy away from talk- ing about tough topics, and after a three-month hiatus, "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver" returns for a fourth season Sunday, Feb. 12, on HBO. In the season finale in Novem- ber, he bid 2016 an unceremoni- ous farewell, blowing up a ginor- mous "2016" sign and walking off without looking at the explosion. A lot has transpired in the short months since, and since season 3 of "Last Week Tonight" touched heavily on Donald Trump's presi- dential campaign, there's little doubt that it will come up again. But don't think that just be- cause President Trump dominates headlines — "You can't take much pride from a series of comedy layups," Oliver told Vulture last year in his quintessential self-dep- recating way — that he won't tackle other stories. The show has touched on a variety of topics since its premiere in 2014, from a controversy surrounding Fanta and the leap second to paid paren- tal leave and payday loans. De- spite the seriousness of the topics, he insists that "Last Week To- night" is a comedy show, not a news magazine. "News is absolutely not our lane," he said in the Vulture inter- view. "Saying someone watches the show for news is like saying to a musician, 'A lot of people use your music to work out. Do you make workout music?' No, this isn't designed for the gym. We're obsessed about making sure that all the things that we say are accu- rate, but that's only because those things are the structural founda- tion upon which the jokes are based. You remove that, and your jokes are all nonsense. It's a come- dy show." Comedy show or not, Oliver and his staff have created a series that fans and critics alike are lapping up. It has garnered praise from the likes of Time magazine, Entertain- ment Weekly, Associated Press and the New York Times, among others, and has received ringing endorse- ments from the various awards or- ganizations. "Last Week Tonight" has won a Critics' Choice Televi- sion Award; a Peabody Award, which recognizes "distinguished and meritorious public service" by U.S. TV stations and networks; a Writers Guild of America award; and four Emmys, including Out- standing Writing for a Variety Se- ries and Outstanding Variety Talk Series last year. The praise and accolades are well deserved, especially since the series has proven to be pretty in- fluential. In season 2, Oliver hired a team of lawyers to establish the Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption church as part of a segment de- signed to show viewers just how easy it was to set up a tax-exempt religious institution. Donations from around the world poured in, but the church was dissolved in September, and the money given to Doctors Without Borders. An- other season 2 episode saw Oliver sit down for a very secret inter- view with NSA whistleblower Ed- ward Snowden, which made head- lines around the world, and last season he did a segment on debt buying, during which he bought — and forgave — millions of dol- lars worth of bad medical debt. Long before he was discussing opioid abuse or tearing into multi- level marketing, Oliver was a cor- respondent with "The Daily Show," then under the tutelage of Jon Stewart ("Rosewater," 2015). Oliver first appeared in the late- night satire talk show in the sum- mer of 2006 — not a day after ar- riving in the U.S. from Britain — and was an instant hit. Over the next seven years, he was part of some iconic bits, and even occu- pied the host's chair when Stewart went away for 12 weeks to film his directorial debut. "The fact that he asked me to take over the show when he was away felt like such a huge leap of faith from him," Oliver told Vul- ture, "and I thought that faith may have been a little bit misplaced." Clearly Stewart was on to something, and he gave Oliver a much-needed little shove upon his return. "He said to me, 'We need to talk about what you're going to do next,'" Oliver said. "In your head, that sounds like you're be- ing fired, so that was pretty fright- ening. But what he wanted to say was that I needed to think about what I wanted to do next. He knew it was going to be hard to go back to my old job after having filled in for him. He was a little bit of a mother bird pushing me out of the nest. When I mentioned the offer from HBO, his face changed, and he said, 'You would be insane not to take that.'" Luckily, and de- spite what he may say, Oliver isn't insane, and viewers have benefited immensely from his dry wit and the self-dep- recating humor. He shines a light on stories many people wouldn't give a second thought to, and though he may deny being a news program or a journalist, he's definitely shown a pro- pensity for digging deep into issues. Season 4 of "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver" premieres Sunday, Feb. 12, on HBO. Keegan-Michael Key and John Oliver as seen in "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver" John Oliver returns with season 4 of 'Last Week Tonight' Cover Story this week 501 W Washington St., Brainerd, MN | 218-828-1823 | www.heartlandtireservice.com Offers expire Feb. 28, 2017 FULL SERVICE ALL MAKES, ALL MODELS SAVE UP TO $180 ON A SET OF 4 INSTALLED TIRES. See store for details. SAVE $12 OFF THE REGULAR PRICE OF ANY FULL SERVICE OIL CHANGE SAVE $25 $99.99 REGULAR PRICE $125.99 • Alignment • Tire rotation & balance • Most cars, vans and light trucks BRAKE SERVICE Save $60 Save $30/axle on service of $100 or more. • FREE inspections ON A SET OF 4 INSTALLED TIRES. 001536822r1 11633 State Hwy. 18, Brainerd, MN 56401 218-829-3278 www.isemanhomes.com Dealer License #MD05870 You're Home Now Iseman Homes an industry leader since 1920 providing value, service, stability and quality. 001535188r1

• Cover