In the lead-up to the 20th season of Real Time With Bill Maher , Maher spoke with Deadline about what this season had in store — and shared his frustrations about pandemic life. “I’m over Covid,” he said in the interview. “I was never scared of it. I was always scared of the reaction to it, and as this has played out that only proved to be more true for me.” It was a sentiment he echoed in the opening monologue, which found him pondering the things that had changed since he was last on the air. This included his birthday, which had been the day before. “I don’t see myself becoming older,” Maher said. “I see myself becoming a milder variant.” Maher went on to note that the episode was taping on the two-year anniversary of the first COVID-19 case documented in the United States — an unsettling milestone. “Hopefully we’re getting out of this sh*t soon,” Maher said. “I can’t take it much more.” And then he shifted gears, pointing out that 2022 was also the year in which the film … [Read more...] about Season 20 of “Real Time With Bill Maher” Begins With Talk of Coups and COVID