Bill Maher’s “Real Time” and “Overtime”
SOME THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS ABOUT BILL MAHER’S OVERTIME
We’re now into the 20th season of Real Time on HBO, hosted by Bill Maher. The weekly one-hour talk show on current events was spawned by Maher’s original ABC program that ran during the late 1990s, Politically Incorrect, which appropriately enough was canceled for — you guessed it — political incorrectness.
Maher’s regular roundtable of eclectic guests tends to be a mix of commentators, political leaders, and even celebrities. Most shows are well worth watching. A few are newsworthy simply for what gets said (social media sometimes goes ballistic). Some panels are outstanding. Others are disappointments. You never know what will happen when you tune in on Friday night at 6 pm. Sometimes, breaking news even interrupts the show and the panel gets diverted.
I’ve been a fan of Maher’s stand-up comedy and his show for the most part, though I do have some minor criticisms. What I’ve admired most about Real Time is that it’s one of the few (maybe the only) LIVE shows on television, with no scripts, unrehearsed exchanges, and a live studio audience. In an age of so much canned predictability, where everything gets spun, where typical talk shows are unwatchable, and we rarely see any of the guests truly unfiltered, Real Time is the standout exception. That’s why it’s worked for two decades, and still going strong. Most of the panelists are pretty good also, even the ones I disagree with. It takes guts to come onto Maher’s live show, have one’s onions challenged, risking ridicule in front of a sometimes hostile audience, in a format that’s designed for comedy. In short, asking non-funny people to come onto a comedy talk show and be entertaining is something that seems like a recipe for disaster. Yet, it remains one of HBO’s most successful programs.
So, why write an article about this?
Well, I saw an announcement today that Overtime, which is the extended cut of Real Time will be shown on CNN live, which will be a weekly feature going forward. That seems strange, to flip to another network to see the added discussion. But that’s what’s apparently happening.
What I do not understand is — why is Overtime even a thing? I’ve watched Maher’s show for 20 years, yet I’ve never watched the Overtime segment. I didn’t want to go online and bother with it (which is where it was shown in the past). Isn’t the full one-hour segment enough time to cover the events of the week and get the most out of the guests? How will adding another 30 minutes enhance the viewing experience?
I’ll give it a shot tonight, but it seems to me they better have some really strong guests to be able to go another 30 minutes after being on live TV for the previous hour. I have many friends here who have worked in television and in news; I’d be interested in your thoughts, as well as anyone with an opinion.
