Last Week Tonight host, John Oliver had his soap dreams come true on not one, but two long-running daytime dramas, heralding it his “hot soap summer” on the Sunday night, August 16 edition of his HBO series.

As viewers recall, Oliver’s tour of soap duty began back in March when he made a request and an offer to appear in any daytime drama that would have him with certain conditions, which included: having a ridiculous and over the top character name, a juicy storyline, and a slap.

Both Days of Our Lives and General Hospital came a-calling for Oliver, taking him up on his offer and in short order. Oliver appeared on GH in the role of the head of the WSB named  Z on episodes airing July 2-6, and then on DAYS in the role of Salem’s chief water inspector, Devlin St. John, in episodes that streamed the week of August 11.

Photo: ABC

FIRST STOP, PORT CHARLES

On Last Week Tonight, Oliver shared that both soaps delivered, and then launched into a comedic send-up complete with clips from some of his scenes. Starting with General Hospital.

Oliver said, “To General Hospital’s credit, they met all my requirements and more. First, my character got to arrive by a helicopter flanked by a pair of armed goons. And I got to do a dramatic walk during which I bravely shot in the general direction of a guy who was already on the ground. It’s called being an action star, by the way, unless you’re me or Vin Diesel, you really wouldn’t understand. And then in my next scene, I revealed my true identity. (Oliver played the scene where Josslyn wakes up in a hospital bed with Z standing at the side of her bed introducing himself).

He continued, “As for getting slapped, well, they knocked that and me out of the park too, because it turns out that agent’s mother was not happy with me,” explained Oliver, as they cut to the slap of Carly Spencer (Laura Wright) in the WSB Port Charles bureau office on Z. Oliver screamed, “YES! It has everything! A slap, a dramatic closeup, and me doing a voice so wrong, it is genuinely embarrassing. That was my honest attempt at an American accent. I can’t tell you why it’s southern. I can only tell you I was trying my hardest.”

Photo: ABC

SECOND STOP, SALEM

Then, came John’s wrap-up of his role of Devlin St. John on Days of Our Lives, the town’s chief city water inspector. “It is on Days of Our Lives I appeared in scenes alongside soap legends like Jackée Harry (Paulina) and Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie). And the Days of Our Lives team met my demands in a whole different way because instead of being an international spy boss, they wrote me a character a little more my speed.”

Cut to a clip of Oliver introducing himself as Devlin St. John to Rita. He explains, “I’m the only thing standing between this town and a catastrophic plumbing failure. A literal sewage apocalypse. They made me Salem’s Chief City Water Inspector, which let’s be honest, is perfect casting. If you’re going to bottle my essence and sell it as cologne, it would be called ‘Chief City Water Inspector.'”

DEVLIN’S WIG

The late night host also clarified all the reports, that the wig he wore for his DAYS character he actually brought from home. “Now, as for the hair, I agree, it’s absolutely incredible. It’s been reported this past week that it is a wig I brought to set from home. And while it wasn’t technically from home, we did actually provide that wig, and for good reason,” joked Oliver. “I’ve seen myself act. I knew the hair was going have to do 90% of the work. I’ll be honest, I was going for a healthy John Stamos (ex-Blackie, GH) look, but instead, it appears I ended up looking more like Tina from Bob’s Burgers.”

Photo: Corday Productions

“And if you’re wondering whether I got slapped on Days of Our Lives, not only was I slapped by a man wearing elegant silk pajamas (EJ), I also got to slap him, which felt utterly incredible. But wait, I was also stabbed with a syringe and not once, not even twice, but three different times. And if that wasn’t enough, this happened too.” At that point, Oliver played the clip of Rita using the taser on Devlin.

JOHN OLIVER LEAVES DOOR OPEN FOR A SOAP RETURN

The now late night star-turned-soap actor concluded his segment with, “Are you not entertained? Watching that makes me feel the way I assume Matt Damon felt after seeing the first cut of the Odyssey, both proud and impressed that my body could even do that. Which again, you wouldn’t understand. You’re not an action star like I am now. ”

As he ended his recap, Oliver thanked both soaps for playing along, and noting that neither DAYS or GH actually killed him off! Could a John Oliver return happen down the line? Stay tuned.

Watch John detail his soap dreams come to life on General Hospital and then Days of our Lives below.

Now let us know, what did you think of the performances of John Oliver on General Hospital and Days of our Lives? Did you prefer one over the other or enjoy both of his guest arc visits? Could you see Oliver nominated in the Guest Performer category at next year’s Daytime Emmys, even for a 3-episode run on one of the soaps? Let us know in the comment section.

 

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This week on all-new episodes of General Hospital, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) and Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) are getting closer, much to Ric’s (Rick Hearst) chagrin and he make a plan to take action to stop it, while a new dangerous alliance begins to take shape while bitter enemies have a meet-up, of sorts.

