Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Handout / NBC
A new Netflix documentary on a once iconic show is about to take our screens.
When discussing the 'best' TV shows of all time, chances are you'll see the likes of Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, The Wire, and Game of Thrones (well, the first few seasons) enter the conversation. Naming the 'worst' TV show of all time isn't easy, and chances are, people's lists will vary wildly.
That hasn't stopped Netflix from trying to give us a definitive answer, and in a new documentary, goes behind the cameras on one of the most controversial TV shows of all time.
In the brand-new Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action, the 2025 miniseries charts how Springer went from Cincinnati mayor to host of what's been dubbed “the most vile and grotesque freak show that’s ever been on television."
Advert
Running from 1991 until it was canceled in 2018, Springer was the lead of The Jerry Springer Show for 3,891 episodes. The show was described as a cultural phenomenon that spilled over into an Austin Powers movie and even got its own opera in the form of 2003's Jerry Springer: The Opera.
The trailer for Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action accused producers of ‘coaching’ guests behind the scenes without caring about how they'd be portrayed on TV.
As for the famous fights, one moment has various voiceovers saying: "Teeth were knocked out. It really was the modern version of the Roman Colosseum."
The critics haven't been kind to The Jerry Springer Show over the years, with TV Guide famously calling it the worst show of all time in 2002. It's made numerous other 'worst' lists, with Jerry himself even telling Reuters in 2000: "I would never watch my show. I'm not interested in it. It's not aimed towards me. This is just a silly show."
The Jerry Springer Show wasn't always that way, and in its early days, it was a relatively standard talk show that tackled political issues. That all changed when Springer and incoming producer Richard Dominick overhauled the format to boost ratings in 1994.
It's an idea that worked, and with out-there episodes with titles like "I Married a Horse," "'Save' My Lesbian Daughter", and "I'm a Breeder for the Klan", it wasn't afraid to tackle a ton of controversial issues.
As the first talk show to knock Oprah Winfrey from the top, America and the rest of the world couldn't seem to get enough of The Jerry Springer Show. Still, as Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action shows, time hasn't been kind to the series.
In the replies to the trailer, fans and critics alike confirmed they'd be tuning in.
One fan wrote: "Watching Jerry middle of the day during summer break when I had no business listening to stories beyond my understanding. Good times."
Another said, "A staple of anyone's childhood in the 90s," and someone else concluded, "Thank you Jerry for the thousands of hours of enjoyment."
