Netflix will be exploring the notorious guilty pleasure of the Jerry Springer show that brought on an era of “Trash TV.”
The controversial talk show that was often seen as “Too Hot for TV” will be getting a two-part documentary. Netflix has announced that the service will be streaming Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action on its platform on January 7, 2025. The documentary comes from production company Minnow Films. The special is directed by Luke Sewell and is executive produced by Sophie Jones, Alicia Kerr and Sophie Leonard. Catherine Murnane is a producer on the project.
The official synopsis reads,
“This jaw-dropping, premium two-part series will tell the story of The Jerry Springer Show as it’s never been told before. Packed with extraordinary first-hand testimony and revelations from show insiders, the series explores how this daytime talk show became one of the biggest and most outrageous TV hits of the nineties. But behind the entertaining facade lay 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.”
This documentary comes just under a couple of years after Springer had passed away. One of the biggest pop culture staples of the late 90s was The Jerry Springer Show. It brought forth the popularity of guilty pleasure, trash television as outrageous guests talk without filters, argue with the audience and each other, and eventually get into fist fights. The show itself made cameo appearances in other mediums, like a segment in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me where Dr. Evil returns and eventually gets into a fight with another guest.
Springer was able to parlay the show’s popularity into a movie inspired by it, with Ringmaster, which is a fictional film, but sharing the title with Springer’s own autobiography. Both were released at the height of his popularity in 1998. In May 2008, Springer delivered the commencement address at his alma mater, the Northwestern University School of Law, which many thought was a controversial choice of speaker. but he would earn a standing ovation from about half the audience, and reviews of the speech were generally positive. His speech included a declaration, “I am not superior to the people on my show, and you are not superior to the people you will represent. That is not an insult. It is merely an understanding derived from a life spent on the front lines of human interaction.”
