REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER CONTINUES ITS 13TH SEASON JAN. 16, EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO; ATUL GAWANDE IS THE TOP-OF-SHOW INTERVIEW GUEST; KATHRYN BIGELOW IS THE MID-SHOW INTERVIEW GUEST; JOSH BARRO, JOSH GAD AND WES MOORE ARE THE ROUNDTABLE GUESTS

REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER continues its 13th season FRIDAY, JAN. 16 (10:00-11:00 p.m. live ET/tape-delayed PT), with a replay at 11:00 p.m., exclusively on HBO. Allowing Maher to offer his unique perspective on contemporary issues, the show includes an opening monologue, roundtable discussions with panelists, and interviews with guests. Surgeon Atul Gawande is the top-of-show interview guest. Filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow is the mid-show interview guest. The roundtable guests are reporter Josh Barro, actor Josh Gad and author Wes Moore.

Other HBO playdates: Jan. 18 (1:30 p.m.), 19 (2:40 a.m.), 20 (5:00 p.m.) and 21 (11:00 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: Jan. 16 (2:50 a.m.), 17 (8:30 a.m., midnight), 18 (7:00 p.m.), 19 (8:00 p.m.) and 20 (9:30 p.m.)

Politico has hailed Maher as "a pugnacious debater and a healthy corrective to the claptrap of cable news," while Variety noted, "There may not be a more eclectic guest list on all of television."

In an unprecedented move, Maher visited Washington, D.C. for two live hour-long shows, presented back-to-back without a break, last September, hosting a new edition of REAL TIME, followed by the stand-up special "Bill Maher: Live from D.C."

Maher headlined his first special on the network in 1989 and has starred in ten solo specials to date, including the hour-long presentations "Bill Maher... But I'm Not Wrong," "The Decider" and "I'm Swiss" (both nominated for an Emmy(R) in the Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special category), "Victory Begins at Home," "Be More Cynical," "The Golden Goose Special" and "Stuff That Struck Me Funny," and two half-hour stand-up specials, plus the specials "30 Seconds Over Washington" and "Comic Relief VI(TM)." Maher is also an executive producer of the innovative news magazine show "VICE," which concluded its second season on HBO in 2014 and returns this year.

Maher was the creator and host of "Politically Incorrect," which was produced by HBO Downtown Productions and debuted on Comedy Central in 1993. The series moved to ABC in 1997 and ran through 2002. He also produced and starred in the 2008 feature film "Religulous," the seventh most successful documentary of all time.

The executive producers of REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER are Bill Maher, Scott Carter, Sheila Griffiths, Marc Gurvitz, Brad Grey, Billy Martin and Dean E. Johnsen; produced by Matt Wood; director, Paul Casey.