Is Last Week Tonight New Tonight? This Week's Episode and the Next Air Dates

Yes. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver has a new episode listed for Sunday, Oct. 25, at 11 p.m. ET on HBO. The show had nothing on the schedule for Sunday, Oct. 18. The most recent episode aired on Sunday, Oct. 11, and the show's official YouTube channel titles it “Kimberly Guilfoyle & Generic Drugs.”

Two listings back both answers. HBO's schedule, as The Futon Critic publishes it, goes from the numbered Oct. 11 episode straight to Oct. 25, and TVmaze's episode list has Episode 26 on Oct. 11 and Episode 27 on Oct. 25 with nothing between them. On this show the title is the episode's main story, and it gets attached after the broadcast.

Is Last Week Tonight on this Sunday, Oct. 25?

It is listed as new. Both The Futon Critic and TVmaze carry it as Episode 27 of Season 13, though neither names its subject yet. It follows a skipped Oct. 18, which came after a run of four straight new episodes: Sept. 20, Sept. 27, Oct. 4 and Oct. 11. That run began after a late-summer break in which three Sundays (Aug. 30, Sept. 6 and Sept. 13) went by without an episode.

Rows marked "Listed" rest on HBO's listings alone. They are placeholders with no episode number yet, so treat them as HBO's plan and not as a confirmed episode.

Why was there no Last Week Tonight on Oct. 18?

The listings skipped that date, going from Oct. 11 straight to Oct. 25, the same pattern the summer break left behind. We looked for an HBO announcement about Oct. 18 and found none as of Monday, Oct. 19, so the table says "No episode listed" and we give no reason for it.

Gaps like this are common for the show. Season 13 opened on Feb. 15 and had reached 26 episodes by Oct. 11, according to TVmaze's episode list, across 36 Sundays through Oct. 18.

What time does Last Week Tonight start?

The slot is Sundays at 11 p.m. ET on HBO, and every episode since Aug. 16 has been listed there. It can slide. The same listings showed 11:15 p.m. starts on July 26 and Aug. 2 and an 11:30 p.m. start on Aug. 9, so a quick look at the Sunday listing is worth it when HBO has a long program ahead of it. Episodes also stream on HBO Max, which HBO's own show page points to.

When is the Season 13 finale?

HBO hasn't announced one that we could find as of Monday, Oct. 19. The listings currently run through Sunday, Nov. 15, and that is the last date we can check, not a finale date.

Short answers

Is Last Week Tonight a rerun this week? No. The Sunday, Oct. 25 slot is listed as a new episode, and HBO's schedule had nothing at all, new or repeat, for Oct. 18.

Was Last Week Tonight new last Sunday? Yes. The Oct. 11 episode aired at 11 p.m. ET, the 26th of Season 13 by TVmaze's count.

Saturday has its own version of this question, and our SNL new-or-rerun page answers it, with the full Season 52 schedule and this week's SNL host alongside. A date goes into our tables as new only when the network's listings and a second source agree, as laid out on our how we make this page. Corrections go to the address on the about page.

Sources · The Futon Critic — HBO listings for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver · LateNighter — Late Night This Week (Oct. 5) · LateNighter — Late Night This Week (Sept. 14) · HBO — Last Week Tonight with John Oliver · LastWeekTonight — official YouTube channel (Oct. 11 episode upload) · Listings data via TVmaze (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver)

By the Saturday Night On Air desk · Updated Oct. 19, 1:49 a.m. ET