Editing Real Time with Bill Maher (section)

== Reception ==
=== Critical response ===
The response to the first season was mostly mixed. On [[Metacritic]], the season has a [[weighted average]] score of 43 out of 100 based on 5 critics' reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{cite web |title=Real Time with Bill Maher |url=https://www.metacritic.com/tv/real-time-with-bill-maher |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=2022-09-10 }}</ref> Nancy Franklin of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' said "There’s also more of Maher in the new show, and it’s no big surprise that more Maher is less. He’s a jerk of the old school, full of unexamined anxiety and arrogance, with a habit of using sexual stereotypes from half a century ago both to put down and to compliment people."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Boy Talk|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/03/17/boy-talk |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date=March 10, 2003 |access-date=2022-09-10 }}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' called the show "[[Fox News]] of the antiwar movement" and described it as "a flagrantly liberal talk show that provides like-minded viewers with instant gratification."<ref>{{cite news |title=TV WEEKEND; On New Liberal Show, The Wit Can Wound |work=The New York Times |date=March 14, 2003 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/14/movies/tv-weekend-on-new-liberal-show-the-wit-can-wound.html |access-date=2022-09-10 |last1=Stanley |first1=Alessandra }}</ref>

Television host [[Larry King]] called ''Real Time'' "one of the best shows on television".<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 23, 2004 |title=CNN.com – Transcripts |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0411/23/lkl.01.html |access-date=April 12, 2010 |publisher=Transcripts.cnn.com}}</ref> Maher was a regular guest on ''[[Larry King Live]]'' as well as co-host at various times, and co-emcee of the final show, along with [[Ryan Seacrest]].<ref name=king-goodbye>{{Cite news |title=Bill Maher helps Larry King say goodbye |work=Mediaite |url=http://www.mediaite.com/tv/bill-maher-helps-larry-king-say-goodbye/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706044557/http://www.mediaite.com/tv/bill-maher-helps-larry-king-say-goodbye/ |archive-date=July 6, 2010 <!--DASHBot-->}}</ref><ref name="TVguide">{{Cite web |last=Rowe |first=Douglas J. |date=December 16, 2010 |title=Surrounded by Famous Fans, Larry King Ends His 25-Year Run on CNN |url=http://www.tvguide.com/News/Larry-King-Ends-1026885.aspx |access-date=November 7, 2011 |publisher=TV Guide}}</ref>

[[Common Sense Media]]'s website says, "Comedian Bill Maher is very funny, very well-informed, and very insightful, but he's also very crass."  It later says, "Maher also expects his audience to have plenty of tolerance for blue humor. His jokes are profane and riddled with explicit sexual references, and he often pokes fun at the use and abuse of alcohol and other intoxicants. It's funny, but it's very much aimed at adults."  The site gives ''Real Time with Bill Maher'' an "overall quality" rating of 4 out of 5 stars.<ref name="CSMedia">{{Cite web |date=February 27, 2008 |title=Real Time with Bill Maher – Television Review |url=http://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/real-time-with-bill-maher |access-date=April 27, 2013 |publisher=Common Sense Media}}</ref>

''Ruthless Reviews'' was also positive, saying, "Maher's show is as good as ever, which means that the sacred and the profane continue to be discussed with intelligence, humor, and the occasional silliness" and that it "works so well because he selects provocative guests and I can't remember the panel ever having a dull conversation. Maher is smart and witty (and clearly in control), which means that he won't let his guests get away with bullshit."<ref name="Ruthless">{{Cite web |date=November 23, 2008 |title=Television Review of Real Time |url=http://www.ruthlessreviews.com/reviews.cfm/id/454/page/real_time.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123013005/http://www.ruthlessreviews.com/reviews.cfm/id/454/page/real_time.html |archive-date=November 23, 2008 |access-date=April 27, 2013 |publisher=RuthlessReviews.com (archived)}}</ref>

=== Bibliography ===
Three books by Maher based on the show have been published:
* ''[[New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer]]'' ([[Rodale, Inc.|Rodale Books]], 2005)
* ''[[The New New Rules: A Funny Look at How Everybody but Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass]]'' ([[Penguin Books|Blue Rider Press]], 2011)
* What This Comedian Said Will Shock You ([[Simon & Schuster]], 2024)

=== Award nominations ===
The show was nominated for a [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series]] every year from 2005 through 2014 and for a [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Talk Series]] in 2016 and 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Real Time with Bill Maher – Awards & Nominations |url=http://www.emmys.com/shows/real-time-bill-maher |access-date=August 1, 2016 |publisher=[[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]]}}</ref>