John Oliver finally got the soap opera cameo he had been dreaming of, slap included. The talk show host turned Salem resident this August, trading his desk for scripted drama on Days of Our Lives. Executive producer Ken Corday moved fast once the wish went public, building a storyline around it within a day.

While Corday wasted no time honoring the request, the real surprise was in just how specific and delightfully odd Oliver's wish list turned out to be.

John Oliver did not want a subtle appearance, and Days of Our Lives delivered exactly the chaos he ordered. His character, Devlin St. John, arrived as Salem's nerdy water inspector, caught up in secrets from the very first scene.

"He wanted to be slapped, or someone slaps him. He wanted to be someone's long-lost something and a dramatic close-up of his face," Ken Corday told Variety.

He then added, "He is not the John Oliver you see on his talk show," stressing how far the role was from his usual persona.

According to Variety, the collaboration was never a one-time stunt. Corday shares that Oliver arrived as a serious actor, matching the breakneck pace of a series filming roughly nine episodes weekly. He shared scenes with veteran stars such as Susan Seaforth Hayes, Daniel Feuerriegel, and Maggie Carney, and clashed with Mayor Paulina Price, played by Jackee Harry. Corday praised his preparation, noting Oliver knew his lines cold before stepping on set.

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While Salem embraced his softer side, John Oliver's own show proved his sharper instincts were never far behind.

John Oliver used an edition of Last Week Tonight earlier this month to examine the Department of Justice, criticizing former Attorney General Pam Bondi and designated Attorney General Todd Blanche over dismissed cases involving James Comey and Letitia James. When Blanche claimed the department was working hard, Oliver noted that repeated unsuccessful attempts were somehow being framed as good news. He joked that logic would count as excellent news for DC movies too. The line doubled as a nod to his own network’s parent company.

To drive the point home, Oliver displayed a collage of DC superhero posters, several of which underperformed at the box office, including Supergirl. The film earned 126 million dollars worldwide against a budget exceeding 170 million, a steep loss for the studio. Given his own show sits under the same corporate umbrella as DC, the irony was hard to miss. Between mocking his bosses and getting slapped on a soap set, Oliver's year has been anything but predictable.

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What are your thoughts on John Oliver's wild soap opera cameo and his dig at DC? Let us know in the comments.