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For the final show of the year, SNL "Weekend Update's" Colin Jost and Michael Che unleashed a brutal edition of their annual joke swap.
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Bill Maher, Scab? WGAW Pres. Addresses Issue; "Power" Picket Planned
WGA West President Meredith Stiehm discussed union member Bill Maher bringing his show back; Courtney Kemp has planned a "Power" picket line.
A day after HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher host & WGA Member Bill Maher took to Twitter/X to announce that his show would be returning "sans writers or writing" despite the ongoing WGA & SAG-AFTRA strikes, the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher host & WGA Member was put on notice regarding the strike rules and that the union would be picketing the show. During an interview on CNN's The Lead With Jake Tapper, WGA West President Meredith Stiehm addressed the matter, noting a key, essential difference between Drew Barrymore (who also brought her show back) and Maher.
"There is a distinction between Bill Maher and the others because he is a Writers Guild member. The others, I believe, are SAG members, and they may have waivers to do the shows. I'm not sure. But he's a Writers Guild member, and he's going back to work, so yes, a lot of people are saying that's scabbing. There's definitely some anger that he's doing that," Stiehm explained.
And it looks like "Power" franchise creator Courtney Kemp is hoping people "Come out and really screw up Bill Maher's Day!" on Tuesday, September 19th (10 am – 12 pm). "The Power Universe is canceling Christmas at CBS Television City!" was the message from "Power" producer Safia Dirie that Kemp reposted. And when original series cast member Dominic Colón offered to get something started on the NYC side of the country, Kemp offered an "Absolutely!"
"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. I will honor the spirit of the strike by not doing a monologue, desk piece, 'New Rules,' or editorial, the written pieces that I am so proud of on 'Real Time.' And I'll say it upfront to the audience: the show I will be doing without my writers will not be as good as our normal show, full stop. But the heart of the show is an off-the-cuff panel discussion that aims to cut through the bullshit and predictable partisanship, and that will continue. The show will not disappoint."
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