John Oliver barges right into long-running soap opera Days of Our Lives. Literally. The first shot of Tuesday, August 11th’s episode features him striding into the office of Mayor Pauline Price (Jackée Harry), announcing that he’s Devlin St. John — “yes, that Devlin St. John” — and revealing that he’s going to be making trouble for many residents of Salem, Illinois. Or saving them. As he tells Rita Lesley (Maggie Carney), “I’m the only thing standing between this town and a catastrophic plumbing failure. A literal sewage apocalypse.”
Devlin St. John is the chief water inspector of Salem, a job he takes seriously. “I’m never not talking about water,” he says at one point. “She’s the most popular girl in school and the nerd who does her homework for her.” His primary interest is in a contaminated well that’s recently been decontaminated (tragically obliterating data regarding the contamination), but he’s also got dirt on the evil, flu-suffering EJ DiMera (Dan Feuerriegel). And maybe some sexual chemistry with Rita, EJ’s assistant? There’s definitely a spark.
The Tuesday episode marks the first of three episodes which will feature Oliver as a guest star, coming on the heels of his recent turn on General Hospital. Episodes of soap operas largely exist as two or three-person storylines, intercut with each other and connecting occasionally. However, Oliver gets a variety of scene partners in this episode while the other scenes flow around his storyline.
In an interview with Vulture, executive producer Ken Corday revealed that the show (which typically tapes episodes almost a year before they actually air) had to do some behind-the-scenes finagling to shoehorn Oliver’s appearances into previously completed episodes, but the production was quite pleased by the Last Week Tonight host’s commitment to the bit. “He had about 60 pages that he’s in, and he knew it cold,” Corday said of the two-day shoot.
Like a true actor, Oliver approaches the character of Devlin differently from the role of Z on General Hospital — Devlin’s a little goofier, which presumably makes sense because he’s a water inspector and not the head of an international spy agency. One nice touch: Devlin has a habit of assuming people have heard of him, because there’s a sewage plant named after him — perhaps a deliberate nod to the fact that in real life, there is the John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant in Danbury, Connecticut.
Devlin’s got some pretty good jokes and asides, which Corday confirmed were punched up by Oliver and his producer because “he’s very machine-gun in how he speaks, so that took a little work. But in the end, we both got what we wanted.” Just a few of Devlin’s quips, in addition to the ones quoted above:
- “Are you sure that information is water tight?”
- “Flattery will get you everywhere… One of my top three weaknesses, right behind historical documentaries and direct sunlight.”
- “I have the immune system of an ostrich. And the comparisons stop there.”
He’s also got an incredible wig, which Oliver brought to set himself. His feeling, he revealed to Access Hollywood, was that his normal hair wouldn’t work to play the character: “The name Devlin St. John is writing checks that my regular hair can’t cash. However, this,” — he points to the wig — “cashes it in full.” His advice to Ryan Gosling, who may also make a future appearance on the show, is to not bring his own hair, because Gosling’s natural hair isn’t enough to contend with Oliver’s mop top.
As with his time on General Hospital, Oliver feels like he’s just warming up in this first episode — the Access Hollywood interview teases slaps-a-plenty to come on Days (giving and receiving). He’s also once again approaching the assignment with the right mix of serious commitment and giddy glee over getting to play in this sandbox. It’s so damn fun, a particular flavor of silliness that I might be getting addicted to. Maybe next, Oliver could hit up The Young and the Restless. Genoa City, brace yourself.
Days of Our Lives is streaming on Peacock.
