00:00 John Oliver did not hold back on Sunday's Last Week Tonight return, the first episode
00:06 back since the writer strike. While catching the audience up on the biggest news stories
00:10 that happened during the 148-day strike, Oliver blasted studios for prolonging it. "I wish
00:16 so much I could have told you these jokes at the time, but I couldn't because our writers,
00:20 the people who wrote those jokes, were forced to strike for a fair contract for the last
00:24 five months. And it was an immensely difficult time, not just for them, but for everyone
00:29 else working on this show and many others who could no longer do their jobs."
00:33 He continued in part, "The Writers Guild went on strike and thankfully won, but it took
00:37 a lot of sacrifices from a lot of people to achieve that. And while I'm happy that they
00:41 eventually got a fair deal and immensely proud of what our union accomplished, I'm also furious
00:46 that it took the studios 148 days to achieve a deal that they could have offered on day
00:50 f---ing one."
00:52 He said he hopes that SAG-AFTRA and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees are
00:56 able to advocate for fair contracts for themselves as well.
01:00 "Because the truth is, it takes many people working really hard to make film and TV, all
01:04 of whom deserve a piece of the pie, and for the actors in particular, they cannot come
01:08 back to work soon enough."
01:10 Elsewhere on the show, Oliver tackled his take on the news events that occurred during
01:14 the strike, including former President Donald Trump's mugshot.
01:17 "Trump was indicted multiple times, one of which gave us this mugshot in which he looks
01:21 like he's struggling to find Waldo on a crowded ski slope."
01:24 The coronation of King Charles.
01:26 "We also missed a bunch of international news like the coronation of King Charles,
01:31 the world's oldest boy."
01:33 And box office hit, Sound of Freedom.
01:35 "Feel good, child sex trafficking hit that we've all been waiting for."
01:39 For more on this story, head to THR.com.
01:42 And for the latest entertainment news and updates, keep watching The Hollywood Reporter
01:46 News.
01:46 (explosion)
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