History Series / TheJerrySpringerShow

[[caption-width-right:276:[[SelfDeprecation"Ladies and gentlemen... Welcome to the worst show on television!"]]]]

[[caption-width-right:276:"Ladies and gentlemen... welcome to the worst show on television." They say this [[SelfDeprecation about their own show]].]]

*** Averted in the first half of 2019. As Jeremy Kyle didn't use actors, one episode caused a fatal tragedy off the air once the show was finished, leading to the show's cancellation. In what will be the only utterance of this phrase in history: Jerry Springer was above this.

Jerry Springer, a former mayor of Cincinnati [[note]](best known for trying to pay a prostitute... ''with a city government check''. It's important to note he became mayor ''after'' the scandal and was pretty popular while in office - in fact, his honesty about the scandal (rather than trying to cover it up) is part of what got him elected mayor in the first place)[[/note]], hosts this show that [[InsultToRocks has to pull itself]] ''[[InsultToRocks up]]'' [[InsultToRocks in content quality to qualify as "Trash TV"]]. ''TV Guide'' named it as the worst show ever - [[InsultBackfire which it proudly declares at the start of every episode]]. One of the most infamous GuiltyPleasures on TV, it aired from September 30, 1991 to July 26, 2018.

* PretenderDiss: Jerry delivers a pretty epic one to a Ku Klux Klan member after the latter puts on a Nazi armband and an SS cap. Much of Jerry's extended family was murdered in the Holocaust.

On June 13, 2018, [=NBCUniversal=] announced it was cancelling the series after 27 seasons due to low ratings, with the final episodes being taped on July 6 and the finale airing July 26. However, Creator/TheCW--as part of their acquisition of rerun rights that fall--had the option to resume production of the series, eventually announcing a new show starring Jerry, titled ''Judge Jerry'' (a ''Series/JudgeJudy'' copy), to debut in September 2019. [[note]]Ironically, said reruns now air in the time slot formerly occupied by ''The Robert Irvine Show'', which is basically a watered-down version of Jerry's show.[[/note]]

* UnsettlingGenderReveal: Just about every fifth episode. Most featured men who, up until that point, thought they were dating a woman will unleash their fury upon the newly-discovered man. It's inverted on a few occasions where women find out their boyfriends are actually women.

Jerry Springer, a former mayor of Cincinnati [[note]](best known for trying to pay a prostitute... ''with a city government check''. It's important to note he became mayor ''after'' the scandal and was pretty popular while in office - in fact, his honesty about the scandal [rather than trying to cover it up] is part of what got him elected mayor in the first place)[[/note]], hosts this show that [[InsultToRocks has to pull itself]] ''[[InsultToRocks up]]'' [[InsultToRocks in content quality to qualify as "Trash TV"]]. ''TV Guide'' named it as the worst show ever - [[InsultBackfire which it proudly declares at the start of every episode]]. One of the most infamous GuiltyPleasures on TV, it aired from September 30, 1991 to July 26, 2018.

* FailedAttemptAtDrama: One man gave [[DeathGlare an angry look]] at his enemy, only to lose his footing and clumsy fall down on his tail, much too the audience's mocking laughter.

** A guest claimed that he was able to make anyone into a porn star, even children, disgusting Jerry enough to hurl him off the stage and then leave production for a while.

* NewsBroadcast: After leaving politics, Jerry became a highly respected newsanchor for Cincinnati's NBC affiliate, with a segment devoted to his personal commentary, which were always intelligent, thoughtful, and passionate. His "final thoughts" on the talk show started out as a spiritual successor to these commentary segments, before the show changed tone and emulated Geraldo Rivera rather than Phil Donahue. Sadly, his name is so synonymous with trash TV now that it's been impossible for Jerry to return to serious journalism or politics and be taken seriously by the general public. He tried giving commentary on the Chicago NBC affiliate, which so disgusted the 10 PM anchors that they both quit by the time he had given the third comment. There's an episode of the ''Radio/ThisAmericanLife'' radio series that examines this in detail. In 2005, he shook off the rep and hosted a serious, syndicated political talk show, though it ended in 2006.

* RefugeInAudacity: Pretty much the whole series, since it revels in sleaze, stupidity and chaos.

** The sound effect of a boxing bell rung whenever a fight breaks out, or is played to start a fight, which usually works.

* SubcultureOfTheWeek: This week "adulterers", next week "neo nazis", the week after that "guys that screw goats", etc.

*** Averted in the first half of 2019. As Jeremy Kyle didn't use actors one episode caused a fatal tragedy off air once the show was finished, leading to the show's cancellation. In what will be the only utterance of this phrase in history: Jerry Springer was above this.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Numerous times, a person brings their committed partner on the show to tell them "I've been cheating on you and want to be with this other person", only to be rejected by the the other person (e.g. "it was just a fling"), thus getting a taste of what it feels like to be thrown over. Bonus points if the third person is a sibling/cousin/close friend of the first, and decides to remain loyal to them.

It goes without saying that the show couldn't be quite that bad without some help. While (presumably) most of the guests are real [[note]]([[ProfessionalWrestling Professional wrestler JC Ice]] has played guests on the show, and wrestlers from [[http://www.mcwprowrestling.com Maryland Championship Wrestling]] have been used as well. In return, Steve teamed with Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s Wrestling/{{Gillberg}}[[note]]A rip on Wrestling/{{WCW}}'s Wrestling/{{Goldberg}}) on their March 27, 2002 show)[[/note]], the production crew has admitted to giving them advice on how to make a better show out of their issues. In addition, Jerry and Steve themselves often dispense advice, on-stage or off-stage. A short-lived show called ''The Springer Hustle'' covered the backstage activity.

