Since 2013, Illner has been focusing on her own political talkshow "Maybrit Illner". Alongside Anne Will, Peter Kloeppel and Stefan Raab, she also moderated the only TV election debate between incumbent Merkel and her competitor Peer Steinbrück ahead of the 2013 elections, which was aired live on four of Germany's most-watched television channels during prime-time. Ahead of the 2017 elections, she moderated the debate between Merkel and Martin Schulz, this time with Kloeppel, Sandra Maischberger and Claus Strunz.