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Season guide

Real Time with Bill Maher: Season 17

35 episodes Premiered Jan 18, 2019 Updated Sep 25, 2026

Previously on Real Time with Bill Maher

Season 17 Lore Primer

Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.

⚡ Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Real Time with Bill Maher Season 16.
⚡ Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
⚡ Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
⚡ Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.

Season 17 Episodes

Episode Guide

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Season 17 Progress Shield

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Season 17: Filler vs. Essential Canon

Filter episodes by narrative weight. Focus on essential mytharc and skip standalone side quests.

91%

Mytharc (3): Crucial lore & season climaxes

Core (32): Character development & subplots

Side Quest (0): Standalone / filler

S17·E1 Mytharc

Episode 481

Jan 18, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: John Kasich, Marshawn Lynch, Erick Erickson, Barney Frank, Catherine Rampell.

S17·E2 Core

Episode 482

Jan 25, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Ann Coulter, Michael McFaul, Joshua Green, Dan Savage, Heather McGhee.

S17·E3 Core

Episode 483

Feb 1, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Will Hurd, Bill de Blasio, Peter Hamby, Jon Meacham, Jennifer Rubin.

S17·E4 Core

Episode 484

Feb 8, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Chris Christie, Eric Idle, Natasha Bertrand, Jack Kingston, Malcolm Nance.

S17·E5 Core

Episode 485

Feb 15, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Mayor Rahm Emanuel, John Legend, Paul Begala, David Frum & Maya Wiley.

S17·E6 Core

Episode 486

Feb 22, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Congressman Adam Schiff, Bernard-Henri Lévy, Donna Brazile, Claire McCaskill & Rick Wilson.

S17·E7 Core

Episode 487

Mar 8, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Matt Schlapp, Noah Rothman, Jonathan Alter, Mary Katharine Ham, Michael Steele.

S17·E8 Core

Episode 488

Mar 15, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Andrew McCabe, Andrew Gillum, John Heilemann, Jon Tester, Jessica Yellin.

S17·E9 Core

Episode 489

Mar 22, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Irshad Manji, Larry Charles, Kristen Soltis Anderson, Evelyn Farkas, Rep. Eric Swalwell.

S17·E10 Core

Episode 490

Mar 29, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Pete Buttigieg, Preet Bharara, S.E. Cupp, Elissa Slotkin, Andrew Sullivan.

S17·E11 Core

Episode 491

Apr 5, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Julian Castro, Chelsea Handler, Danielle Pletka, Gideon Rose, Salman Rushdie.

S17·E12 Core

Episode 492

Apr 12, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Seth Abramson, Dave Barry, Cornell Belcher, Wendy R. Sherman, Matt Welch.

S17·E13 Core

Episode 493

Apr 26, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Adam Schiff, Bob Costas, John Avlon, Zerlina Maxwell, Grover Norquist.

S17·E14 Core

Episode 494

May 3, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Jay Inslee, Moby, Bakari Sellers, Bret Stephens, Kara Swisher.

S17·E15 Core

Episode 495

May 10, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Michael Lewis, Tim Ryan, Nayyera Haq, Van Jones, Matt Lewis.

S17·E16 Core

Episode 496

May 17, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Fran Lebowitz, Jonathan Metzl, James Kirchick, George Packer, Neera Tanden.

S17·E17 Core

Episode 497

May 31, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: William Weld, John Waters, Kirsten Powers, Jonathan Swan, Lawrence Wilkerson.

S17·E18 Core

Episode 498

Jun 7, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Andrew Yang, Bret Easton Ellis, Charles Blow, Katie Porter, Clint Watts.

S17·E19 Core

Episode 499

Jun 14, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: George Will, Martin Short, Eliot Spitzer, Charlie Sykes, Bari Weiss.

S17·E20 Core

Episode 500

Jun 21, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Allan Lichtman, Dr. Debra Soh, Thom Hartmann, Liz Mair, Dan Savage.

S17·E21 Core

Episode 501

Jun 28, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Tulsi Gabbard, Seth MacFarlane, Max Brooks, Adam Gopnik, Joy Reid.

S17·E22 Core

Episode 502

Aug 2, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, journalist Josh Barro, former Governor of Michigan Jennifer Granholm, radio hos

S17·E23 Core

Episode 503

Aug 9, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Former Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe, NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel, author Tom Nichols, columnist Catherine Rampell, former White House Communi

S17·E24 Core

Episode 504

Aug 16, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Carl Hulse, Betsy Woodruff, Rick Wilson & Michael Render

S17·E25 Core

Episode 505

Aug 23, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Rep. Katie Porter, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Michael Smerconish, Eric Klinenberg & Kevin D. Williamson

S17·E26 Core

Episode 506

Sep 6, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Rep. Joe Walsh, Christina Hoff Sommers, Rep. John Delaney, María Teresa Kumar & Matt Welch

S17·E27 Core

Episode 507

Sep 13, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Michael Moore, Krystal Ball, Michael Steele, Fernand Amandi & Bari Weiss

S17·E28 Core

Episode 508

Sep 20, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Amb. Samantha Power, Heather McGhee, Tim Naftali, Andrew Sullivan & Sarah Haider

S17·E29 Core

Episode 509

Sep 27, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Gina McCarthy, Linette Lopez, Noah Rothman, Salman Rushdie & Barney Frank

S17·E30 Core

Episode 510

Oct 11, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Howard Stern, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Ben Domenech, Shawna Thomas & John Heilemann

S17·E31 Core

Episode 511

Oct 18, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Susan Rice, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Sam Stein, Danielle Pletka & Thomas Chatterton Williams

S17·E32 Core

Episode 512

Oct 25, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Zach Galifianakis, Chris Cuomo, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, Dan Carlin, Donny Deutsch.

S17·E33 Core

Episode 513

Nov 1, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Ronan Farrow, Rick Stengel, Christina Bellantoni, Dennis Prager, & Dr. Jay Gordon.

S17·E34 Mytharc

Episode 514

Nov 8, 2019 · 60 min

Guests: Judd Apatow, Gov. Steve Bullock, Rahm Emanuel, Steve Schmidt, and Judge Judy.

S17·E35 Mytharc

Episode 515

Nov 15, 2019 · 60 min

First interview: Sen. Sherrod Brown. On the panel: Ian Bremmer, Donna Brazile, Frank Bruni. Second interview: Jaime Harrison.