“The Jerry Springer Show” might have ended seven years ago but it remains one of the most controversial programmes in television history.
Airing for 28 seasons from 1991 to 2018, the talk show became a pop culture phenomenon.
Hosted by the late television anchor and former Cincinnati mayor who died in April 2023 at the age of 79, it featured dysfunctional families who came on the show to discuss their problems before a studio audience, who could then offer suggestions to their various dilemmas.
This led to scores of fights, with the occasional chair being thrown around, as well as melodrama featuring love triangles and family secrets being revealed in spectacular fashion.
To capture the impact the programme’s impact on modern television history, a new documentary called “Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action” will premiere on Netflix on January 7.
According to the synopsis, “This jaw-dropping, premium two-part series will tell the story of ‘The Jerry Springer Show’ as it’s never been told before”.
It added that the documentary is packed with extraordinary first-hand testimony and revelations from show insiders.
“The series explores how this daytime talk show became one of the nineties' biggest and most outrageous TV hits.”
“But behind the entertaining façade lie some darker truths. As we hear from the producers and ex-guests of ‘The Jerry Springer Show’, a murkier picture begins to emerge of the destruction it caused, raising renewed questions about who was responsible, and how far things should go in the name of entertainment.”
The documentary is produced by Minnow Films and directed by Luke Sewell, who previously helmed “Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King”.