Bill Maher Reveals He May Be Leaving Stand-Up Comedy “After This Year,” But Leaves The Door Open For A Return

Bill Maher recently shared a surprising update on his stand-up career — fittingly enough, while sitting down with fellow stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld.

On Sunday’s (May 5) episode of Maher’s Club Random podcast, he lauded the Unfrosted director for being “known as the purest of the pure stand-ups,” which led him to break the news that he was “nervous” to share with him.

“After this year, I’m going to stop doing it,” Maher disclosed, referring to stand-up, per Entertainment Weekly.

After a surprised Seinfeld asked, “Really?,” Maher conceded, “I could go back. I don’t want to make a big announcement or something.”

He explained that he’s “doing a special at the end of the year,” which will mark his 13th special for HBO. His most recent stand-up special at the network, #Adulting, aired in 2022.

“That’s a lot,” he said, which Seinfeld echoed.

Maher noted that he “put[s] a lot of time and effort into it,” likening stand-up to “playing the cello.”

“You can’t just walk up there. You have to stay in practice,” he continued. “And I do, I’ve always loved it. And I’m always working on it. But I have a show.”

Maher was referring to his HBO program Real Time with Bill Maher, which he began hosting in 2003 after helming Politically Incorrect from 1993-2002. Seinfeld told Maher, “I don’t know how you kept it up during the show, or frankly, why. But you did.”

In turn, Maher noted that the two gigs “fed each other,” but also explained that he “love[s]” stand-up, which he said is where he “can be the loosest” in comparison to his show and podcast.

“If I don’t have to practice the cello eight hours a day, I might want to do some of these kinds of things live,” he proposed, referring to his podcast. “That’s kind of an interesting option that people do nowadays. It’s kind of an event.”

In spite of his potential departure from stand-up, Maher still left the door open for a comedy comeback.

“After 40 years, that’s why I don’t want to make an announcement like, ‘This is my final…,'” he clarified. “I might change my mind. It might be like cutting off a limb, and I have to go back to it.”

Watch Maher and Seinfeld’s conversation above.