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Bill Maher hosts Seth MacFarlane, Norah O’Donnell and Eliot Spitzer on premiere Friday show

By April MacIntyre Feb 18, 2010, 20:02 GMT

Seth MacFarlane - © Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos

The Real Time drought is over, and Bill Maher, America's favorite polarizing pundit who uses comedy to bring home his independent ideas on religion, diet, sex, children, politics and animals, brings "Real Time with Bill Maher back to Friday night.

The eighth season begins Friday Feb. 19 at 10:00-11:00 p.m. live ET/tape-delayed PT), exclusively on HBO, with an instant replay at 11:00 p.m., following the live presentation. 

The show is a unique platform where Maher opens with a monologue, then segues into a live feed of a politician or prominent person in their respective field, and then introduces his panel of normally three diverse persons of interest, from actors to pols, comedians to authors, journalists to network stars.

Maher mixes it up with liberals, conservatives, in-betweeners, devout, atheists and anarchists.

The roundtable guests this week are “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane, MSNBC correspondent Norah O’Donnell and former NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer. 

Comedian Wanda Sykes and Elizabeth Warren, chair of the TARP Congressional Oversight Panel, are interview guests.

Other HBO playdates:  Feb. 21 (11:00 a.m., 3:15 a.m.), 22 (8:30 p.m.) and 24 (11:00 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates:  Feb. 19 (2:40 a.m.), 20 (11:00 a.m., midnight), 21 (7:00 p.m.) and 23 (10:00 p.m.)

Those who remember Maher as the showrunner of his “Politically Incorrect,” which debuted on Comedy Central, moving to ABC know the show veers candidly into topics normally avoided on similar shows.

His most recent book, “New Rules:  Polite Musings from a Timid Observer,” made the New York Times best seller list, as well as best seller lists across the country.  He is also author of the books “When You Ride Alone You Ride with Bin Laden:  What Government Should Be Telling Us to Help Fight the War on Terrorism,” “Does Anybody Have a Problem with That?  The Best of Politically Incorrect” and the novel “True Story.” 

Odds are that Maher will most like dive into this controversial pool with Seth MacFarlane: