#Adulting

Bill Maher spent his 2022 special leaning heavily into his favorite role: the unmarried, childless libertarian who refuses to grow up. The core of the set relies on his frustration with younger generations, specifically targeting the titular concept of “adulting” and the tendency of Gen Z to treat basic maturity as an achievement. The set gets closest to a traditional stand-up groove when Maher steps away from global politics to riff on his personal life, like explaining why he had to stop eating cannabis edibles because modern, high-potency versions left him completely non-functional.

Filmed at the Fillmore Theater in Miami and directed by Ryan Polito, the hour marked Maher’s twelfth stand-up special for HBO. Released in April 2022, it arrived at a busy moment for the comedian, who was nearing his twentieth year hosting Real Time with Bill Maher and launching his interview podcast, Club Random. Much of the material shares a genetic makeup with his weekly television monologues, with Maher focusing on the lingering absurdities of the pandemic era, particularly venting his annoyance at young, healthy people wearing face masks outdoors. He also shares thoughts on cancel culture, the aesthetics of modern tattoos, and the media fallout surrounding comedian Aziz Ansari.

Critical reception was distinctly lukewarm, with several reviewers noting that the performance felt more like a preachy, one-sided lecture than a structured stand-up set. While regular viewers of his television show appreciated his contrarian perspective, critics argued that many of the cultural complaints, particularly his grievances about youth culture, felt repetitive.