Bill Maher reveals that talkshow Real Time With Bill Maher will return to HBO Max without its writers team.
The show will be the first late-night offering to return since the Writers Guild of America went on strike in May, which forced numerous shows, including Saturday Night Live, to cancel. Maher took to Twitter/X to announce the show. “Real Time is coming back, unfortunately, sans writers or writing. It has been five months, and it is time to bring people back to work.”
“Despite some assistance from me, much of the staff is struggling mightily. We all were hopeful this would come to an end after Labor Day, but that day has come and gone, and there still seems to be nothing happening. I love my writers, I am one of them, but I’m not prepared to lose an entire year and see so many below-the-line people suffer so much,” Maher wrote.
Maher indicated that he will “honour the spirit of the strike” by foregoing many staples of his program, including the opening monologue and New Rules, a humorous piece that normally follows a panel discussion. He also stated to the crowd that “the show I will be doing without my writers will not be as good as our normal show, full stop.”
According to HBO, the celebrities who will take part in show are yet to be decided.
Real Time With Bill Maher will resume on Friday, September 22.
