‘Real Time With Bill Maher’: Fans Speculate on Show’s Future After Paramount & Warner Bros. Discovery Merger
What To Know
- Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have agreed to a $111 billion merger, prompting speculation about the future of HBO’s Real Time With Bill Maher.
- Fans on Reddit debated whether the merger could threaten Maher’s show, despite its recent renewal through 2028, with some suggesting he will adapt to the new ownership.
- Several commenters noted that existing contracts, like Maher’s recent extension, are typically honored during mergers, making an immediate cancellation unlikely.
Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery officially struck a deal on their merger — and late-night TV fans are speculating on what that could mean for Real Time With Bill Maher.
On Friday, February 27, Paramount and Warner Bros. agreed on a $111 billion merger after Netflix backed out of the bidding war.
As Paramount prepares to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns HBO, fans wondered what that could mean for Bill Maher‘s HBO show. (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS, also owned by Paramount, is already ending after the current season in May 2026.)
One Maher fan on Reddit wondered if the merger could mean the end of Real Time despite the show recently being renewed for two more seasons through 2028.
“Now that it seems almost a done deal Paramount will buy WB/HBO do you think they’ll let Bill sick around?” the poster asked on Reddit. “John Oliver for sure will be on the chopping block, but is Bill willing to step in line with the right wing takeover?”
In the comments of the thread, many thought that Maher would ultimately stick around. One Redditor wrote, “Oh hell yeah. Bill played his cards right. He bent the knee at the white house. Ellison loves him. Bill is just another MAGA propaganda channel.”
Another agreed, writing, “Bill already stepped in line. He’s never been anything more than controlled opposition for years.”
Someone else on Reddit shared, “Of course. They love republican masquerading as Democrats.”
A different Reddit user commented, “Bill doesn’t have a history of pulling his punches. I expect he’ll continue to do what he does and maybe even push the boundaries a little harder than usual. He won’t leave, but he’ll make them fire him if they want to get him off their air.”
Meanwhile, yet another Redditor pointed out, “Real Time just got a contract extension. Existing contracts are almost always part of a sale and are usually required by business law to be honored by the buyer.”
What do you think about the Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger?
Real Time With Bill Maher, Fridays at 10/9c, HBO
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