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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchABC canceled Bill Maher’s Politically Incorrect in May 2002 and planned to replace it with a new late-night entertainment show led by Jimmy Kimmel. The decision came months after Maher’s controversial post-9/11 remarks triggered advertiser withdrawals and affiliate preemptions. Maher said the controversy cost him his job; ABC denied that the remarks drove its decision and cited a programming shift. Contemporary reports also noted declining ratings, so the available evidence does not establish a single definitive cause.
What happened to Bill Maher’s show?
Politically Incorrect was a topical panel talk show in which Maher and guests—including celebrities and political figures—discussed politics, religion and popular culture. ABC announced in May 2002 that it was canceling the program and planned a Kimmel-led entertainment show for the late-night slot. The announcement followed the controversy over Maher’s comments after the September 11 attacks.
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At the time, ABC chairman Lloyd Braun described the choice as a programming strategy: “We made a decision to go with straight entertainment programming in late-night.” The Associated Press reported the cancellation announcement and Braun’s explanation in its May 14, 2002 report.
What did Maher say after 9/11?
On the September 17, 2001 episode, during a discussion of whether the hijackers were cowards, Maher said: “We have been the cowards, lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away.” The remark was reported at the time by the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times.
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Maher later said his criticism was aimed at politicians who authorize long-distance attacks, not at U.S. servicemembers. His clarification did not prevent the comment from generating a public backlash.
What consequences followed the controversy?
FedEx and Sears withdrew advertising, and some ABC affiliates stopped airing the program. Those withdrawals affected the show’s advertising and distribution, but they do not, by themselves, prove why ABC ultimately canceled it. The sequence and competing explanations were described in contemporaneous accounts by the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times.
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Did ABC cancel the show because of Maher’s remarks?
The public record contains competing accounts. ABC chairman Lloyd Braun said the comments had nothing to do with the network’s decision and framed the change as a move toward straight entertainment with greater long-term potential. Maher believed the controversy was connected to losing his position. After taping the final episode, he told the Associated Press, “That was just the straw that broke the camel’s back,” and said he did not regret the remark.
Ratings and ABC’s broader late-night plans were also part of the context. The Los Angeles Times reported that the show was averaging roughly 2.5 million viewers per night at the time; the Associated Press described its ratings as having declined in recent years. The figure is an approximate contemporary report, not a full ratings history, and it does not establish ABC’s motive. The same period included ABC’s effort to build a late-night entertainment franchise and its attempts to recruit David Letterman.
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For that reason, it is more accurate to say the cancellation came amid the controversy than to claim the available reporting proves ABC canceled the show solely because of Maher’s comment—or solely because of ratings. The Associated Press’s June 2002 account records Maher’s view and ABC’s denial.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When did the show end, and when did Kimmel take over?
ABC announced the cancellation on May 14, 2002. Maher taped the final episode in June; the Associated Press reported it was scheduled to air that Friday. Kimmel’s program did not begin immediately: ABC’s announcement pointed to a January launch, and the Los Angeles Times reported January 27, 2003, as the planned premiere. Kimmel was therefore the planned successor for the late-night slot, not the host of a show that replaced Maher on the night of the cancellation announcement.
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Retrospective coverage likewise describes the cancellation in the wake of the controversy while distinguishing that timing from proof of a direct cause: see Forbes’ September 17, 2025 account.
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