a limited audience was brought in with some guests appearing remotely while others are in studio. November 6, 2020, featured the first show with a limited audience, mainly the staff writers, and all guests appearing in studio. A format that has been done consistently since the Season 18 finale on November 20, 2020, into Season 19. Since February 5, 2021, of Season 19, the show has allowed regular audience attendees in the studio who have tested negative for COVID-19. After the monologue, Maher speaks with the first guest appearing in studio sitting in the armchairs moved six feet apart across from another. The panel discussion involves two guests sitting six feet apart from one another across from Maher at the discussion table. And no "Overtime" segment. The season 19 episode scheduled for May 14, 2021, was canceled after Maher tested positive for COVID-19 during the show's weekly testing for COVID. The episode was to feature Neil deGrasse Tyson, Max Brooks, and Dan Carlin as guests. The following May 21 show was cancelled as a precaution. For season 20, the show does not air live, rather it is pre-recorded at 7:00 pm ET with the 10:00 pm ET airing unchanged with the same three guest format from the previous season. "Overtime" returned on January 21, 2022, following the season premiere. Instead of the usual four guests format, it is the three guests, the first guest interviewed after the monologue, and the two guests who sit with Maher at the discussion table during the rest of the show. This format has continued into season 21. Episodes Reception Critical response The response to the first season was mostly mixed. On Metacritic, it has a score of 43% based on reviews from 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Nancy Franklin of The New Yorker said "There’s also more of Maher in the new show, and it’s no big surprise that more Maher is less. He’s a jerk of the old school, full of unexamined anxiety and arrogance, with a habit of using sexual stereotypes from half a century ago both to put down and to compliment people." The New York Times called the show "Fox News of the antiwar movement" and described it as "a flagrantly liberal talk show that provides like-minded viewers with instant gratification." Television host Larry King called Real Time "one of the best shows on television". Maher was a