John Oliver explains his love for the 'wholesome' Danish children's TV show about a man with huge genitalia

Last Week Tonight is on hiatus for two weeks, but John Oliver is dropping short, characteristically NSFW morsels on the internet to keep his fans sated during the break. On Sunday night, his hobbyhorse was Denmark, specifically "children's television in Denmark because, since the beginning of this year, there's been a new show there that's gotten a lot of attention," he said. The children's show, John Dillermand, is "about a claymation Super Mario who's dressed for a ski vacation and a 1920s beach party at the same time — and who, much more importantly, has a massive, stripey snake dick."

"The 'diller' in Dillermand is Danish slang for penis, meaning that his name in English is basically 'John Penisman,'" Oliver explained approvingly. The show was "an instant hit" with kids when it started airing in January, and for good reason. "It's so much more imaginative than what passes for children's entertainment here," he said, citing examples. "DR, the public broadcaster behind this show, maintains that John Dillermand is genuinely wholesome, saying it's about 'the embarrassment and fun of the body'" and "'as desexualized as it can possibly get.' The problem is, there are some both in but especially outside Denmark who can't seem to get their head around the charms of this show."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Last week, Oliver raved effusively about octopuses — not octopi, for reasons he explained. "It is genuinely confusing to me that octopuses aren't the most celebrated animals on the internet," he said. "Cats have dominated the internet for far too long, and it is past time that octopuses get their turn. That's it, that's my whole argument here: Octopuses are great." He showed several examples to prove his point — persuasively, in fact. But if you think octopuses are a safer-for-work topic than children's television shows about a super-endowed hero, you are mistaken. Watch below.

YouTube YouTube
Watch On
Explore More
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.