Bill Maher reverses course on Real Time return
By Matt Moore
Real Time with Bill Maher will not be coming back to HBO after all. Days after host Bill Maher announced plans to restart his late-night TV show, he has backtracked.
On September 13, Maher tweeted his plan to launch a modified version of Real Time with Bill Maher without writers. The Writers Guild of America has yet to reach a new agreement, but Maher apparently felt he should still deliver something on Real Time. The initial plan was to remove any written pieces and focus only on the panel discussion segment.
Now, Maher is changing his tune once again. His September 18 tweet announced Real Time with Bill Maher will remain on hiatus. According to the comedian, the return of the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to the negotiating table led to the decision.
“My decision to return to work was made when it seemed nothing was happening and there was no end in sight to this strike,” Maher wrote. “Now that both sides have agreed to go back to the negotiating table I’m going to delay the return of Real Time, for now, and hope they can finally get this done.”
Bill Maher faced immediate backlash for his Real Time plan
While Maher claims that the WGA and AMPTP restarting negotiations led to his decision, it’s hard to ignore the intense scrutiny he faced immediately after announcing the return of Real Time with Bill Maher.
The WGA voiced their disappointment with Maher’s choice to go on without a writing staff. A similar strategy was used during the 2007 writers’ strike at other late-night TV shows. However, Maher brought on increased criticism in part due to his previous comments that Hollywood writers weren’t owed a living.
It’s also possible Maher realized he would struggle to book guests for the panel discussion. No celebrities associated with movies or television would likely agree to go on the show. In addition to the WGA strike, the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA is also on strike. Going on Real Time could be considered a violation of the strike rules or a lack of support for writers.
Real Time‘s panels normally feature politicians, commentators, authors, and other non-entertainment names. Still, going on a writer-less Real Time may be interpreted as a political position on unions.
In the meantime, Bill Maher continues to release new episodes of his Club Random podcast.