Bill Maher said Monday that he will delay the return of his show, just days after he said it would resume despite the ongoing screenwriters’ strike against Hollywood studios.
Mr. Maher said he reversed his decision to restart his weekly HBO show, “Real Time with Bill Maher,” as contract negotiations between Hollywood studios and striking screenwriters were set to resume this week.
Mr Maher said in a post on Platform It was visible”. Her change of heart followed similar reversals from talk show hosts like Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Hudson over the weekend.
Ms. Barrymore said Sunday that she was holding off on resuming her talk show, “The Drew Barrymore Show,” after facing criticism, including being fired as host of the National Book Awards.
Ms. Barrymore had previously announced that the show was coming back despite the strike, and after initial criticism she doubled down on her decision to bring it back. But in an Instagram post over the weekend, Ms. Barrymore said she apologized to “anyone I offended” and that the show’s premiere would be put on hold until the strike is over.
Following Ms. Barrymore’s announcement, shows such as “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” produced by Warner Bros., and “The Talk,” which runs on CBS, also withdrew their decisions to air new episodes.
Mr Maher had previously announced his decision to revive the show, saying “I’m not prepared to waste an entire year and see so many people down-the-line suffer so much.” The Writers Guild of America, which has been on strike against Hollywood studios since May, had said it was planning to picket Mr. Maher’s show.
