Politically Incorrect(stylized asPOLITICALLY INCOrrECT) is an American late-night, half-hour politicaltalk showhosted byBill Maherthat aired from July 25, 1993, to July 5, 2002. It premiered onComedy Centralin July 1993 and aired for three seasons until November 5, 1996; amid its success on Comedy Central,ABCexpressed interest in bringing the show to the network to shore up its late-night lineup, moving there on January 5, 1997.
| Politically Incorrect | |
|---|---|
 Title card used during the ABC run | |
| Genre | Talk show |
| Written by | Scott Carter Bill Maher |
| Starring | Bill Maher |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No.of seasons | 8 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | HBO Downtown Productions Comedy Central Productions(1993–1997) Brillstein-Grey Entertainment(1997–1999) Brad Grey Television(1999–2002) |
| Original release | |
| Network | Comedy Central(1993–1997) ABC(1997–2002) |
| Release | July 25, 1993– July 5, 2002 |
| Related | |
| Real Time with Bill Maher | |
On September 17, 2001, Maher criticizedUnited States foreign policyon the show and argued that the perpetrators of theSeptember 11 terrorist attacks,"although terrible people," were not cowards. "Whatwascowardly, "he argued," was America's relationship with the rest of the world. "The comments were widely condemned,[1]and while Maher later apologized and clarified the meaning behind his comments, major advertisers stopped advertising with the show. As a result, the show was canceled in 2002.[2]
The show first originated fromNew York City,but soon moved toLos Angeles.The New York episodes were shot at theCBS Broadcast Centerand the Los Angeles episodes atCBS Television City,where it remained even after its move to ABC.
The first episode featured comedianJerry Seinfeld,Howard Sternco-hostRobin Quivers,Republican PartystrategistEd Rollins,and comedianLarry Miller.Frequent guests includedDave Matthews,Arianna Huffington,Michael McKean,Ann Coulter,Carrot Top,andChristine O'Donnell.[3]
Format
edit
The show began with a brief topical monologue from Maher. Then Maher introduces the guests individually, promoting their current projects. Four guests appear, usually a mix of individuals fromshow business,popular culture,pundits,political consultants,and occasionally regular people in the news, discussing topics in the news selected by Maher. Maher described the program as "The McLaughlin Grouponacid."[4]
On rare occasions, Maher would interview a single guest. The show was pioneering in mi xing political figures and entertainers. Maher tried to air all points of view, especially controversial ones. Guests could be both aggravating and insightful, with the conversation similar to acocktail partywith quick-witted guests.[4]
Writers
editThe show's writers includedAl Franken,Arianna Huffington,Kevin Bleyer,Scott Carter, and Chris Kelly.
9/11 controversy and cancellation
editOn September 11, 2001, conservative political commentatorBarbara Olsonwas on her way to Los Angeles to appear as a guest onPolitically Incorrect,whenthe airplane she was onwas hijacked and flown intothe Pentagonduring theSeptember 11 attacks.
In the aftermath of the attacks, U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bushsaid that the terrorists responsible were cowards. During the September 17, 2001 episode, one of Maher's guests,Dinesh D'Souza,said "These are warriors. And we have to realize that the principles of our way of life are in conflict with people in the world. And so - I mean, I'm all for understanding the sociological causes of this, but we should not blame the victim. Americans shouldn't blame themselves because other people want to bomb them."[5]Maher agreed, and replied: "We have been the cowards, lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, [it's] not cowardly."[1]Similar comments were made by others in other media.[1]
Advertisers withdrew their support, and some ABCaffiliatesstopped airing the show temporarily.[1]White House press secretaryAri Fleischerdenounced Maher, warning that "people have to watch what they say and watch what they do."[6]Maher apologized, and explained that he had been criticizing U.S. military policy, not American soldiers.[7]
The show was canceled the following June, which Maher and many others saw as a result of the controversy, although ABC denied that the controversy was a factor and said the program was canceled due to declining ratings.[8][9][10]Maher said that the show struggled for advertisers in its final months.[11]There were subsequently comments in various media on the irony that a show calledPolitically Incorrectwas canceled because its host had made a supposedly politically incorrect comment.[12][13]
The show was replaced on ABC byJimmy Kimmel Live!in 2003.
Maher rebounded with an hour-long weekly program onHBOcalledReal Time with Bill Maherpremiering on February 21, 2003, which follows a similar format.
Awards and recognition
editThe show won a 2000Emmy Awardfor "Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Series." In addition, it was nominated for seventeen other awards, including: "Outstanding Variety"; "Outstanding Music or Comedy Series" (every year from 1995 to 2002); and "Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Music Program" in 1997. The show also won twoCableACE Awardsin 1995 and 1996 for Talk Show Series and was nominated for a third in 1997. It was also nominated for twoWriters Guild of Americaawards for best Comedy/Variety series in 2001 and 2002.[14]
Related media
editMaher released a book in 1997,Does Anybody Have a Problem with That? The Best of Politically Incorrect,which featured questions asked on the show, comments Maher made and guest answers. In 2003 anaudiobookPOLITICAL INCORRECTIONS: The Best Opening Monologues from Politically Incorrect with Bill Maherwas released, which featured opening monologues from the show accompanied by explanations of the current affairs that were being discussed in the media at that time.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abcdBohlen, Celestine. (2001-09-21.)"Think tank; In new war on terrorism, words are weapons, too".The New York Timesonline archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
- ^"'Politically Incorrect' Canceled; ABC Goes With Jimmy Kimmel ".Los Angeles Times.May 15, 2002.
- ^"Christine O'Donnell: 'I Dabbled in Witchcraft'".ABC News.Retrieved2010-09-29.
- ^abCarter, Bill (1994-02-27)."TELEVISION; Lots of Political Humor, and No Morton Kondracke".The New York Times.Retrieved2008-01-17.
- ^Brownfield, Paul (2001-09-26)."Troubled Timing Takes Maher Beyond 'Politically Incorrect'".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved2024-04-10.
- ^Carter, Bill; Barringer, Felicity (2001-09-28)"A nation challenged: Speech and expression; in patriotic time, dissent is muted".The New York Timesonline archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
- ^Harrington, Matt (2001-09-24)."'Politically Incorrect' suspended by local ABC affiliate ".Triad Business Journal.Retrieved2015-09-19.
- ^(2003-05-05.)"Maher: Politically incorrect on broadway".CBS Newswebsite. Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
- ^Kirn, Walter. (2002-05-26.)"The way we live now: 5-26-02; The end of the affair".The New York Timesonline archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
- ^"Maher tapes final episode of 'Politically Incorrect'".USA Todayonline, retrieved on 2007-10-09.
- ^Maher, Bill. (2006-09-10.)"When can we finally be funny again?"The Los Angeles TimesRetrieved 2007-10-09.
- ^"Archived copy"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2016-03-05.Retrieved2016-06-29.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^"Boston Legal: Schadenfreude"(PDF).Boston Legal.Retrieved2016-06-29.
- ^"Awards for" Politically Incorrect "".IMDb.Retrieved2009-06-20.