The Jerry Springer Show, the daytime talk show that featured “Jerry beads,” raucous guest altercations and paternity tests, among many other things, has ceased production for the first time in 27 years.
The future of the show is in limbo after U.S. network The CW picked it up in April after other prominent networks passed on renewal. (In Canada, the show was available on Fox.) For the time being, The CW is airing repeats and hasn’t clarified if they’ll ever resume production of new episodes.
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The Jerry Springer Show, which hit its peak in the ’90s, first broadcast in 1991 and has, to date, a mind-boggling 3,891 episodes over 27 seasons. Jerry Springer, 74, a former politician and lawyer (and one-time mayor of Cincinnati), has helmed the show for its entire duration, becoming a ringmaster to the outrageous shenanigans of his guests. Some recent episode titles include Stop Pimping My Twin Sister, Babes With Baguettes and My Bestie Is Stalkin’ You.
The move comes after Springer TV cousins Maury and The Steve Wilkos Show were recently renewed. The daytime TV landscape has changed drastically over the last several years, with stalwart soap operas ending and other daytime talkers like Ricki Lake and Sally Jessy Raphael signing off for good.
In 2009, Springer moved production to Stamford, Conn., where it pulled in an average of 1.7-million viewers per episode. Considering the market competition — personalities like Ellen DeGeneres, Wendy Williams and Rachael Ray — that’s fairly impressive considering the “low-brow” subject matter.
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Springer started off with the greatest of intentions: it sought to be a serious conversation-starter, focusing on politics and societal issues. The show moved to Chicago in its second year, and in order to boost sagging ratings, the subject matter took a turn for the salacious. It’s well-known for misbehaving guests, and it wasn’t unusual for fights to break out. The show even had a boxing-ring bell to spur the volatility. Subjects included incest, infidelity, transsexuality, pregnancies and scandalous reveals.
There was even a “stripper pole” onstage if any guest felt compelled to dance for the audience (many, many did).
The show’s popularity took off the more out-there it became. The infamous chant of “Jer-ry, Jer-ry!” is now chronicled as one of TV’s most recognizable catchphrases. For a brief moment in 1998, Springer temporarily beat the immensely popular Oprah‘s ratings with a daily audience of nearly 10-million viewers.
For years, the show has been plagued by questions about its veracity, and many critics have claimed the show is fake and rigged. Several people during the show’s run have fabricated issues just to appear on-air.
In recent interviews, Springer has said multiple times that his day job is a circus with “no redeeming social value.”
No matter Springer‘s fate, it will always hold its place in TV history as one of the most outrageous, smutty shows to ever air.
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