For his working writing for of The Daily Show and writing, producing, and hosting Last Week Tonight, John Oliver already has 23 Primetime Emmy Awards. And after seeing him on General Hospital, daytime TV viewers think a Daytime Emmy could be in his future.
Oliver made his soap-opera debut in Thursday’s General Hospital episode, playing Z, director of the World Security Bureau. At the end of that episode, Z disembarks from a helicopter, shoots a gunman dead, and comes to the aid of an injured Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy).
And already, fans were thrilled.
“That shot of him shooting the guy mid-stride will be his GIF legacy,” one YouTube commenter said.
“I’ve almost watched this scene dozens of times,” another wrote. “Reminds me of ’80s/’90s GH.”
A third viewer wrote, “This is just one thing that the world really had no idea it needed right now… Best thing I have seen today, and I require more.”
Then, in Friday’s episode, Z negotiates with Josslyn as she decides what her official story will be.
“Who’s here for John’s villain arc?” a commenter wrote on YouTube.
“He is really great in this role!” said another fan. “GH needs to keep him on recurring status!”
A third person exclaimed, “GIVE THIS MAN A DAYTIME EMMY ALREADY!”
Oliver got his General Hospital gig — which continues on Monday, July 6 — after expressing a desire to appear on a soap opera in a March segment of Last Week Tonight.
“My reaction was, ‘Let’s go for it,’” General Hospital executive producer Frank Valentini told TV Insider. “The funny thing is, I always watch his show, but I was a little behind, so I didn’t see that episode, and a lot of people from my staff sent me the link. When I watched it, I said, ‘Oh, we gotta go for this,’ and everybody was very excited. The timing worked out perfectly because we needed somebody to be Z, the head of the WSB.”
Previews for Monday’s episode show that Z has big scenes with Carly Spencer, played by Laura Wright, whom Oliver quickly won over. “I have to say that I thought John was going to show up, and it was going to be a joke, and it was the exact opposite,” she said in a clip for TV Insider. “He showed up, he knew his lines, he was serious…. He didn’t make fun of us, and that’s something that a lot of people have done in the past, is make fun of daytime television, and I take a bit of an offense to that… He showed up with so much respect and excitement to be here and just crushed it.”
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