“Jerry! Jerry!” Yep, Jerry Springer is back with a new show “Tabloid,” Investigation Discovery’s new one-hour guilty pleasure that takes viewers behind the scenes of some of the most scandalous and outlandish news headlines. Also celebrating more than two decades of “The Jerry Springer Show,” Springer got comedic in a chat with CraveOnline about his new project, the “interesting” guests on his ongoing talk show, and his love for Canadian cities (and maybe even singing in French).
CraveOnline: You’re no stranger to astonishing tales. Tell us about the most over-the-top story that viewers will see on “Tabloid.”
Jerry Springer: This is a weekly show about the major crimes that have taken place in our headlines, and we delve beyond the headlines and into what has happened to these people since. [Referencing one of the stories] I remember there was this guy who was dating a younger woman, she dumps him, he’s upset and throws lye (acid) in her face and blinds her for life. They find him and he goes to prison, and 14 years later he gets out, finds her again and they get married! They’ve been married for 34 years – what?!
How is “The Jerry Springer Show” going?
Great! We’re going into our 23rd year, making it the longest-running talk show.
How do you find the guests who appear on the show?
They come to us – you can’t recruit someone to be on show. We get thousands of calls a week and our lawyers check the stories out. As long as the stories are true and outrageous, we have them on the show.
What qualifies as “outrageous”?
Something that is either inappropriate or dysfunctional. Something the public would disapprove of.
(Laughs) There’s no excuse for it. I apologize – I ruined modern culture.
Why do viewers love the show so much?
We are social beings – we are fascinated by human behaviour. Thousands of years ago people would gather in their town square and talk about who’s doing what. It’s always happened. The only difference between then and now is that because of technology, our neighbourhood has become global. But the stories are always the same.
Have you been to Canada with your work?
I do the national tour of the “Price is Right” and have done shows all through Canada. I even went as a kid to camp up there, and I’ve done some TV shows in Vancouver – I really enjoyed that. Toronto is a great city, and I love Montreal because it makes me feel like I’m overseas.
And my sister is a French teacher… I can sing every word to “Dominique.” (Sings “Dominque”… with a very good French accent too).
