this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2024
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I can't tell if any of the business daddy stuff is true or just jokes. If the parent company was really mad at them, does Oliver really have the weight to throw around to defy them? Is the show important enough to not risk canceling?
Good questions. My sense is that it’s true, but that’s not based on much. HBO historically lets their talent push the envelope, which is one of the reasons their shows are usually so good. Though that might be changing. He wins Emmy’s every damn year though, so I doubt they’d want to lose that.
When comedians joke about specific people and corporations, it’s usually wise to listen. Comedians don’t often have enough power to affect change in entrenched systems, so they fall back to what they’re good at; Making fun of the people who have entrenched themselves. It’s phrased as comedy, but it’s a veiled jab at whoever the comedian dislikes. The important point is that it’s a dog whistle, where only the comedian and the target know that it’s not really a joke.
Seth MacFarlane was making “Harvey Weinstein is a predator” and “Bill Cosby is super creepy” jokes on Family Guy, years before the allegations started.
That's a very good point. Even if Oliver doesn't really have the ability to skewer Discovery the way he'd why, him doing it at all is a sign to listen.