[22] He later appeared in Ratboy (1986),[22] House II: The Second Story (1987),[22] Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (1988),[22] Newhart (1988), hosted the talk show Midnight Hour on CBS (1990) and Pizza Man (1991).

On June 22, 2002, six days after the cancellation of Politically Incorrect, Maher received the Los Angeles Press Club president's award (for "championing free speech").

[29] Maher was on the board of judges for the 2002 PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award, which included writer Vanessa Leggett, imprisoned for 168 days for protecting sources and research notes.

[32] During an interview, Maher told Terry Gross (on NPR's Fresh Air) that he much prefers having serious and well-informed guests on his program, as opposed to the random celebrities that fleshed out his roundtable discussions on Politically Incorrect.

[33] As with his previous show, Politically Incorrect, Maher begins Real Time with a comic opening monologue based upon current events and other topical issues.

Maher has regularly appeared on CNN's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer[36] and has also been a frequent guest on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews,[37] The Rachel Maddow Show,[38] and Countdown with Keith Olbermann.

The show featured a rotating cast of over 160 celebrities, including Andy Richter (Jesus), Richard Belzer, Dave Thomas, Traci Lords, Craig Bierko, Sarah Silverman, and Julia Sweeney.

[44] Maher and director Larry Charles teamed up to make the movie Religulous, described by trade publication Variety as a documentary "that spoofs religious extremism across the world".

[52] On March 21, 2022, Maher launched a podcast titled Club Random, a series hosting one-on-one interviews with guests, recorded in his bar at home, where he discusses everything except politics.

[53] In February 2024, Maher revealed that he decided not to release a two-hour interview with Kanye West recorded for Club Random because of the rapper's recent antisemitic comments.

[54] In March 2024, Maher announced that he was starting a podcast network with Chris Casey and Chuck LaBella called Club Random Studios.

[55] On March 15, 2024, it was revealed that Maher ended his affiliation with the CAA talent agency after being snubbed from Bryan Lourd's private Oscar party.

Maher aimed to help oust that representative by shining a "national spotlight" on the politician during segments of his show and stand-up comedy appearances in that member's district during the Fall election.

[74][75] Maher ultimately selected Republican Representative John Kline from Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, but he failed to prevent him from winning against his Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party opponent Mike Obermueller.

[77] In October 2016, Maher criticized WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for publishing leaks from the DNC's emails, saying: "I really feel like he's lost his way a little, and he hates Hillary.

"[78] On March 31, 2017, following her defeat, Maher responded on air to suggestions Clinton was ready to end her low profile and speak out: "Hillary, stay in the woods.

Maher asserted, "I got no help from the New York Times, Washington Post, [or] CNN", adding that the media "should have amplified" the severity of Trump's threats that he would refuse to concede or commit to a peaceful transition of power.

[88] On June 7, 2013, Maher expressed on his show limited support for the NSA's PRISM intelligence data collection from private phone calls and the Internet, saying that the threat of terrorists obtaining and using nuclear weapons was the tipping point for him.

[97] In 2015, Maher criticized Barack Obama's visit to Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. ally, saying: "Stop respecting their medieval bullshit under the guise of, 'It's their culture.

He argues that Israel is still showing restraint, and he finds it ironic that the same people who were incredulous over how the Jews in World War II were led "to their slaughter" cannot understand why they are defending themselves now.

"[107] In April 2020, Maher criticized those who equated using the term "Wuhan virus" with racism, stating, "Scientists...have been naming diseases after the places they came from for a very long time.

[110] Following the episode, HBO sent a statement to media outlets, calling Maher's remarks "inexcusable and tasteless", and said the cable network would remove that segment from future airings of the show.

[144] Citing studies and poll results by Pew Research Center, the World Economic Forum and others, Maher says the human rights violations and "illiberal ideas" found in Islam are not extremist views held by a small minority but are supported by a majority of citizens in Muslim countries.

[142][145] Regarding the more recent publicity generated by his stance in the ongoing debate, Maher says he thinks people are finally paying closer attention to a conversation that they need to have.

[146] He was an advisory board member of author Sam Harris's Project Reason, a foundation that promotes scientific knowledge and secular values within society.

In an episode of his show about the 2008 presidential candidates' health plans, Maher stated that poor nutrition was a primary cause of illness, and that "the answer isn't another pill.

[160] Infectious diseases expert Paul Offit wrote that misinformation about vaccines from celebrities like Maher has put children at unnecessary risk.

[168] On April 16, 2021, Maher called media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic "panic porn" and added that "When all of our sources for medical information have an agenda to spin us, yeah, you wind up with a badly misinformed population, including on the left.

The incident drew significant media attention and praise from Fox News talk show host and frequent critic John Gibson.

In November 2004, at the end of their 17-month relationship, Johnsen sued Maher for US$9 million for "pain and suffering" for alleged "insulting, humiliating and degrading racial comments."