Last Week Tonight With John Oliver

A disclaimer-I’m sure the show itself is wonderful, John Oliver is amazing. But…
I have to echo Darby’s sentiments that the company running the ticketing and attendance for this show (Black List NYC per Darby’s review) is the absolute worst.
I have friends and relatives who live in NYC who have tried to get tickets for months to no avail, both via the ticket reservation system and the «standby line».
After being unable to get reservations, I got to experience the standby line firsthand. It involves pointless waiting, and employees who are extremely rude and condescending. I witnessed someone else from the line trying to ask the the lady running the line a question, but said lady just stared at her and put in her headphones and ignored them. The same lady running the line later explained to us that they arbitrarily select people regardless of the order you show up, and that we should be happy that we even have a chance to be selected, «because we’re doing this out of the kindness of our hearts». Out of two times at the line, I only saw one person who indicated that they were American get in. I don’t want to advocate for dishonesty, but if you really want to get in, you might have to consider it.
If you don’t get reservations, don’t bother trying standby unless they fire whoever is running the ticketing currently. It’s a waste of time, unless you like waiting, not getting in, and being subjected to condescending jerks. Spend your time in New York doing literally anything else.

I’m convinced if John Oliver knew about this crummy system with crummy rules and crummy attitudes, that he’d do a 17 minute long expose on the worst ticketing system in NYC. (With snl in a close second.) He seriously needs to know about this, fire Black List NYC and hire whoever runs the Daily Show. Those guys have a good system and are actually nice to the stand by line.
Do not tell them you’re from the New York area if you’re in the stand by line. Tell them you’re from Spain or something out of the country because otherwise they WILL NOT pick you. I waited in line from 2pm-6:15 and they deliberately chose people that had just got in line at the last minute because they were visiting from out of the country. That’s noble and all, but the people from out of the country weren’t waiting outside in the 90 degree heat for over four hours to get in. I was 7^th in line, 10 people from the stand by line got in and 9 of them were behind me and weren’t even waiting that long. It’s totally stupid and when myself and others complained, they made it VERY clear they didn’t care.
If you tried to reserve a ticket at 3pm on Wednesday, and never got a message, you’re absolutely not alone. Tons of people don’t get tickets, week after week, and it’s just an absolute terrible system. You’d think after four or five non-​responses from successfully applying for a reservation, they’d just give you one. Put you on a wait list or something, even if it’s months ahead into the future. But they don’t. And then they try to say «sorry» with a big grin and you can tell they’re not sorry. I talked to one of them about how this system is a giant mess and they’re actually convinced it’s a good system. Even though longtime fans of Oliver’s work get left outside in the hypothetical cold.
They. Just. Don’t. Care.

I managed to get through the booking which opens at 3pm on Wednesdays. My confirmation email was at 3pm and 25 seconds. I didn’t get a response in a week like the the automated email said. So I assumed the worst and almost forgot about it.
At about 1pm on the day of the taping I had tried to book for, I got a call from the John Oliver show’s audience co-​ordinator, saying there were a few last minute cancellations and asking if I can still make it! They also sent out an email, which I confirmed immediately.
There’s a short security check up for entry into the building and then we were led to a hold out area. We were given instructions, kinda. And were then led to the studio. The audience count was about 200 – 250 and the seats were packed. I realized why it’s so hard to get tickets!
There was a «hype man» who tried to pump up and engage the audience before John Oliver himself walked in. John Oliver was very spontaneous and funny, while he took a few questions, and then the show began taping. He delivered his dialogues very well. The best things to watch were his reactions when videos were being showed, and the workings behind a real tv show taping. There were a few corrections which he read out again as «retakes». And there was one «retake» of the last part of the show to make sure they got all camera angles. The whole thing took about 1.5−2 hours. Including all the waiting time.
If you are lucky enough to get tickets, please please go for this fun experience!!!

First, getting tickets is very, very hard. You have to go on the ticket website at 3:00 PM ON THE DOT, fill out your info, and you’ll receive and email saying that they have received a ticket request. If you get an email saying more information about your ticket request saying that you have a ticket, consider yourself very lucky! If not, you can be in the «standby» line. For that, get there at maybe 2:30, 3:00 ish. The lady will take your name, and she’ll tell you to come back at 5:45. (The people who have a confirmed tickets will show up earlier) she’ll line you up, in order like you were when your getting your name down as a standby and pick who gets to go in, and who doesn’t. We were not picked, but by luck, 2 people who had confirmed tickets showed up late, and because they were late, they could not come in, and we were the next 2 people on the list so we got in. The studio fits I think 100 people or somewhere around that. If you’re standby, you will stand on the side of the seats. The staff was nice and welcomed everybody, Oliver was hilarious, and it is something I definitely recommend. Good luck getting tickets though. You will need it!

