HBO has locked in John Oliver for two more seasons of "Last Week Tonight" and eliminates any chance the British comedian would bolt back to Comedy Central to replace Jon Stewart as the host of "The Daily Show."
"We are incredibly proud to have John as part of the HBO family," Michael Lombardo, president of programming at HBO, said in a statement. "His unique ability to deliver socially significant commentary week after week, along with his innate comedic brilliance, puts John in a class by himself."
Oliver returned for season two of his weekly late-night program on Feb. 8. HBO scooped him up shortly after he served as the temporary host of "The Daily Show" while Stewart took off to film his movie "Rosewater" for three months in 2013. Oliver also served as a correspondent on Comedy Central show from 2006 to 2013.
The 37-year-old host has received much critical praise for his show's reports on FIFA, net neutrality, the Miss America pageant and, most recently, his takedown of the tobacco industry.
Speculation has run rampant as to who will replace Stewart once he steps down as host of "The Daily Show" later this year. The 25-year-old correspondent Jessica Williams recently took herself out of the running citing her young age and difficulty dealing with political decisions that she doesn't agree with.
Other names being mentioned include Aisha Tyler, Joel McHale, Chris Hardwick and Patton Oswalt as well as "Daily Show" correspondents Aasif Mandvi, Jordan Klepper or husband-wife duo Samantha Bee and Jason Jones.
"Last Week Tonight" airs on Sundays at 11 p.m. on HBO.
