“Real Time is coming back, unfortunately, sans writers or writing,” Maher wrote on X. “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.”

The present is ready to return Sept. 22, in accordance with HBO.

Maher’s announcement comes the identical week Drew Barrymore mentioned she would convey again her daytime speak present, main writers to picket outdoors her New York taping this week and criticize her for crossing the strike traces.

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Since the strike started greater than 130 days in the past, among the most notable actors and media personalities have steadfastly supported the hassle by writers to prevent studios from utilizing their scripts to coach AI techniques and to determine a viewership-based residual system for streaming reveals, amongst different points.

Five main late-night speak hosts — Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and Jimmy Kimmel — have saved their reveals darkish whereas producing an everyday podcast known as “Strike Force Five,” which they are saying raises cash for his or her staffs.

But Maher’s resolution on the heels of Barrymore’s may present that help is starting to crack, main some to wonder if others could comply with swimsuit.

WGA known as the transfer “disappointing.”

“If he goes forward with his plan, he needs to honor more than ‘the spirit of the strike,’” the group wrote on X. As a WGA member, the group added, Maher can not “perform any writing services.”

Maher mentioned the present’s workers wouldn’t put collectively a monologue, a desk piece, his standard section New Rules or an editorial, all of which depend on writers who could be breaking the strike to supply content material for these segments. He additionally mentioned that, as one of many present’s writers, he wouldn’t do any writing.

Instead, Maher mentioned, the present would function “off-the-cuff” conversations, whereas acknowledging the association will not “be as good as our normal show, full stop.”

Maher was criticized by scores of writers on social media, together with Keith Olbermann.

“Without writers, the new weekly SCAB edition of ‘Real Time With @billmaher’ will be 83 seconds long,” wrote Olbermann, a longtime political and sports activities commentator.

Maher mentioned in his assertion that he had hoped the strike would finish earlier than Labor Day however “there still seems to be nothing happening.”

Talks have damaged down between WGA and the group representing main studios and streaming companies. On Wednesday, 1000’s of hanging writers and actors took to the streets of Hollywood to strain studios to finish the months-long strike, which has financially hurt some writers and the staffs that work with them.

The Hollywood writers are calling for increased wages, assurances about how many writers are hired per show and a bigger portion of residuals.

Maher has beforehand confronted backlash over feedback in regards to the strike after he mentioned among the calls for have been unlikely to succeed. “They kind of believe that you’re owed a living as a writer — and you’re not,” Maher mentioned on his podcast “Club Random,” including that there ought to be a suitable center floor between what the strikers search and what the studios are proposing.

“You’re either for the strike … or you’re with Trump,” Maher mentioned. “There’s only two camps.”

Should the strikes proceed till October, studios in all probability will not have new content material for the autumn for the primary time in TV historical past.