‘The Jerry Springer Show’ Is Finally Canceled
It is the end of an era. An era of punches, kicks, profanity, flying chairs, and jilted lovers. The Jerry Springer Show is no more.
The Associated Press reports that production is wrapped on Springer after an unbelievable 27 seasons on the air and nearly 4,000 episodes. (Who wants to rank them all? Come on, go for it. You’d be a hero.) Apparently, tragically, there will be no epic series finale wrapping up all of the show’ dangling plot threads. It’s just over and done with:
There should be one last thrown chair or a bleep-filled tirade, at the very least. Instead, it was announced with no fanfare this week that he will stop making new episodes of his memorably raucous talk show, and neither Springer nor his bosses will talk about it.
Springer, a former Cincinnati mayor, got his start on TV in the fall of 1991. At first, the series looked like most other daytime talk shows, but over time it slowly morphed into what it became: A collection of outlandish characters bickering and then actually fighting. The out-of-control fights became the show’s trademark (along with the audience’s “Je-rry!” chants). Springer became internationally famous; he even starred in his own (absolutely terrible) movie called Ringmaster. At one point, The Jerry Springer Show was one off the highest-rated series on all of syndicated TV.
But that was almost 20 years ago. I remember watching Springer on Channel 9 in the afternoon after school, and I haven’t been in school for a long time. It’s kind of incredible that with all the changes in the media landscape and culture that The Jerry Springer Show was still in production until recently. (At this point, people fighting on television seems a lot less shocking or outrageous, a fact The Jerry Springer Show holds a fair amount of responsibility for.) Now, the magic is done and gone. Thankfully we still have The Steve Wilkos Show to get us through these dark hours.