Jerry Springer To Return To Television With New Show ‘Judge Jerry’
Jerry Springer will debut a new television show in the fall of 2019, AOL is reporting. Springer is best known for his talk-show, The Jerry Springer Show, which ended in June after 27 years on air. Now, Springer is starting a new show where he will oversee a courtroom, similar to the hit show Judge Judy. This new show will be called Judge Jerry. According to CNN, Springer actually has the credentials to back this position up, having obtained a law degree from Northwestern University in 1968. Afterwards, Springer had a brief stint in politics and was even mayor of Cincinnati before beginning his television career in 1991.
The Jerry Springer Show garnered a raunchy reputation over the almost three decades it was on air, with guests coming on the show to discuss dramatic and sometimes taboo topics. Some episodes even resulted in the guests getting into physical altercations, and the show required a full security team to be present on set. Now, Springer is hoping to shed his racy image for a more sophisticated status.
“For the first time in my life, I am going to be called honorable,” Springer said of his new show. “My career is coming full circle and I finally get to put my law degree to use after all these years.”
The show is set to be filmed at NBCUniversal’s Stamford Media Center facility in Stamford, Connecticut. While not many specific details about the show have been released, NBCUniversal is assuring audiences that Springer will “render a verdict with a fair yet firm hand and always leave litigants with a dose of classic Springer wisdom.”
Jerry Springer a judge? On TV, anything is possible https://t.co/XXeRvMZZqY pic.twitter.com/X0rfEutUJd
— East Bay Times (@EastBayTimes) November 26, 2018
“Judge Jerry will merge Jerry’s talent for connecting with people, his incredibly relatable and funny personality and his legal training and governing experience to bring viewers a more entertaining court show,” said Tracie Wilson, exec VP of creative affairs for NBCUniversal Television Distribution. “We are so happy to continue our fantastic partnership with Jerry, who is a proven TV icon with a dedicated and broad fan base.”
Springer is looking forward to gaining a whole new fanbase with this new show, as the audience for the Jerry Springer Show eventually tapered off as time went on. The show was once so successful that it once replaced the Oprah Winfrey Show as daytime TV’s top-rated talk show in 1999. While the show hasn’t seen the same success in recent years, it still maintained a notable place on television, bringing in around 1.7 million viewers for the show’s final season airing in 2017 and 2018. While newer episodes of the Jerry Springer Show are no longer in production, reruns still air frequently.
