Is Real Time with Bill Maher new tonight, September 8?
By Matt Moore
The political and social discourse remained as hot as ever this week. So should Real Time with Bill Maher fans expect to see the late-night TV show take on the headlines tonight?
News broke on Friday that a grand jury in Georgia recommended charging three Republican senators in connection to former president Donald Trump’s alleged efforts to subvert election results. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden faces increasing scrutiny over his age and popularity among Democrats.
All in all, it’s the kind of news week that Bill Maher typically sinks his teeth into on a Friday night. Unfortunately, there will not be a new episode of Real Time with Bill Maher tonight.
Instead, HBO will air the Johnny Depp movie Black Mass during Real Time‘s normal 10:00 p.m. timeslot.
Why isn’t Real Time with Bill Maher new tonight?
Real Time with Bill Maher continues to be on hiatus with the rest of late-night TV. There hasn’t been a new episode since May.
That’s when the Writers Guild of America went on strike. Since then, nearly every television show and movie has gone dark. There appears to be no end in sight as the WGA continues to negotiate better contracts in the age of streaming.
However, Bill Maher hasn’t gone dark. He continues to host his podcast, Club Random. Recently, Maher shared his thoughts on the strike and the state of late-night TV.
Maher argued that writers aren’t owed a living. Instead, he said that the entertainment industry was a “make or miss league” where merit determines who gets paid.
On the current state of late-night TV, Maher sounds pretty pessimistic. He questioned why sponsors continue to buy ads on traditional broadcast late-night shows when viewers have access to streaming content or can skip through most ads. For Maher, the future of late-night TV is grim regardless of the WGA strike.