* FailedAttemptAtDrama: One man gave [[DeathGlare an angry look]] at his enemy, only to lose his footing and clumsy fall down on his tail, much too the audience's amused laughter.

* PretenderDiss: Jerry [[note]](much of whose extended family was murdered in the Holocaust)[[/note]] delivers a pretty epic one to a Ku Klux Klan member after the latter puts on a Nazi armband and an SS cap.

* LongRunners: Airing non-stop new episodes since 1991.

On June 13, 2018, [=NBCUniversal=] announced it was cancelling the series after 27 seasons due to low ratings, with the final episodes being taped on July 6 and the finale airing July 26. A new show starring Jerry, ''Judge Jerry'' (a ''Series/JudgeJudy'' copy), will debut in fall 2019. However, as part of their acquisition of rerun rights, Creator/TheCW has the option to resume production of the series. [[note]](Ironically, said reruns now air in the time slot formerly occupied by ''The Robert Irvine Show'', basically a watered-down version of Jerry's show)[[/note]]

* BigOMG: From "I Refuse To Wear Clothes": The first guest walks out and starts to unbutton her dress, leading to a female audience member saying the trope name.

It goes without saying that the show couldn't be quite that bad without some help. While (presumably) most of the guests are real [[note]]([[ProfessionalWrestling Professional wrestler JC Ice]] has played guests on the show, and wrestlers from [[http://www.mcwprowrestling.com Maryland Championship Wrestling]] have been used as well. In return, Steve teamed with Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s [[TakeThat/ProfessionalWrestling Gillberg]] on their March 27, 2002 show)[[/note]], the production crew has admitted to giving them advice on how to make a better show out of their issues. In addition, Jerry and Steve themselves often dispense advice, on-stage or off-stage. A short-lived show called ''The Springer Hustle'' covered the backstage activity.

It goes without saying that the show couldn't be quite that bad without some help. While (presumably) most of the guests are real [[note]]([[ProfessionalWrestling Professional wrestler JC Ice]] has played guests on the show, and wrestlers from [[http://www.marylandwrestling.com Maryland Championship Wrestling]] have been used as well. In return, Steve teamed with Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s [[TakeThat/ProfessionalWrestling Gillberg]] on their March 27, 2002 show)[[/note]], the production crew has admitted to giving them advice on how to make a better show out of their issues. In addition, Jerry and Steve themselves often dispense advice, on-stage or off-stage. A short-lived show called ''The Springer Hustle'' covered the backstage activity.

In 2003, Stewart Lee and Richard Thomas launched the long-running London musical ''Jerry Springer: The Opera''. The plot has Jerry shot by a guest, whereupon [[{{Satan}} the Devil]] forces him to host his show in Hell and thereby try to reconcile the devil's realm with Heaven. The musical's religious satire, combined with heavy use of profanity, led to protests by Christian groups and even an attempt to prosecute the producers under Britain's blasphemy law, which didn't succeed because the law in question was vestigial.

!!This show provides examples of:

** The audience tends to be okay with just about any kind of crazy behavior, ''except bigotry'', and ''especially'' not anti-Semitism, and, '''specially'' anti-Semitism directed towards ''Jerry''.

Jerry Springer, a former mayor of Cincinnati [[note]](best known for trying to pay a prostitute... ''with a city government check''. It's important to note he became mayor ''after'' the scandal and was pretty popular while in office - in fact, his honesty about the scandal [rather than trying to cover it up] is part of what got him elected mayor in the first place)[[/note]], hosts this show that [[InsultToRocks has to pull itself]] ''[[InsultToRocks up]]'' [[InsultToRocks in content quality to qualify as "Trash TV"]]. ''TV Guide'' named it as the worst show ever - [[InsultBackfire which it proudly declares at the start of every episode]]. One of the most infamous GuiltyPleasures on TV. (September 1991 - 2018)

Jerry Springer, a former mayor of Cincinnati [[note]](best known for trying to pay a prostitute... ''with a city government check''. It's important to note he became mayor ''after'' the scandal and was pretty popular while in office - in fact, his honesty about the scandal [rather than trying to cover it up] is part of what got him elected mayor in the first place)[[/note]], hosts this show that [[InsultToRocks has to pull itself ''up'' in content quality to qualify as "Trash TV"]]. ''TV Guide'' named it as the worst show ever - [[InsultBackfire which it proudly declares at the start of every episode]]. One of the most infamous GuiltyPleasures on TV. (September 1991 - 2018)

Your standard episode will feature a woman telling her husband's mistress to stay the *beep* away from her man, then dumping him at the end of the episode. Then there's usually some sort of crossdresser and a person with some ''weird'' sexual fetish. Maybe a young girl who sleeps with older men. Every now and then you also get [[TheKlan Klansmen]] and [[ThoseWackyNazis neo-Nazis]] for good measure.

* UnsettlingGenderReveal: Just about every fifth episode. Most featured men who, up until that point, thought they were dating a woman will unleash their fury upon the newly-discovered man. It's hilariously inverted on a few occasions where women find out their boyfriends are actually women.

* PrettyInMink: In a "Too Hot For TV" special involving porn stars, one showed up wearing a full-length fur coat. When Jerry asked why, she said she heard it was cold in Chicago. It also allowed her to do a bit of teasing to the audience before fully revealing herself.