John Oliver’s Complicated Fun Connects for HBO
Everyone loves a good donkey joke, but still, how is it that explainers of big, complicated current events — the programming equivalent of creamed spinach — have become digital catnip? I think there is, right now, a hunger for a kind of slow news, thoughtful takes that won’t fit inside a Twitter feed. Stephen Colbert demonstrated with his stunt super PAC that topical comedy on dry but important matters can educate in addition to bringing the belly laughs.