Bill Maher Becomes First Host to Make Late-Night Return Without Writers

Bill Maher is going “off-the-cuff” when his late-night series Real Time with Bill Maher returns to HBO amid the ongoing writers’ strike, the host announced on Wednesday via social media.

“Real Time is coming back, unfortunately, sans writers or writing,” Maher wrote in a statement that makes him the first late-night host to return to the desk since shows went dark on May 2 as the WGA started its strike. “It has been five months, and it is time to bring people back to work. The writers have important issues that I sympathize with, and hope they are addressed to their satisfaction, but they are not the only people with issues, problems, and concerns,” he continued.

Maher, whose show will return Sept. 22, according to Deadline, said that despite some aid from his own pocket, “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.”

The host’s hiatus hobbies have included hating on the Barbie movie and criticizing the goals and timing of the WGA’s strike. “What I find objectionable about the philosophy of the strike [is] it seems to be, they have really morphed a long way from 2007’s strike, where they kind of believe that you’re owed a living as a writer, and you’re not,” Maher said on his “Club Random” podcast with guest Jim Gaffigan last week. “They struck at just the wrong time; they have no leverage. Has anyone who is watching TV recently noticed a difference? Has it affected the person down the pipeline? I don’t think so. I haven’t noticed a difference.”

But in announcing his late-night reinstatement, Maher insisted he’d “honor the spirit of the strike by not doing a monologue, desk piece, ‘New Rules’ or editorial, the written pieces that I am so proud of on Real Time.” While “the show I will be doing without my writers will not be as good as our normal show, full stop,” Maher continued, “the heart of the show is an off-the-cuff panel discussion that aims to cut through the bullshit and predictable partisanship, and that will continue. The show will not disappoint.”

The Writers Guild of America West, of which Maher is a member, called his decision “disappointing” on social media. “If he goes forward with his plan, he needs to honor more than ‘the spirit of the strike,’” the organization said in a follow-up tweet. The WGA also confirmed it “will be picketing this show,” adding, “it is difficult to imagine how @RealTimers can go forward without a violation of WGA strike rules taking place.” Other writers called Maher out directly, including Stephen King, who reposted the host’s statement and wrote, “This is exactly how strikes are broken.”

Maher’s move comes amidst controversial daytime TV returns for The Talk, The Jennifer Hudson Show, Sherri, and The Drew Barrymore Show. After Drew Barrymore confirmed that her talk show would return despite both the WGA and SAG strikes earlier this week, the WGA announced that it would picket the Monday and Tuesday tapings of her series as it is “a WGA-covered, struck show that is planning to return without its writers.” Meanwhile, SAG-AFTRA released a statement clarifying that Barrymore wasn’t in violation of its strike, saying that her return to The Drew Barrymore Show “is permissible work” and that “Drew’s role as host does not violate the current strike rules.” But the fallout continued—Barrymore was subsequently dropped as host of the National Book Awards ceremony.

With no end to the strike in sight, other prominent late-night hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver have launched their own podcast, Strike Force Five, the proceeds from which are being promised to out-of-work late-night TV staffers.

The most recent episode of Real Time aired on April 28 and featured guest Elon Musk. Shortly after Maher announced his show’s return on X (formerly Twitter), Musk offered up the site as a space for Maher’s content. “Maybe worth posting some material on this platform,” the CEO replied. “The reach is enormous.”