I had a similar experience to others in that I was able to get tickets only though another poor soul’s cancelation. We were told we would get an email by a certain date, and not to expect tickets if we didn’t hear anything by then. But lo and behold, I received an email the Friday before the taping telling me we were IN.
I’ve also been to a taping of The Daily Show before, and its process was actually much more taxing and complicated. At Last Week Tonight, you need to show up a mere 30 minutes before the entire process begins. Unfortunately for us perpetually late people, my boyfriend and I still underestimated the amount of time necessary to arrive, partially because of a tumultuous deluge that basically started when we left his apt and ended right as we arrived at the studio. So we had to run through the rain, and then take the subway, and then run through the rain again, and toward the end of this terrible process my sandal broke. So we arrived one minute too late as sweaty, wet messes with 3 shoes total, but it was OK. Some other friends of people were running late and we heard one of the employees tell them that they needed to show up at 6 at the absolute latest. Still, I can’t guarantee that this is always the case, so it’s really just best to show up on time.
Upon arrival, we were ushered down a hallway and gave our names to a nice lady with a clipboard who did not seem to judge me for my bare foot. We entered a large waiting room but were sent into a smaller adjacent room, which seemed a bit like some sort of punishment but I’m sure was due to lack of space. Other late, soggy outcasts soon joined us. After another 5-​minute wait, we were all asked to line up in the order of our arrival, and then entered the studio by way of CBS comedy-​lined hallways and an elevator. This isn’t necessarily the sort of thing I would normally notice, but the floors were spotless, my foot appeased.
Other reviewers have described the rest of the experience quite accurately. Warm up guy trying to hype you up– check. John Oliver coming out, talking to the audience and being a charming British man– check. He said something funny about this not being the proper venue for internalizing jokes. He sat down at the desk. We were off.
I’d say this was a solid, if not extraordinary, LWT show. This was the episode where JO called for the resignation of FIFA’s president and offered, reluctantly, to drink a bottle of Bud Light Lime if it happened (spoiler alert: he did drink it on a later show). Also hilariously addressed: Thailand being weirdly into Hitler and Nazis, the Catholic Church, etc. It’s fun to watch John while the video clips are playing because you’ll never see that on the show. He had a few little quirks, like touching his tie and messing with his glasses. The taping basically lasts the length of the actual 30-​minute broadcast, although once they didn’t go straight to the «And now…» segments that break up the show a bit. Instead, there was just this big pause, which JO clearly wasn’t expecting and he said something funny about it.
All in all, a great NY experience. Really, everything about the taping was positive. I’d go again in a heartbeat and would (maybe) even drink a Bud Light in order to score tickets.

What a great city experience!!! We got our ticket notification the day of the taping. We quickly changed our plans for the day. When we got to the studio we were pleasantly greeted by the blonde manager and checked in promptly. It was very well organized. I heard them say that they don’t like to leave people outside. Then once inside we sat and waited in a holding room. We chatted with some people as we waited. Once inside we scored second row seats. To begin a man came out and spoke to us about how to laugh and clap. He also gave out free t-​shirts. Then John Oliver came out. He was very warm and welcoming. He let the audience ask him questions. Finally we watched as they recorded the show. It was a wonderful experience! John Oliver is hilarious and we look forward to hopefully attending another taping.

John Oliver is my ultimate comedy crush, so I was thrilled to land two tickets to Last Week Tonight.
The process was straightforward and simple. I submitted my information at exactly 3PM on a Wednesday and heard back within a week. It was my third time applying.
When we got to the venue, there was a short line and security check. Most of the staff was really prompt and friendly, whisking us all into a holding room one group at a time and prepping us for what would happen. Once you get into the actual taping room, it’s a little more tense since they’re on a time crunch, but it was still an awesome experience.
As for the actual show, John killed it (the Mother’s Day segment!). He delivered all his lines flawlessly so the whole show was done in one go. We sat near the stage where the Japanese mascots emerged. It was awesome to see him in person and we even got to ask a few questions before the show started. He’s just as charming and witty as you’d expect.
The whole thing lasted around 2 hours, and it was extremely organized and enjoyable.

We went to a taping tonight (Mothers Day show) and loved it. Of course, the show was brilliantly funny, as we knew it would be. I have to say that the staff was very nice. We had a great experience, and a woman named Samantha was great and helped us get great seats. I’m sorry some people didn’t have as great an experience as we did, but I would encourage others to try for tickets for this show as it didn’t disappoint.

