John Oliver does not want to talk about Donald Trump.
The comedian, whose HBO show Last Week Tonight riffs on the news – including the political realm – has seen his own rising popularity coincide with a U.S. election season whose contenders seem almost to willfully court mockery. None more so than Trump, a real estate mogul who paints himself as an everyman, and whose grasp on reality seems as tenuous as his fouetté comb-over's grasp on his pate. But when it comes to easy jokes such as that one, Oliver isn't interested.
"It is very tempting to do 20 minutes about Donald Trump, but 60 seconds is probably enough," Oliver told reporters at a roundtable at HBO's offices recently. "I think we're much more interested this year in looking at the process, than the people. Because it's so spectacular.… There are such seismic problems with the political process that have nothing to do with the individuals running, and are more to do with the entire mechanics of how they are running. That is much more interesting and funny, to me."
That's why, when the show returned after a hiatus this week, Oliver spent half the episode discussing not campaign rally bombast, but voter identification laws and their impact on the democratic process.
That may not sound like the best fodder for yuks, but topics such as this are the show's sweet spot. They may take some time to explain – such as how contract farming can hurt small poultry growers' ability to make a living, the abuse of civil forfeiture laws, or the lack of oversight into televangelists' financial practices – but within their complexity resides details so absurd, they serve as springboards for punchlines.
"You have to wade through a lot of not-funny stuff to get to anything that's funny," he said.
Last Week Tonight works with a team of researchers who are responsible for a lot of that wading: Looking into tobacco industry lawsuits around the world that are designed to prevent public health policies from restricting the way cigarettes are labelled, for example. That story allowed Oliver's team to have some fun creating a fake industry mascot called Jeff the diseased lung, and erecting actual bus shelter ads in Uruguay featuring Jeff.
Occasionally these stories are presented in a way that is entertaining enough that viewers actually pay attention. People who have toiled for years trying to make people care about issues such as farming regulation, or Net neutrality laws, or support for women's academic scholarships, have seen awareness of those issues, or even support, spike following an episode. Oliver believes that the real-world impact of his show has been "overstated," however.
"I don't know how much influence we have, and I certainly don't really care how much influence we have," he said. "We are just concerned about trying to make a comedy show once a week that is not terrible."
It would be hard for him to argue that viewers don't walk away from the show somewhat more informed, though. Like other satirical news shows – such as The Daily Show, where Oliver started out – Last Week Tonight serves up information on current events along with the jokes.
And as America hurtles toward the 2016 election, there will be plenty of material.
"The American democratic process is a very complicated, well-intentioned, mess," Oliver said. "… We're probably going to try and make sure that with all the candy that is available with Donald Trump, we'll also find a way to introduce some protein into that diet."