Bill Maher reveals his show will continue amidst Hollywood strikes, says 'writers are not the only people with issues'

Comedian-political commentator Bill Maher released a statement revealing that his show, Real Time With Bill Maher will be continuing on HBO amidst the Hollywood strikes. For the unversed, the strike by members of the Writers Guild Of America started earlier in May this year after the failed contract negotiations with the studio chiefs of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Bill said that he very much sympathizes with the writers but is not willing to see so many of his other staff members suffer.

Bill Maher’s brief statement said, “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. 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. 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.”

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He said that he honors the spirit of the strike and will not do any monologues or editorials. Bill Maher furthermore hinted that Real Time With Bill Maher without his writers would not be as good as the original one. He added, “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. 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 bullshit and predictable partisanship, and that will continue. The show will not disappoint.”

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The strike has been the longest in the WGA history. It has halted film and TV productions in Hollywood for over 100 days now. SAG-AFTRA which is the largest union for Hollywood writers also joined the strike in July.