#‘Real Time With Bill Maher’ Returning to Air Without Writers Amid Strike

Real Time With Bill Maher is returning to the air, but without its writers.

“Real Time is coming back, unfortunately, sans writers or writing,” the eponymous host announced on Twitter on 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.”

Maher went on to say “much of the staff is struggling mightily” and that though he appreciates his writers, “I’m not prepared to lose an entire year and see so many below-the-line people suffer so much.”

The show will return on Friday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. PT without a pre-written monologue, desk piece, “New Rules” segment or editorial segments, Maher continued.

“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,” Maher continued. “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.”