‘Real Time With Bill Maher’ Is the Latest Show to Return to Air Without Writers During Strike

Real Time With Bill Maher is the latest show returning to the air without writers during the ongoing writers’ strike.

“Real Time is coming back, unfortunately, sans writers or writing,” Maher announced on X, formerly Twitter, late Wednesday. “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,” his message continued. “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.”

“I will 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,” he added. “And I’ll say it upfront to the audience: the show I will be doing without my writers will not be as good as our normal show, full stop. But the heart of the show is an off-the-cuff panel discussion that aims to cut through the bullsh-- and predictable partisanship, and that will continue. The show will not disappoint.”

In a statement, the Writers Guild of America responded, “The Guild has, and will continue to, picket struck shows that are in production during the strike.”

Maher follows several daytime talk shows who have opted to resume production without writers as the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes continue. Amid criticism, The Drew Barrymore Show returned to the air Monday with The Talk, The Jennifer Hudson Show and Sheri also receiving criticism after announcing they’re following suit, prompting writers to strike at their studios.

Real Time isn’t the first late-night show to return to the air during a strike. During the strike of 2007-08, Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien returned to the air without writers. However, this time around, at least for now, all the major late night talk shows have remained dark with the hosts joining forces for the Strike Force podcast. On Wednesday, they announced a live taping of the podcast in Las Vegas to raise funds for striking writers.