According to Warner Bros. Discovery, Real Time With Bill Maher has been renewed by HBO through 2026. The series will continue to air on HBO and will be available to stream on MAX.
Nina Rosenstein (Vice, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver), Executive Vice President of HBO Programming, specifically for Late Night & Specials, said: “For 22 seasons and counting, Bill Maher (Politically Incorrect, Religulous) remains a uniquely powerful voice in politics and culture. Real Time is the rare place where people can both disagree and find common ground, which is more vital than ever. We’re thrilled to continue working with Bill and his incredibly talented team for two more seasons.”
Maher added, “Two more years in the dream job of a lifetime, on the network so many dream of being on – I think that’s what we call a no-brainer.”
The synopsis for the season, according to the press release, states, “Allowing Maher to offer his unique perspective on contemporary issues, the show continues with its opening monologue, one-on-one interviews with notable guests, roundtable discussions with panelists, and its signature ‘New Rules.’”
The press release notes, in 2023, Mediaite put Bill Maher at number six on their list of the most influential names in news media. “Each Friday, Maher is able to hit the right topic and right guests to dominate Saturday’s social media buzz, and the comments made by those guests follow them into Sunday interviews and the next week’s conversations in politics and culture,” Mediaite said.
Since the debut of Real Time with Bill Maher, the series has received twenty-one Emmy Award nominations. The most recent nominations the series received were in 2021 for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series and in 2017 for Outstanding Variety Talk Series.
In addition to Maher, executive producers of the series include Sheila Griffiths (Politically Incorrect, Bill Maher: Victory Begins at Home), Marc Gurvitz (The Cable Guy, Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special), Billy Martin (Amazon Fishbowl with Bill Maher, Politically Incorrect), and Dean Johnsen (Courage Under Fire, Up All Night).
According to mxdwn, in addition to hosting talk shows, Maher has also written numerous books. His books include New Rules, Does Anybody Have a Problem with That?, The Best of Politically Incorrect, True Story: A Novel, and more. His next book titled What This Comedian Said Will Shock You is set to release in June 2024.