The big news in the media this week is that David Ellison is joining Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Skydance Corp., the newly formed Hollywood mega-corporation consisting of Discovery. It was about; That company was acquired by Ellison (and his father, Larry) in a merger involving $111 billion in debt that will officially close on October 6. The long-term future of the studio giant is yet to be determined, but it will certainly mean major layoffs and a change in editorial in the near future. He headed to CNN, similar to Ellison and Bari Weiss’ CBS News makeover.
This could also mean that John Oliver and “Last Week Tonight” are working on borrowed time.
Oliver and the “Last Week Tonight” cast extended their connection to 2027 just before the reunion was finalized, but given how Ellison pulled the plug on Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” — likely at the behest of his political ally President Trump — who knows if Oliver and co. will go to the end of the agreement.
And all eyes were on its parent company, Warner Bros., on Sunday night. HBO was on board with Oliver and “Last Week Tonight” to see if he would appeal to Ellison, who is gobbling up Discovery. After all, Oliver has made fun of the Ellisons on the show in the past. The main storyline of the show covered the history of Secret Service agents protecting the US president due to numerous security breaches that nearly cost Trump his life due to a mix of incompetence, lack of resources and a “do more with less” culture. Since the Department of Homeland Security once hired Hollywood filmmaker Michael Bay to shoot an expensive recruiting commercial that aired during the Super Bowl, Oliver’s Secret Service episode culminated in a parody commercial for the Secret Service featuring Adam DeVine and Anders Holm of “Workaholics” as bumbling agents.
But Oliver chose Negative Ellison’s Warner Bros. To address the news that its acquisition of Discovery has been confirmed or rebranded as Skydance Corp.
Maybe next week?