Got an email this morning that we were off the waitlist. We confirmed our seats and showed up at 5:30 to go through security. Belts and pocket change held up a few folks, but we were quickly herded around hallways, holding rooms, and elevators, always asked to stay in the same order we arrived. If we had it to do over again, we would probably have arrived even earlier than the 5:30 suggested arrival time.
All the staff we interacted with were friendly and direct. Were seated and laughing along with the warm-​up act until John came out for Q&A and we jumped into the show. Because the on-​screen graphics are part of the bit, I had to remind myself to watch John and not the monitors.
Overall, well-​organized logistics, good vibe all around, and a great performance by John.

As previous posters have mentioned, make sure you fill out the ticket request forms as soon as they are released. These tickets go fast and I got off of the waiting list a few days before the show was available.
I’ve been to many TV show tapings, Fallon, Letterman, The Daily Show, Colbert Report.
I have to say though, I emailed LWT with quite a few questions I had about arriving to the show and they were very responsive. So responsive, courteous and respectful in fact that it startled me. I called my sister up to tell her how receptive they were and she was as impressed as I was. I got replies from my questions (and I’m talking question after question) almost immediately. Not only were they responsive, but very kind. I’m still kinda taken back by that.
At LWT you stand in line outside waiting to go through security. They check girls’ purses and my belt buckle usually sets it off, so take everything out of your pockets including keys, coins, wallet, phone, etc, anything that would set off an alarm. I recommend bringing a woman to the show so you can put it all in her purse so you don’t have to carry it. :) Once inside you give them your email and then you wait in line.
I gave them my email then was sent to a room where we waited a little more, then we took an elevator up to the 2^nd floor and got seated. I’m not really sure why some people think the staff there was rude. As previously mentioned, I’ve been to many TV show tapings. You go through security, you wait outside, you wait in a room, you get told no food/​drinks, cameras/​videos, etc., they tell you were to sit and you sit down.
From before the show starts until the end, the staff is courteous and nice. I’m always impressed how the people who direct the audience end up getting everyone that they arrived to the show with the ability to sit next to them and this show was no different.
A warm up guy comes out, cracks a few jokes and fires tshirts from a cannon, then John comes out and does a Q&A then starts the show. John Oliver is amazing. He reminds me of Colbert in the sense that his answers are always funny, respectful and very quick witted. It was cool that LWT had some time off so we got to see his promos for YouTube and Facebook, which was basically like a mini-​show.
Anyway, cheers all around to the entire staff, especially whomever was answering all my email questions, and John is just killing it and i love that. Loved the show. You will not regret going!!!

I was only told that I got tickets the day of the show, which was sort of annoying, but they give you about six hours of notice which was more than enough time to get there as I live in Queens.
To put it into perspective: I requested tickets all within under a minute of their release on THREE different emails, and I lucked out and only given tickets from one of those submissions. It’s very hard to get tickets and I’m not sure if I’ll be that lucky again anytime soon.
We showed up at about half an hour before they said they would start letting people inside, but as soon as the line got more than about ten people, they went ahead and started letting people in. My advice is to get there early but not more than an hour and a half. We had amazing seats and we didn’t get there super in advance.
You’re not allowed to take pictures inside technically… but it was fairly easy to snap a couple. The warm up comedian is pretty funny; he is the hype man so he does have a job to do. John Oliver eventually comes out and does a Q&A — they say «no personal questions», but people didn’t really pay attention to that and he was fine with that. I wish I had asked him something! Even if it was a stupid question he had fun with it. I’d recommend asking fun stuff and not something super serious since at this point he’s still trying to hype the audience up for the show.
Watching him do the show is great because he basically talks for half an hour straight and it’s fascinating to watch. You’re free to laugh and clap and groan when you want –there’s no sign telling you what to do.
Basically, I had a great time. I wish he had stuck around a little longer after the show but I understand that he’s anxious to relax after probably. I hope I get to go again!

