John Oliver

Oliver’s cerebral deep dives into social injustices on his HBO show, Last Week Tonight, have created a new form factor in comedy—call it “investi-comedy.” There isn’t a topic he won’t tackle, from the plight of chicken farmers to native advertising to net neutrality. He insists he’s no more than a comedian, but he has effected change: His net-neutrality piece, for example, was credited for a shift in the FCC’s position (and for crashing the agency’s website). His merciless pre–Super Tuesday takedown of Donald Trump, meanwhile, has been viewed more than 22 million times on YouTube.