Updated with video.
NBC is currently in the midst of its 23rd season of The Voice, which will be most noteworthy for serving as Blake Shelton’s final season, at least assuming he doesn’t dip out for a single cycle only to miss the show so much that he can’t go a single second away from it any longer. Someone who probably won’t miss Shelton a whole-whole lot is Last Week Tonight host John Oliver, who granted the country singer a brand new monster-related nickname while taking a swipe mid-episode at The Voice’s most glaring issue as a longer-lasting reality competition.
John Oliver is certainly no stranger to non sequiturs and tangential bits on his weekly rewind show on HBO, but I’m not sure how many viewers would have expected for his extended segment on the growing power of influence going to Homeowners Associations across the country to get suddenly interrupted by Oliver mini-segueing into an all-around slam on The Voice’s continued inability to spin its winners into superstars on any level. Here’s what he had to say about the ratio of Voice seasons to memorable winners, while first speaking about a woman who was fined over the color of her shutters, only to get fined again when she took them down to repaint:
It’s one of those situations where no matter what you do, you lose. It’s sorta like going on The Voice. Sure, there are technically winners, but name a single one. This show has been on for a conservative 50 years, and not a single winner is a household name.
The Voice would probably be skating up to 90+ seasons if it actually did last for a whole 50 years, presumably with Carson Daly still hosting and looking only about 5 years older than he does now. Speaking to Oliver’s point, though, the NBC competition has developed a reputation for being a dead zone for artists looking to capitalize through record deals and the like. Similar to shows like The Bachelor, The Voice is essentially a way for talented up-and-comers to build up a social media base, and that specific batch of fans tends to be the main source of reach for anyone who comes out of the show on top.
John Oliver doubled down on his Voice-related convictions, and then shared his new nickname for Blake Shelton.
Seriously, tell me the first and last name of just one winner. You can’t. No one can. Not even Honky Tonk Frankenstein can do it.
Now, are we assuming that he’s Honky Tonk Dr. Frankenstein, or a Honky Tonk Monster? I’d be inclined to go with the latter, since his drawl already sort of sounds like a resurrected creature’s angry and frightened groans. Maybe that’s just how I hear him.
Watch the extended clip from the episode below, with features plenty of other jokes and commentary that aren’t tied to The Voice and its longest-tenured coach.
Fans can watch new episodes of The Voice on NBC every Monday night at 8:00 p.m., and they’re available to stream the next day with a Peacock subscription. Head to our 2023 TV premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows will be popping up soon. Maybe next week we’ll find out what Oliver thinks about Shelton and Daly’s boozy game show Barmageddon, which is set to return for Season 2.
