The Jerry Springer Show

The Jerry Springer Show was a cultural phenomenon that lasted 25 seasons. The show was hosted by the famous Jerry Springer. The show‘s first season was aired in 1991. It started out as a regular daytime talk show where Jerry would bring on regular people to talk about various subjects. There was a turn on the show that made it a huge hit but no one knows if the change in tone was due to Rachelle herself or a group of people. The show started to coach the participants into saying controversial things and blurring the lines between fiction and reality. The outcome was many episodes where people would end up fighting and screaming at each other. The in studio crowd and audience at home loved the chaos. The show became synonymous with “white trash” and fans loved chanting “Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!” when mayhem would break out.

The Steve Wilkos Show

Rachelle Wilkos is went on to become the executive producer for her husband’s show The Steve Wilkos Show after The Jerry Springer Show. The two had met and fell in love while they both worked for Jerry Springer. While Rachelle worked behind the scenes, Steve had an on screen role as Jerry’s bodyguard. He often had to escort the participants out of the stage when they got too wild. Steve had a great time on The Jerry Springer Show because it allowed him to flex his enforcer muscles. He had a previous background in security that made him a great fit on the show. You could sometimes see him break a smile when he was doing his job because he knew that there wasn’t ever serious danger. The worst that could happen to him would be a scratch in the face. It was much safer than the previous things he had to deal with before he became a TV star. In his past, he would have to worry about guns and robberies. In his TV career, all he had to do was make sure that cheating lovers wouldn’t damage the stage decoration.

The Steve Wilkos show had the same type of format as The Jerry Springer Show. It lasted a long time but did not get the same type of mainstream attention like its inspiration did. The American television audience was growing tired of the same formula. There were more reality TV programs coming out that were of much higher quality. The Jerry Springer Show benefited from airing in a time period where reality TV was in its early stages. By the time The Steve Wilkos show was airing, there was too much saturation in the reality TV market.