Is Real Time with Bill Maher new tonight, March 22?

A new episode of Real Time with Bill Maher could help make sense of another wild week.

Congratulations for making it through another week. Friday is here and that means that millions of fans will be tuning in to HBO tonight in hopes of seeing a brand new episode of Real Time with Bill Maher. 

The show is in the middle of its 17th season. The takes from Bill Maher and his guests remain as unpredictable as ever. So too has been the show’s schedule in some sense as an off-week earlier this month threw off some fans.

A crazy week of news from Washington D.C. and around the world has audiences hoping that Maher and company will return to tonight. The release of the Mueller report continues to be teased, the president is feuding with George Conway, and Jared Kushner was allegedly using WhatsApp to discuss classified information.

Thankfully, Bill Maher will try to bring some sanity back to the world tonight. Yes, there will be a new episode of Real Time tonight. Keep reading for our episode preview.

Top-of-show

Canadian author Irshad Manji is the top-of-show guest tonight. It will be her fifth appearance on the show.

Much of Manji’s professional career has been centered around her life as a Muslim. She has been critical of mainstream Islam and has advocated for reformist interpretation Islam. Last month she published her book Don’t Label Me: An Incredible Conversation for Divided Times.

We can expect Manji to comment on the tragedy in New Zealand, the response to white nationalism and Islamophobia rising around the world, and what, if anything, can be done to overcome bigotry.

Mid-show interview

Comedian, screenwriter, and director Larry Charles will be the mid-show interview. It marks his first visit to Real Time with Bill Maher.

Charles was a writer on Seinfeld from 1991-1994, having the most influence behind Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld during that time. He would later work with David again as a director and producer of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Charles has also directed the Sacha Baron Cohen films Borat, Bruno, and The Dictator.

Last month Netflix released the four-part series Larry Charles’ Dangerous World of Comedy. The documentary followed Charles around the world as he looked for comedy in unusual locations such as Iraq and Somalia. Maher is always eager to talk with fellow comedians so this should be an interesting discussion on the state of comedy in 2019 and political correctness.

The panel

Writer and political commentator Kristen Soltis Anderson will be on the panel. It will be her eighth appearance on Real Time.

Anderson has been published in The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, and Politico. The Republican pollster also co-founded Echelon Insights which conducts research for organizations as well as providing analytics services and polling information. Anderson should be able to comment on the state of things ahead of the 2020 election as well as where the Republican Party stands today.

Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia Evelyn Farkas is also on the panel. She was last on Real Time in 2018.

Farkas has a long career in intelligence, national security, and counter-terrorism, dating back even before her time serving under President Barack Obama. She is now an analyst for NBC and can be read on The Hill. Her experience means that Farkas can weigh in U.S.-Russian relations, the Mueller report, and the possible threats of Russian election interference in 2020.

Rounding out the panel will be Representative Eric Swalwell of California. He returns to visit Bill Maher for a second time.

Swalwell took office in 2013 and has been very active in the House since then. He worked with Representative Elijah Cummings to introduce the Protecting Our Democracy Act to create a commission responsible for investigation foreign interference in U.S. elections.

Swalwell is also rumored to be considering a 2020 presidential run. He would join the already crowded group of Democrats eager to take on President Trump.

Real Time with Bill Maher airs live tonight, March 22, at 10:00 PM ET on HBO. Follow along on Twitter with @RealTimers before tuning in. Keep checking back with Last Night On for more updates.