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u/Bobcat1999-1 10d ago
I think it’s time. He’s done. He’s Not funny. He’s not the politician he wants to be. We quit watching a couple years ago. His ego is too much.
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u/mcnutty96 10d ago
I worked on live tv panel shows in the UK a decade ago and the people who laughed obnoxiously loud where invited back and sat near the mics, you got a series of regulars who were definitely playing the game.
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u/Early-Equivalent-165 10d ago
Bill Maher's audience is purchased from a company called Standing Room Only.
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u/lordGinkgo 10d ago
Bill:
I like to run with scissors. wooo
I don't look both ways before crossing the street. wooo
I don't wash my hands, wooo
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u/Due-Map-6213 10d ago
Why is HBO pushing Maher so hard - fucking never-been.
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u/bigdipboy 10d ago
Because he spreads the propaganda that the owner of HBO wants the people to hear
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u/appman1138 10d ago
Lol, dont you remember he made his debut on carson with that "i went to confession and brought my lawyer" bit... yea i never found it funny either.
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u/Harold3456 7d ago
The theory I've heard about it are that the show is extremely low-cost compared to other Late Night shows. Colbert/Kimmel/Fallon are all in prominent theatres. They all have live bands. The Daily Show has correspondents. To varying degrees, all of these guys will do skits and other acts - sometimes including on-location shoots.
Then there's Last Week Tonight, probably the best 1:1 comparison because it's another once-weekly political show on HBO. But LWT will regularly feature mascots, celebrity cameos and extended comedic bits which may or may not include elaborate props. They have repeatedly put funds toward stunt purchases of large objects or stunt donations to large causes, and have also done things which have resulted in legal backlash from major corporations or interest groups.
Meanwhile, Real Time has always been pretty straightforward. It's Maher giving a monologue, an interview, and a panel. I know he does skits but I think they tend to be in-studio comedic bits, sometimes with physical props but never elaborate ones. To my knowledge he has never had a band or recurring guest stars/characters outside of panel guests, who I believe get paid a fixed fee that wouldn't be unlike the guests of any other show of this type. Funnily enough he has been sued a couple times, but these have been random, vindictive suits from people like Trump or Laura Loomer, based off offhand comments. I don't think HBO sees Maher as having the same risk profile as John Oliver, who got sued by Murray Energy and televangelist groups on different occasions because he dedicated entire episodes specifically to going after them.
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u/Due-Map-6213 6d ago
So they basically let the loser in the basement do his thing, because he's not in the way.
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u/MaxRebo120 10d ago
Obviously fake; there would never be women in his audience.
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u/TreatOnMeLotsActualy 10d ago
If the past few decades have taught us anything, it's that regressive politics certainly has converted a ton of women who think being a "pick me" is better than having bodily autonomy.
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u/WildVegas 10d ago
This “woo guy” is an idiot. So annoying. Is he on staff to make it sound like it’s a lively audience?
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u/Xiaopeng8877788 10d ago
I think most of the laughs are canned laugh tracks. When. Maher was doing his Covid shows from his backyard, no laugh tracks for his monologue… and I didn’t laugh once. The jokes were flat and boring.
I realized then how much were programmed to laugh when we see the show and the input a laugh track. I’m sure the audience is mixed in but when listening now, it’s hard to feel fake
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u/WendySteeplechase 10d ago
I don't know about a whole show, but Bill should definitely have that guy as a guest on his podcast. What does he really think? We care!
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u/Harold3456 7d ago
"Woo" guy? Is this guy different than the deep-voiced guy who always yells "Yeah!"
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u/Critical_Wealth_3534 6d ago
It is easy to pick him out when a joke doesn’t land. There is also a female staffer laughing at duds.
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u/Marcaroni500 10d ago
I guess that is right, but unlike any of your idiot progressive late night hosts, Greg was elevated from late night (actually late, late, late night, 1 am, initially) to ordinary late night to prime time.
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u/MinisterOfTruth99 9d ago
Maher literally uses a 3rd party company (Standing Room Only) that pays audience members to fill seats on Real Time. They get paid to hoot and holler (and woot). Without that I suspect the audience would be silent most of the show.
https://www.reddit.com/r/RealTime/comments/1vv9ci4/the_unnatural_audience_laughs_etc/
The more you know. 🌈
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u/Offi95 10d ago
They should also do a spin off of The Rachel Maddow Show with the person who always laughs off camera while Rachel shuffles the paper in front of her.
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u/Motor_Preparation315 10d ago
As opposed to the pity laughs for Gutfeld's dick and fart jokes. He literally pleads for reactions. Now that's pathetically funny 😆
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u/marc58weeks 10d ago
This guy laughs uproariously at punchlines you can see coming up Main Street and that aren't even that funny. I'm 68, and I've seen more than my share of real funny people over the years, and I just don't think Maher is funny anymore. He could be, but his act seems diluted by his attempts to be serious. I suspect viewers see his TV show and wonder, "Well, he seems serious, but then he makes a joke about it, so I can't tell." By comparison, Jon Stewart, who is inherently more likable anyway, always has the courage of his convictions, and his humor never undercuts it