Bill Maher’s Relaunch.

A Commentary for those that can think by Mitch Santell

There is that old saying in Hollywood, you know the one that goes “Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You!” The call came from Bill Maher earlier this week as he realized it was time to restart his show on HBO.

Bill Maher is making the right decision.

Question: Why?

Answer: Bill Maher knows his team is suffering financially.

His recent statement to Dead was the following: “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.”

The reason that Maher has the courage to do this I think comes from what he has learned from his podcast. Real Time is a show that takes a tremendous amount of effort. Maher’s Podcast style helps his audience know who he is.

Even Maher said it himself:

For years, Maher resisted the podcast bandwagon. “My normal work week for Real Time is intense enough on its own,” he says. “I never go out during the week, I’m my own head-writer, and I’m working on it every night. I do afford myself something of a midweek break,” he adds. “It’s usually a little social time in this funky bar space that I call Club Random, where I enjoy relaxing and talking with friends about all those other things that don’t come up on Real Time.”

You will be watching Bill’s HBO version of his Podcast on Camera. No, you won’t get his “self written” commentaries. What you will get is “off the cuff,” comments, feedback as well as lively discussion with his guests. One of the things that Maher figured out early on was the power of controversy in front of a studio audience.

Best of luck Bill Maher, I’ll be watching! Don’t sweat the small stuff bro, I’m sure it will work fine. For the audience, you’re just watching a great comedy mind.

A Bill Maher Podcast Clip