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NEED TO KNOW
A new documentary series, Dirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Ruled TV explores the rise of "Trash TV" and its impact on American culture
In the third episode of the series, Steve Wilkos opened up about his time as a security guard for The Jerry Springer Show, where he worked before going on to host his own talk show beginning in 2007.
Wilkos says he suffered a concussion and had to undergo surgeries due to injuries sustained during the taping of the show
Steve Wilkosis opening up about his dangerous days as a security guard onThe Jerry Springer Show.
In the final installment ofDirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Ruled TV, ABC News Studios' three-part documentary about the rise of 90s daytime talk shows that aired on Wednesday, Jan. 28, talk show host Steve Wilkos detailed the chaotic environment fostered by producers onThe Jerry Springer Show,where physical fights between guests were frequent enough to require intervention from security.
"The producers, they wanted fights. There was times, if we didn't have a fight, everybody was disappointed," said Wilkos. "I suffered a concussion, two back surgeries, torn groin. We had women ripping pounds of hair out of each other's head."
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While working as an officer in the Chicago Police Department, Wilkos was hired as a security guard onThe Jerry Springer Showin 1994, where he worked until 2006.
"It was the greatest side gig in the world," said Wilkos, 61. "I was nobody, nobody knew who the hell I was. And when the show started taking off, I was on stage so much that I really felt embedded into the show."
In the documentary, Wilkos shrugged off criticism thatThe Jerry Springer Showand shows like it broadcast staged storylines. "I remember whenDatelinecame and they covered us like it was some big scandal," said Wilkos. "Maybe every fight wasn't real, maybe every story wasn't real. Okay, you got us. So what? What are you uncovering here? Watergate? It's a talk show."
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Wilkos became the host of his own talk show,The Steve Wilkos Show, which is stilling running, in 2007.
Reflecting on his time atThe Jerry Springer Show, Wilkos admitted fights were allowed up to a point. "There's a delicate balance because you don't want anybody hurt, but you want some action," said Wilkos. "So, you don't wanna break it up too quick."
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Dirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Ruled TVdetails the rise of 90s "Trash TV" talk shows, where hosts competed for the most ridiculous guests and storylines, sometimes resulting in violence.
Along with Wilkos, fellow hostsMaury Povich,Montel Williams,Sally Jessy RaphaelandLeeza Gibbonsalso appear in the documentary, reflecting on the cultural impact and legacy of their popular TV shows.
The first episode dove into how the daytime format exploded in the '90s, with sex and conflict becoming key to the shows' appeal. The second episode explores why viewers watched and why guests agreed to bare it all on air. It also told the story of the shocking incident whereone guest murdered another after a taping. And the third and final episode detailed howThe Jerry Springer Showbrought the genre to "new levels of sensationalism".
All episodesof Dirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Ruled TVare now streaming onDisney+andHulu.
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