Bill Maher

Biography: Boasting an acute wit, a mane of gray hair and an incredulous smirk that punctuates his political punch lines, Maher has made a career out of ridiculing those in power. He spent the late 1970s and early 1980s honing his comedic skills on the stand-up circuit and his tenacity paid off with supporting film and TV roles, although the projects were often pretty low-rent (D.C. Cab, House II: The Second Story). In 1993 he launched the humorous roundtable series Politically Incorrect on Comedy Central, which migrated to ABC in 1997. As the show's irreverent moderator, Maher was simultaneously charming and exasperating (but never dull) and often played devil's advocate to stir up his guests, among them big-name actors, journalists and politicians. His career hit a roadblock in 2002 when his series was canceled after he made some controversial comments about Sept. 11. (Oddly, coming to his defense at the time, from the other end of the political spectrum, was Rush Limbaugh.) But theBoasting an acute wit, a mane of gray hair and an incredulous smirk that punctuates his political punch lines, Maher has made a career out of ridiculing those in power. He spent the late 1970s and early 1980s honing his comedic skills on the stand-up circuit and his tenacity paid off with supporting film and TV roles, although the projects were often pretty low-rent (D.C. Cab, House II: The Second Story). In 1993 he launched the humorous roundtable series Politically Incorrect on Comedy Central, which migrated to ABC in 1997. As the show's irreverent moderator, Maher was simultaneously charming and exasperating (but never dull) and often played devil's advocate to stir up his guests, among them big-name actors, journalists and politicians. His career hit a roadblock in 2002 when his series was canceled after he made some controversial comments about Sept. 11. (Oddly, coming to his defense at the time, from the other end of the political spectrum, was Rush Limbaugh.) But the next year Maher returned to the small screen on HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher and the host seemed more agitated---and more liberal---than ever. (Though he has called himself a Libertarian, he admits his fans tend to be liberals.) As of early 2010, he held the record for most Emmy losses, at 22 nominations without a win. Expand

Bill Maher's Scores

Average career score: 67
Highest Metascore: 97 The Larry Sanders Show: Season 5
Lowest Metascore: 43 Real Time With Bill Maher: Season 1
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 14
  2. Negative: 0 out of 14
14 tv reviews
Title: Year: Credit: User score:
tbd Real Time With Bill Maher: Season 8 Feb 19, 2010 Host / Executive Producer / Bill Maher / Host / Bill Maher 7.7
tbd The Sarah Silverman Program: Season 3 Feb 4, 2010 Himself tbd
48 The Jay Leno Show : Season 1 Sep 14, 2009 Guest 3.6
tbd Late Show with David Letterman: Season 17 Sep 1, 2009 Guest tbd
tbd Real Time With Bill Maher: Season 7 Feb 20, 2009 Himself / Writer / Executive Producer / Bill Maher / Host / Bill Maher 8.5
tbd Iconoclasts: Season 4 Oct 16, 2008 Himself / Bill Maher tbd
tbd The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Season 17 Sep 15, 2008 Guest tbd
tbd The Ellen DeGeneres Show: Season 6 Sep 8, 2008 Guest 7.8
63 True Blood: Season 1 Sep 7, 2008 Himself 8.1
tbd The View: Season 12 Sep 2, 2008 Bill Maher tbd
tbd Real Time With Bill Maher: Season 6 Jan 11, 2008 Host / Executive Producer / Host 8.0
tbd Jimmy Kimmel Live: Season 6 Jan 3, 2008 Bill Maher tbd
tbd Late Show with David Letterman: Season 15 Oct 2, 2007 Guest tbd
tbd The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Season 16 Sep 17, 2007 Guest tbd
tbd Real Time With Bill Maher: Season 5 Feb 16, 2007 Himself / Writer / Executive Producer / Bill Maher / Host / Bill Maher 8.3
tbd The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Season 15 Sep 18, 2006 Guest / Guest tbd
tbd The View: Season 10 Sep 4, 2006 Bill Maher tbd
tbd Real Time With Bill Maher: Season 4 Feb 17, 2006 Himself / Writer / Executive Producer / Bill Maher / Host / Bill Maher 8.3
tbd The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Season 14 Sep 19, 2005 Guest / Guest tbd
tbd Late Show with David Letterman: Season 13 Sep 8, 2005 Guest tbd
tbd Larry King Live: Season 22 Sep 1, 2005 Guest Host tbd
tbd Real Time With Bill Maher: Season 3 Feb 18, 2005 Himself / Executive Producer / Bill Maher / Host / Bill Maher 8.3
tbd The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Season 13 Sep 20, 2004 Guest / Guest tbd
tbd MADtv: Season 10 Sep 18, 2004 Guest tbd
tbd Steve Harvey's Big Time Challenge: Season 2 Sep 12, 2004 Guest tbd
tbd Late Show with David Letterman: Season 12 Aug 25, 2004 Guest tbd
tbd Real Time With Bill Maher: Season 2 Jan 16, 2004 Himself / Executive Producer / Bill Maher / Host / Bill Maher 8.4
tbd The View: Season 7 Sep 8, 2003 Himself / Bill Maher tbd
tbd The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Season 12 Sep 2, 2003 Guest / Guest tbd
43 Real Time With Bill Maher: Season 1 Feb 21, 2003 Himself / Executive Producer / Bill Maher / Host 6.9