Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Season 3
Season 3 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Picks up essential narrative continuity directly following the events of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Season 2.
- Character alliances, factions, and personal loyalties undergo significant shifts under escalating stakes.
- Addresses unresolved cliffhangers and thematic mysteries introduced during previous seasons.
- Establishes the primary seasonal conflict that drives serialized character arcs toward the finale.
Episode Guide
Season 3 Progress Shield
Voting
Feb 14, 2016 · 30 min
John talks about the late Antonin Scalia's love of the Letter of the Law, Chipotle's food safety problems, how Voter IDs laws should be applied to those who write them, and New Zea
Abortion Laws
Feb 21, 2016 · 30 min
John talks about the South Carolina Republican primary, the Supreme Court vacancy and abortion, which theoretically is legal in the U.S., but some states make it practically inacce
Donald Trump
Feb 28, 2016 · 30 min
John talks about the Egyptian president and economic crisis, the Guantanamo Bay shutdown and Donald Trump.
Special Districts
Mar 6, 2016 · 30 min
Special districts spend more public money than all city governments combined. That's odd considering most of us don't know they exist.
Encryption
Mar 13, 2016 · 29 min
Strong encryption poses problems for law enforcement, is weakening it worth the risks it presents? It's…complicated.
Border Wall
Mar 20, 2016 · 30 min
Donald Drumpf wants to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Is his plan feasible?
Congressional Fundraising
Apr 3, 2016 · 30 min
Lawmakers have to raise money to keep their jobs, but a surprising amount of their job now consists of raising money. John Oliver sits down with Congressman Steve Israel to discuss
Credit Reports
Apr 10, 2016 · 30 min
Credit reports play a surprisingly large role in our lives, but even more surprising is how often they contain critical mistakes. John Oliver helps credit agencies see why this is
Lead
Apr 17, 2016 · 30 min
Lead poisoning is a national problem. If only lawmakers were as concerned as the puppets on Sesame Street.
Puerto Rico
Apr 24, 2016 · 30 min
Puerto Rico is suffering a massive debt crisis. Lin-Manuel Miranda joins John Oliver to call for relief.
Scientific Studies
May 8, 2016 · 30 min
John Oliver on Sticking to the Facts: Media outlets often report new findings from scientific studies, but how many are true?
911
May 15, 2016 · 30 min
John Oliver on 911 Reliability: Things you never want to hear: there are no guarantees when you call 911. Emergency call centers are in desperate need of funding and new technology
Primaries and Caucuses
May 22, 2016 · 30 min
Last Week Tonight Tackles U.S. Primaries and Caucuses: The United States selection process for presidential nominees is convoluted — to say the least. Nevertheless, John Oliver rem
Debt Buyers
Jun 5, 2016 · 35 min
John Oliver Takes On Debt Buyers: Companies that purchase debt on the cheap will aggressively collect on it. 'Last Week Tonight’ took a hands-on approach to addressing this issue.
Retirement Plans
Jun 12, 2016 · 32 min
John Oliver Covers Ins and Outs of Retirement Plans: Saving for retirement means navigating a potential minefield of high fees and bad advice - Last Week Tonight is here to help.
Brexit
Jun 19, 2016 · 30 min
John Oliver on “Brexiting” from the EU: There might be an innate British desire to diss Europe, but Last Week Tonight lays out exactly why it’s a mistake to leave the EU.
Doping
Jun 26, 2016 · 30 min
John talks about the aftermath of the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom and doping in sports with the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio on the horizon.
Republican National Convention
Jul 24, 2016 · 30 min
John talks about the disastrous Republican National Convention in Cleveland, where politicians were mostly talking about their feelings equating them to facts. Plus, Hillary Clinto
Democratic National Convention
Jul 31, 2016 · 30 min
John covers the rocky Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Plus, the military coup in Turkey and its aftermath, the voter ID laws targeting the minorities and how are ta
Journalism
Aug 7, 2016 · 30 min
John Oliver has some bad news about the state of the industry that gives us our news. Plus, the coverage of the Opening Ceremony of Rio Olympics.
Auto Lending
Aug 14, 2016 · 30 min
Auto lenders can steer vulnerable people into crushing debt. Keegan-Michael Key and Bob Balaban help John Oliver show exactly how.
Charter Schools
Aug 21, 2016 · 35 min
Charter schools are privately run, publicly funded, and irregularly regulated. John Oliver explores why they aren’t at all like pizzerias.
Scandals
Sep 25, 2016 · 30 min
Taking a walk down memory lane, 'Last Week Tonight' assesses Donald Trump's vs. Hillary Clinton's scandals.
Police Accountability
Oct 2, 2016 · 30 min
John Oliver discusses the systems in place to investigate and hold police officers accountable for misconduct.
Guantánamo
Oct 9, 2016 · 30 min
John Oliver examines the legal and moral issues surrounding the military prison at Guantánamo Bay.
Third Parties
Oct 16, 2016 · 30 min
Third party candidates want to be serious contenders, so John Oliver considers them seriously as potential presidents.
Opioids
Oct 23, 2016 · 35 min
John Oliver discusses the extent and root of the nation’s epidemic of opioid addiction.
School Segregation
Oct 30, 2016 · 30 min
Public schools are increasingly divided by race and class. John Oliver discusses the troubling trend towards school resegregation.
Multilevel Marketing
Nov 6, 2016 · 40 min
Multilevel marketing companies claim to be legitimate businesses, but some seems awfully pyramid shaped, and that's a problem.
President-Elect Trump
Nov 13, 2016 · 30 min
The presidential race has been a hell of a ride. ‘Last Week Tonight’ closes out the election and Season 3 with a bang.