So Long, Secret Lovers: ‘Jerry Springer’ to Officially End After 4,000 Episodes
So long, salty ex-husbands. Farewell, fired-up half-brothers. And goodnight, guys who cheated on their pregnant girlfriends with local escorts — after nearly 30 years on air, The Jerry Springer Show is finally ending.
The Associated Press has confirmed that after 27 seasons and 4,000 episodes, the show — which routinely amounts to fights, chair-flips and jeers from the audience — will quietly bow out. It's been broadcasting in syndication since 1991, and while it's done for now, producers have said “there is a possibility” for more original episodes in the future.
Springer also told Entertainment Tonight: “We’ve stopped production of the show...Whenever you make changes, it’s sad.”
Springer had previously told the site in 2016 that he never grew tired of the show, which included themes like "I Slept with 251 Men in 10 Hours!" and "Rude Nude Riots 2" (yes, those are both real).
“I just do it because it’s fun to do,” Springer told ET in 2016. “And I’m not that good at golf. I think I’d go crazy [if I retired]. I’m always afraid not to be working. It’s psychological, I’m sure. If I ever have nightmares about something, it’s about not having a job, which is crazy, I know.”
Still, TV analyst Bill Carroll told The AP that the show has definitely run its course.
"Realistically, I don’t think the audience is able to look at the show and say, ‘that’s one from this year, or two years ago or four years ago,’" he said. "It has become so homogenous.”