First things first, if you do get tickets, consider yourself extremely lucky! During the summer in his first season I requested tickets for over half the shows (all of them were submitted before 3:00:30 PM), and never got tickets. Somehow I ended up getting tickets to the season 2 première, so maybe they just felt sorry for me?
Anyways, We were on the «VIP» list so right when we arrived at the CBS broadcast center at 5:25 they took us into a waiting room. Luckily we didn’t have to wait in the line outside. Then we were ushered in about an hour or so later into the studio. The studio is pretty fucking nice and beautiful, and can fit roughly 100 people so it’s intimate. But it was a little cold so some people kept their coats on. A note on the staff, they were nothing but nice to me. Just try not to be a dick to them and they will most likely not be one to you, they are under time and pressure as well.
After the studio was filled, a warmup dude (basically a struggling comedian) came out and told your typical funny, but also a little creepy, jokes regarding random people in the audience. If you’ve been to Daily Show or The Colbert Report, you know what I’m talking about. He also shot 2 t-​shirts into the ceiling where all the lights/​wires were so that was interesting. But no fights broke out over the free shirts which was not interesting. John Oliver came out and did a quick Q&A and then the show started. He maybe made one mistake so the entire show was taped in half an hour… he also did some quick commercials at the end. I honestly think any seats in the studio are great, and even though we were right in the front row, huge cameras blocked my view of John at times.
It was an amazing experience overall, and I would recommend it. Not just because it was free. But it was also awesome.

I love John Oliver. My husband and I went to the taping for the 2014 «season finale.» I would rate this five stars, but I’m docking a star for the rudeness of the staff.
We got into line at about 4:30. At around 4:40, they started taking people in to go through the metal detector and wait in a holding room. We were there for over an hour, probably until just before 6 pm. Part of the group was told to get up and wait for the elevator… it was kind of like a «hurry up and wait» sort of deal. The woman herding us around was extremely rude, and lambasted me for not being a mind-​reader.
After 15 minutes of waiting for the elevator, we finally got on and again, had to wait in another line once we got off the elevator. While we were waiting, I heard some guy tell people to move aside, and I turned around and saw John Oliver right there, walking down the hall. So that was pretty cool, to unexpectedly see him before he took the stage.
When we got into the studio area, the woman directing people into their seats was also rude. I don’t know what it is in the water over there. John didn’t actually come out for the show until almost 7 o’clock. He did a quick Q&A with the audience. We were told by the first rude woman not to ask him any personal questions, which was fine, but one girl in the audience asked him if he was a dual citizen. Her question was very awkwardly phrased and I felt uncomfortable. John, of course, was very graceful about the whole matter.
Once taping began, he went through the program from start to finish. He even taped two YouTube segments to be posted right around Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve 2015, which was also very cool. I can’t wait to see them online!
I’d recommend trying to get tickets to see this show if you will be in the area. They took half a dozen people off the standby line, which was a decent amount compared to what other people have noted. Just keep in mind that you will be treated like an idiot by the staff.

As huge fans of John Oliver, my boyfriend and I were extremely intent on getting tickets to his show — I went so far as to pull out my phone in the middle of Sunday brunch (mortally offending the brunch deities that be), waiting with bated breath to submit my ticket request to
at 3 PM on the dot, when tickets are made available each week. That is apparently what it takes — I submitted my form less than 30 seconds after the tickets became available, and got off the wait list three days before the taping.
When we arrived, we were ushered into the room to wait… and wait… and wait. We were in the holding room for about an hour. It turns out the writers were still putting the finishing touches on the script (the brilliant segment where John Oliver lambasts the Miss America pageant), so we couldn’t really complain about that one!
Most of the staff were very nice and accommodating, but a few were visibly frazzled. One who was ushering people to their seats in the studio was downright rude — «Hey, you in the purple sweater, come up here. Yes, you. I’m talking to you. You are wearing a purple sweater. Hurry up.» (This, spoken to a woman in a blue shirt.) I understand the tight timeline, and the fact that free tickets probably don’t entitle audience members to much, but we would have liked a bit less animosity during the seating process.
That being said, the show itself was amazing. There was a warm-​up comedian who had no idea how to use a T-​shirt gun (entertaining in and of itself), and John Oliver did a brief and very witty Q&A with the audience. The taping was impressive — he got into a great flow and taped his show nearly beginning to end! At the end, he re-​taped a few segments, and we were free to go. If you get the opportunity to attend this taping, I definitely recommend it!

Cut to the chase, a little more than 2 hours on line on standby and didn’t get in. Throughout it, the staff was courteous and up front about the very limited chance for standbys to get in. Everyone stayed any way but only the first three in the standby line got in. While it was not the most productive 2 hours of my life, it was pleasant enough. We met some pretty nice people on line that we chatted with. The staff said they would do their best to get us tickets at some point in the future. I’m hoping for the best. It would have been nice to get in, but you really can’t expect much more from standby. Kudos to the staff for being aware of how many of their ticked holders would show. Fifth star pending those future tickets.

