MSNBC's Newest Host: Bill Maher? Could Happen

MSNBC wants to create a new show to fill its 10 p.m. hour. Might Bill Maher be its host?

It's widely known in the cable news world that the third-place network has a longstanding interest in Maher, who now hosts a weekly current-events chat program, Real Time, on HBO. He's an obvious choice, having hosted his own daily talk show, Politically Incorrect, until ABC canceled him in 2002, a few months after the comedian made some poorly-received remarks about the Sept. 11 hijackers.

Though more libertarian than strictly liberal, Maher's politics make him a good fit with MSNBC's audience, which has grown in direct proportion to the network's enthusiasm for the Democratic party. One caveat: Maher would probably be expensive (although Chris Matthews's recent pay cut, from $5 million a year to around $2 million, frees up some cash for that).

I reached out to reps for Maher and MSNBC to ask whether anything's in the works. Nothing yet. (Update: An MSNBC rep says, "We have not had any conversation with him or gone after him.") In the meantime, let's think about the other possibilities: MSNBC could create a show for Chuck Todd, the boyish political whiz who, though lacking polish, nevertheless was a strong contender for replacing the late Tim Russert at Meet the Press. It could move Chris Matthews's Hardball from its berth at 5 p.m., although that would create a double vacuum earlier in the evening (Hardball repeats at 7). It could lure away Alan Colmes from Fox News, where he's just marking time now that Sean Hannity's gone solo. Or it could just do what it did last time and let Keith Olbermann install the protégé of his choice.

Related: TVNewser's poll on the same topic.