Posted in: HBO, Max, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: Bill Maher, opinion, Real Time

Bill Maher: Some Late-Night Shows "Echo" What "Liberal Audience" Wants

Bill Maher on if he's in the same group as Kimmel, Fallon, Colbert, and Meyers, and how shows "echo" what their "liberal audience" wants.

When it comes to late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, and Seth Meyers, HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher host Bill Maher doesn't see himself as a member of their "late-night" club. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter while promoting his HBO show as well as his special, Bill Maher: Is Anyone Else Seeing This?, Maher didn't mince words when asked: "No." As for why he feels that way, Maher sees it having to do with his approach to late-night as opposed to those who "have to appeal to what the audience, which is a completely liberal audience, thinks" and that they "just have to echo what they already want to believe and do believe." Yes, Maher found a way to elevate himself and passive-aggressively take a swipe at some others in the process.

"Some of them I don't know at all. Some of them, like Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon, I know and love. But it's so interesting when I started doing [previous ABC late-night series] 'Politically Incorrect,' they said, 'You can't do a show where you have political opinions because the audience will turn off to that.' Johnny Carson always played it down the middle. You didn't even know who he voted for. Same with Letterman and Leno. That was the template," Maher elaborated.

He continued, "Now, it's completely the opposite. The politics come first on those shows. You have to appeal to what the audience, which is a completely liberal audience, thinks — you just have to echo what they already want to believe and do believe. That's not what I do, and I'm not going to do that. I'm going to talk to both sides and criticize both sides." While we're not surprised that Maher would name Fallon based on the "Pee-wee's Playhouse"-type show Fallon runs, it's interesting that he praised Kimmel because the argument could easily be made that ABC's late-night host wears his politics on his sleeve just as much as Colbert and Meyers do. Also, we're curious if Maher was including Jon Stewart and Comedy Central's The Daily Show in his response.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!