Netflix’s latest documentary lifts the curtain on the ‘pioneer’ of trash tv, Jerry Springer. Springer’s talk show ‘Jerry Springer’, is the subject of Netflix’s documentary ‘Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action’, an exploration of the tabloid talk show that ran for 27 years, causing a myriad of controversies throughout its 4,000 episodes.
For those unfamiliar with Jerry Springer, simply looking at the episode titles for the show will give you an indication of what the show covered. Some stand-out titles include, “Threesomes with my Sister”, “Attack of the KKK Dad”, “I Live in a Box”, and “600 Pound Angry Mom”.
But these outrageous stories would likely have never made it on television if it weren’t for a man called Richard Dominick. He was a big part of the team that made the Jerry Springer show what it was.
So, who is Richard Dominick?
Jerry Springer wasn’t always a cultural success, first airing in 1991 the show faced dismal ratings and the threat of cancellation just three years in. That’s when Dominick stepped in as executive producer, changing television forever.
Dominick once said, “If I could kill someone on television I would execute them.” Within a few months as executive producer, ‘Jerry Springer’ went from a struggling daytime talk show to a trashy hit.
At the beginning of the two-part docuseries, Dominick explains, “You gotta grab your audience, and you gotta hold them, and that’s what we tried to do.”
Before joining the show, Dominick shared he thought it was “terrible”, saying that “It was just boring”.
“You had a terrible host, a terrible show. The audience is 90. So when I took over the show and became executive producer, the vision that I had, that I wanted everybody to fall into was, ‘Let’s take a talk show, and let’s turn it upside down. Let’s make it wild, let’s make it sexy,’ because that’s what I was known for.”
What did Richard Dominick do before?
Dominick’s career began in tabloid journalism, writing sensationalist articles for outlets such as Weekly World News and Sun. His unusual stories led to him making seven appearances on Late Night with David Letterman.
He then moved into television, working on a short-lived late night comedy program for Fox titled The Wilton North Report. He also served as a producer of the revival of TV series House Party, and contributed comedy material to Jay Leno.
Why did Richard Dominick leave Jerry Springer?
In September 2008, an NBC Universal rep announced he would be leaving his role as executive producer to leave for new opportunities. However, it has been suspected he was actually fired after show wanted to take a step back from its ‘circus-like’ format.
Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action is available to watch on Netflix now