HBO Stops Production on Two Huge Shows Amid Writers Strike

By Michael Hein

HBO has halted production on both of its late-night comedy talk shows in light of the Writers Guild of America strike. When the strike officially began on Monday, it was not clear whether Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Real Time with Bill Maher would need to go off the air immediately or if they had some material prepared ahead of time. On Tuesday, Variety reported that both shows are in fact off the air for now.

HBO will cease live production of Real Time with Bill Maher and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, both of which typically air once per week rather than four or five nights a week as their broadcast and cable counterparts do. Oliver's show generally sticks to one long scripted story per night, but he often touches on the headlines of the week, acknowledging when a story has broken right before filming. Screenwriters of all styles have halted their work this week as their union, the Writers Guild of America, seeks a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

Writers and producers from many late-night shows have already spoken out publicly, including Seth Meyers who voiced support for his writing staff on his show. Little has been heard directly from Oliver or Maher, but comedian Josh Gondelman who wrote on the show from 2015 to 2017 spoke with reporters from a picket line on Tuesday in a video that has picked up a lot of steam online.

"The solidarity is really impressive, and it's not surprising!" he said. Gondelman went on to write for the Showtime late-night show Desus & Mero from 2019 to 2022 before the show came to an abrupt end. In general, late-night shows are often the first to feel the impact of writers strikes as they rely on WGA members to amass new material throughout more of the year than scripted TV shows.

The major broadcast late-night shows all shut down immediately – The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live and Late Night with Seth Meyers. On Monday night's show, Meyers voiced his support for the strike, saying: "I love writing. I love writing for TV. I love writing this show. I love that we get to come in with an idea for what we want to do every day and we get to work on it all afternoon and then I have the pleasure of coming out here. No one is entitled to a job in show business. But for those people who have a job, they are entitled to fair compensation. They are entitled to make a living. I think it's a very reasonable demand that's being set out by the guild. And I support those demands."

The WGA is seeking higher minimum wages for its members in this year's contract renewal to reflect inflation, as well as new assurances of job security including protections against artificial intelligence software and "day rate" arrangements. The last writer's strike in 2007 was primarily about streamers using WGA laborers in the same way that networks do, and it lasted for 100 days. So far, there's no telling how long this strike will go on or how much it may impact the TV and movie slate for the years the come.

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