‘The Talk’, ‘Jennifer Hudson Show’ And ‘Real Time’ Are Returning To TV Amid Writers’ Strike

etcanada.com:

Several talk shows are planning their returns despite the ongoing SAG-AFTRA/WGA strikes. On Wednesday, Bill Maher announced that his HBO political talk show, “Real Time With Bill Maher”, will return to the air, but without writers amid the ongoing WGA strike, now in its fifth month.

Citing the need “to bring people back to work” in a statement published to social media, Maher argued that the writers on strike are “not the only people with issues.” “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,” Maher wrote. “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.” The 67-year-old also noted that although the show would resume, it would be without several writer-driven segments, including his monologue and his end-of-show editorial piece, admitting that the new episodes “will not be as good as our normal show, full stop.” “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,” Maher concluded. “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.