In the GH video teaser for August 17-21, while Dante and Elizabeth are enjoying some time together, a jealous Ric warns Lulu (Alexa Havins),”There is a growing connection between the two of them. And if we don’t break it, you and I are going to lose the loves of our lives.”

Could this be the character turn of Ric Lansing, where before his green-eyed monster has wreaked havoc on the life of others? Will Lulu agree to conspire with him to keep Dante and Elizaheth apart …. or want nothing to do with his plan? Stay tuned.

Elsewhere, Drew (Cameron Mathison) is determined to destroy Sonny (Maurice Benard) by any means possible. He hopes teaming with Ms. Ava Jerome (Maura West) is the ticket to make it happen. “Together, we can take Sonny down,” says Drew to Ava over drinks. Is GH heading for a Ava and Drew pairing, next?

Then, as previously reported, Carlo Rota is back as Jenz Sidwell after the character was sentenced to Pentonville for 31 years for his crimes. Sidwell’s first visitor seems to be Sonny Corinthos, who has made it known to others in Port Charles, he wants to take over Sidwell’s business assets.

“It was only a matter of time before you showed up,” Sidwell snarls, as we see the prisoner meet his arch nemesis in the visitor’s section of the prison. Sonny sees Sidwell and snipes, “Beige is not your color.” What is Sonny hoping to gain from a conversation with the nefarious criminal who tried to destroy his life and those who he loved?

Now below, check out the official GH spoilers for this week.

MONDAY, AUGUST 17
Carly enlists a new ally. Josslyn wants Michael’s assistance. Lucas and Joe bond. Brook Lynn is floored. Serena pushes back.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 18
Jason’s news shocks Britt. Anna and Sonny find common ground. Josslyn inadvertently says too much. Lucy is rattled. Ava is concerned for Lucas.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19
Ric gets an eyeful. Sonny offers his blessing. Drew and Nina have a tense encounter. Jordan receives an unexpected offer. Kai is uneasy.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20
Carly makes a realization. Anna introduces Tristan to Josslyn. Liz opens up to Dante. Lulu has words with Valentin. Ric spirals.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 21
Drew offers an olive branch. Ava reassures Portia. Sonny pays a surprise visit. Jordan gets a vote of confidence. Laura makes a request of Rocco.

Check out the latest GH promo “Beige is Not Your Color,'” below.

Then weigh-in: Do you want to see Ric turn back into the villain that he once was? Are you rooting for Dante and Elizabeth to be together? What will be Lulu’s agenda in all of this, if any? Does she even want Dante back? And, are you down for a Ava and Drew pairing? Glad to see Sidwell? Let us know in the comment section below.

The former Michael Corinthos of General Hospital, Chad Duell, will participate in a livestream chat to discuss his new foray into music, his time on the ABC soap opera and much more. Circle, Wednesday, August 19 beginning at 7pm ET/4pm PT, when Chad visits You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel.

Recently, Duell has launched a new side of himself under the musical name “Duelly” and has released two EDM-style tracks. The most recent, Static in the Quiet Room which dropped in August, and previously If You Need Me which dropped in June. In his new musical venture, Chad is said to primarily be the songwriter, producer and pianist on his tracks.

Previously, Chad stepped away from his Daytime Emmy-winning role as Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Carly’s (Laura Wright) son after a nearly 15-year run. A decision he made towards the end of 2024. Viewers last saw his version of Michael on the January 21, 2025 episode where Michael was recovering from severe burns and injuries suffered in the penthouse explosion at Sonny’s. The character was recast with Rory Gibson, who debuted at the end of May 2025 during the GH Nurses’ Ball.

Photo: JPI

CHAD ON DECISION TO STEP AWAY FROM GENERAL HOSPITAL

Chad has previously sat down for a conversation on The Able Show seven months ago, where he doubled-down on his decision to walk away from General Hospital when he did. Duell explained, “I’m blessed to be part of that (show) for as long as I have. But what happens sometimes is if you’re doing the same thing, especially in a creative field for such a long time, you can get a little burnt out in a way. It can make you a little depressed, so that’s kind of what happened.”

Sadly, Duell suffered the devastating loss of his beloved father in 2024, which also was very difficult for him as he detailed, sharing, “On top of that, I had other things going on in my life at the time. My father passed away recently and I just needed a reset. So, I stepped away. A lot of times you have to go through some stuff to really step into that next level. I needed to kind of feel uncomfortable.”

Photo: CDuellIG

BEING A DAD TO SON DAWSON

In addition, after exiting General Hospital, Chad had been busy raising his young son, Dawson who will be 3 on August 30, along with his partner, Luana Lucci, while continue his aspirations of putting out music and continuing his acting.

If you have a question, you would like posed to Chad during the live broadcast, but cannot be with us on Wednesday, drop it in the comment section below and we just might ask in live on the air! For upcoming celebrity features, livestreams and special event coverage make sure to “subscribe” to the Michael Fairman Channel.

So, would you like to see Chad find success with his music, return to the soaps on another show in a new role? If so, where? Let us know via the comment section.