After Drew Barrymore announced over the weekend that her talk show wouldn’t be coming back during the ongoing Hollywood writers’ strike after all, Bill Maher has followed her lead.
Maher said last week on X/Twitter that he’d be bringing back his HBO series Real Time With Bill Maher on Sept. 22, adding that it’s “been five months, and it is time to bring people back to work.” Now, however, Maher has reversed this decision, saying in another statement today that he decided to do so after the Writers Guild of America (WGA) told its members in a statement this morning that negotiations with Hollywood’s studios would resume this week in attempts to end the work stoppage.
“My decision to return to work was made when it seemed nothing was happening and there was no end in sight to this strike,” Maher said today. “Now that both sides have agreed to go back to the negotiating table I’m going to delay the return of Real Time, for now, and hope they can finally get this done.”
My decision to return to work was made when it seemed nothing was happening and there was no end in sight to this strike. Now that both sides have agreed to go back to the negotiating table I’m going to delay the return of Real Time, for now, and hope they can finally get this…
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) September 18, 2023
Though Maher cited his own reasons, it’s hard not to notice the timing in his reversal. After Barrymore announced that she’s decided “to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” Jennifer Hudson also pushed back the season premiere of her talk show, according to Variety. The Jennifer Hudson Show was supposed to premiere its new season today.
CBS' The Talk was also supposed to return with a new season today, and it too paused its premiere just hours before it was supposed to take place in the wake of Barrymore’s reversal.
Decisions to return to air amid the writers’ strike have been met with massive backlash from the industry. Barrymore attempted to explain her decision in an Instagram video posted on Friday, but deleted it after courting even more controversy.
The WGA, meanwhile, called Maher's decision to return "disappointing" in a statement last week, and promised to picket the HBO series.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