No standby tickets so make sure you sign up well in advance. The tickets are hard to get but make sure to check their website when they mention they will be releasing tickets. Once you are there, there is a bit of a wait to get into the taping. Its well worth the wait so hang in there. They have someone who does a comedy skit and a tshirt gun before Jon Oliver comes in and does his Q&A. Loved watching the taping of this show and if you love watching it at home its 10x better live.

This review isn’t for John Oliver himself. I’d give him 5 million stars if I could.
My husband and I were coming to NYC for a few days in September, so we kept an eye out for tickets for Sept. 15 to be available. The tickets website (
) is helpful in letting you know when tickets will be released. So we requested tickets the MINUTE they became available, and got an email letting us know we’d know whether we got tickets a couple weeks before the show.
Even though we signed up the minute the list opened up, we didn’t get tickets. We were dying to see John Oliver because he killed it so hard on the Daily Show when he guest hosted and he’s been killing it since on his own show, playing up to his strengths and bringing in depth attention to issues often overlooked by other media. Plus he’s bloody adorable.
The day I arrived in NY, I thought, let’s swing by the studio to see if stand by tickets are a possibility since shows sometimes release tickets the day of the show. We showed up at 3 (those with confirmed tickets had to be in line by 5:15). The courteous security guards told us we could come back at 4, when the people from the audience department would come. We didn’t want to risk losing out, so we stayed put as the first people there.
Around 4, a guy in black clothes came, and we told him we were hoping for standby tickets. He nicely let us know it depends on the list and whether how many people didn’t show up. Thanks nice guy for not being a jerk about it.
HOWEVER, shortly thereafter, Rude Woman #1 showed up, asked if we were on the list, and immediately dismissed us. We told her we hadn’t checked the list (hoping maybe the confirmation email went to spam and we were on the list), so she scolded the nice guy who didn’t check the list, and when she confirmed we weren’t on the list, we were kicked to the curb (or, the lamppost on the curb) for a separate standby list.
Over the next couple hours, we amused ourselves by watching people run into the line, knowing all the while those people arriving hours later than us were getting in and we probably weren’t. At 5:45, Rude Woman #1 acknowledged us for the first time in hours and asked us for our information. As soon as she got it, she completely changed, told us it was our lucky day, and we were getting in. Beyond ecstatic, I could not stop moving or contain the excitement I was feeling. Turns out, I shouldn’t have believed it.
A few minutes later, Rude Woman #2 told us she miscounted and we wouldn’t be let in. So we went from having like 2% hope of getting in, to 100%, to 0% in a few minutes flat (or, enough time to text everyone that knew how badly I wanted to see John Oliver that I was getting to see John Oliver). She said we could email her and she’d try to get us in to another show. The last people who arrived got the option to stand on the side of the studio.
The thing is, I’m not going to be in New York again for years at best. I am here ONE Sunday. I understand how show capacities work, and that we were never guaranteed seats, especially being on standby. However, the attitude with which that news was delivered could have been handled differently. The staffers at the Daily Show and the Colbert Report are perky, friendly, nice, and not mean. A little kindness goes a long way. Today, a lot of rudeness went a long way to starting my vacation off horribly.
What I would have done differently:
1. Have more than one person sign up when the request form opens up, and don’t expect you’ll get confirmation.
2. Don’t show up at 3. There’s no point. People really started showing up around 4:30, but anyone who got there before 5:13 got a seat.
3. If you don’t get the confirmation email, and desperately want to see John Oliver, watch him on HBO that night and don’t waste your time and hope. You’ll enjoy him more if your soul wasn’t crushed that same evening.

I was in the audience for the first episode of HBO’s ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’. The show tapes around 6pm and airs at 11pm that night.
You can email
to get free tickets.
We had to be in line by 5:15. The found a way to fit us all in eventually, which was definitely appreciated.
The show has a very similar style to ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’, so you do spend a decent amount of time watching the monitors. Unfortunately ours (in the upper right side of the seating section) wasn’t working, so that did take away a bit of enjoyment from the show. Oh well, minor glitch. We all had to awkwardly angle our necks to see the other monitors.
FYI, the studio is quite cold, so dress accordingly.
After the audience was seated, a stand-​up comedian warmed us up for 15 minutes or so. Then John Oliver came out, and did some Q+A with the audience for a bit. He seemed genuinely appreciate of the fact that we came to watch his first TV show. Was nice to feel that from the star of the show.
Then the show began. 30 minutes straight through, no commercial breaks. After the 30 minutes, he refilmed a couple things for a few minutes, and then the show was over.
Yet another great reason to live in New York City.