Schedule Watch: March 15

This week’s Real Time With Bill Maher (SoHo/SoHo2, various times) will be the last original episode until Hollywood’s hysteria over the coronavirus calms down. As the host says on this week’s audience-less show, “Surreal time is what we’re renaming this show,” before signing off with: “That’s our show, hopefully not our season!” SoHo’s Last Week Tonight With John Oliver also is shutting down indefinitely after this week’s episode and Prime’s The Late Show With Stephen Colbert is another casualty (along with these movies and TV series). Meanwhile, appearing on Maher this week are:

• Guests:David Ropeik, a former Harvard instructor of Risk Communication and Risk Psychology; award-winning chef Andrew Zimmern.
• Panellists: Edward Luce, U.S. National Editor for The Financial Times; Lis Smith, a Democratic strategis; Tim Miller, a former spokesman for the Republican National Committee.

TVNZ 2 is dropping the Friday broadcasts of Home and Away because of its rescheduling by Australia’s Channel Seven. A Simpsons re-run will replace the Friday episode from this week while usurping one of the weekend omnibus eps will be Grown-ish (1.45 Sundays from March 22); the Monday afternoon re-run slot will be filled by American Housewife.

Tonight’s Sunday (TVNZ 1, 7.30) interviews the Imam struggling to lead the faithful one year on from the March 15 attacks. Plus: the deeply personal story of the man behind the renaissance of tā moko.

On tonight’s 60 Minutes (Prime, midnight): Can psychedelic drugs from the 60s treat people for the depression and anxiety that often come with cancer or even addictions to tobacco and alcohol? Anderson Cooper reports on some promising studies.

On Monday’s Fair Go (TVNZ 1, 7.30): The Canterbury couple whose dreams were shattered in a single day and the multinational company responsible. And a biker in a disagreement with Harley Davidson.

Appearing on this week’s Have You Been Paying Attention? are Chris Parker, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer and Bree Tomasel (TVNZ 2, 7.30 Wednesday/Duke, 10.35 Thursday).

Scheduled for Prime’s re-runs of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert are:

• Monday: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Moses Sumney.
• Tuesday: Jim Carrey.
• Wednesday: John Oliver, Alex Eber.
• Thursday: Chris Christie, Nathaniel Rateliff.
• Friday: : Tyra Banks, Coyote Peterson.

And booked for TVNZ 1’s Ellen DeGeneres Show are:

• Monday: Ed O’Neill.
• Tuesday: Mandy Moore.
• Wednesday: Justin Timberlake.
• Thursday: Matt Damon.
• Friday: Sean Hayes (guest host).