Election Day is over, the President-elect has been selected and Bill Maher took to the Real Time stage to a thorough round of applause. “That’s the right attitude,” he said. “We’re still going to have fun.” Maher was in a more dour mode than usual, for understandable reasons — he’d predicted a Harris win before the election, and he’s also been sued by Donald Trump in the past.
Of the incoming Trump administration, Maher struck a note of caution regarding what’s to come. “Now they have reality they have to deal with. We’ll see what they do,” he said. Later in his monologue, he expanded on this: “[Trump] got a lot of people who say they just want to see what he’ll do. I call this the ‘get the cat high’ vote.”
His first guest was Michael Douglas, there to talk about the general state of politics in the country and promoting the documentary America’s Burning, which he produced and narrated. Their first point of conversation wasn’t anything to do with Douglas’s own career, but was instead his late father Kirk Douglas. Of that, Maher told Douglas, “You make nepo babies look good.”
Apparently the elder Douglas was a fan of Maher’s work. His son told Maher about the last year of his father’s life, when “the only things he would watch were Ultimate Fighting and you.” Maher, for his part recalled the “many, many notes” the star of Spartacus sent him.
Douglas brought up a point that many pundits have in the wake of the election: the fact that incumbent parties all over the globe — and all over the political spectrum — suffered as a result of inflation. Douglas also compared the stock market’s rise over the last 40 years to a much smaller gain in actual wages for workers.
Later, the two men discussed Douglas’s film career, which led to the unexpected sight of Maher essentially pitching Douglas — specifically, suggesting that he make a film about the media. “You are not too old to play Rupert Murdoch,” Maher said.
It was part of a larger argument Maher made — that many of the highlights of Douglas’s career had also reckoned with larger societal issues, from The China Syndrome to Traffic. This prompted Maher to revisit Falling Down, and the two men shared their memories of working with Joel Schumacher. “How come I get D.C. Cab and you get Falling Down?” Maher asked.
Maher also brought up Douglas’s recent performance as Ben Franklin. How would he have reacted to the recent election? “I think he’d have another drink,” Douglas replied.
A Pre-Election “Real Time With Bill Maher” Took a (Mostly) Serious Turn
That said, the episode did also muse on No Nut November’s political ramificationsSome other notable moments from the episode:
- Maher on his side ventures: “I own a pot store, do you know that? Woody Harrelson and I. Big shock, right?”
- Maher on No Nut November: “I believe that masturbation is good for the body and mind, like pickleball.”
- Maher on AI: “I don’t want that nosy little bitch in my phone.”
- Puck’s John Heilemann and The Dispatch’s Sarah Isgur joined Maher for the panel discussion.
- During New Rules, Maher brought up a subject that neither major-party presidential candidate had raised in their campaigns: the state of pollution in the world’s oceans. “We found a way to drown fish,” he said at one point, and you could hear the hushed response from the audience.
- There will be two more Real Time episodes this season. Next year will also bring a new stand-up special from Maher.
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