--- description: SNL-star-turned-U.S.-senator Al Franken says the transition from comedy to Congress was smoother than it might seem. title: VIDEO: Al Franken, John Oliver Talk Politics And Comedy image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3204b38e3149f567/69868dc81eebf77427370ba9/455176103.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Al Franken, John Oliver Talk Politics And Comedy by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 4, 2014 5:26 PM CUT  <> on December 11, 2013 in Washington, DC. <> on December 11, 2013 in Washington, DC.Alex Wong—Getty Images by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 4, 2014 5:26 PM CUT _SNL_ star-turned-U.S.-senator Al Franken tells ABC’s _This Week_ the transition from comedy to Congress was smoother than it might seem, while new HBO host John Oliver thinks politicians provide great material. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/87204/al-franken-john-oliver-politics-comedy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/87204/al-franken-john-oliver-politics-comedy/"},"headline":"Al Franken, John Oliver Talk Politics And Comedy","datePublished":"2014-05-04T17:26:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:38:43.640Z","description":"SNL-star-turned-U.S.-senator Al Franken says the transition from comedy to Congress was smoother than it might seem.","url":"https://time.com/87204/al-franken-john-oliver-politics-comedy/","keywords":["Washington D.C.","abc","John Oliver","al franken"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3204b38e3149f567/69868dc81eebf77427370ba9/455176103.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Video","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-video/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3204b38e3149f567/69868dc81eebf77427370ba9/455176103.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Secretary Of State Kerry And Treasury Secretary Lew Brief Capitol Hill Lawmakers On Iran","caption":"Secretary Of State Kerry And Treasury Secretary Lew Brief Capitol Hill Lawmakers On Iran","creditText":"Alex Wong—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/87204/al-franken-john-oliver-politics-comedy/","name":"Al Franken, John Oliver Talk Politics And Comedy"}}]}] ```