[imagesource: Jerry Springer: The Opera / IMDb]

You could say that The Jerry Springer Show is to television culture what scum is to ponds.

It makes the water dirty, sordid, and uncontrollable.

Jerry Springer, the host who ran the controversial talk show for nearly 30 years, knows this.

With over 4 000 dramatic episodes under his belt, Springer just wants to say he’s “so sorry” for the notoriously scummy show.

He sat down with David Yontef’s Behind the Velvet Rope podcast to talk about his career beginnings and the legacy of reality TV that he left in his wake, per Yahoo! Entertainment:

“I’m just a schlub who got lucky,” the 78 year old explained. “There was never a thought in my mind, growing up, that I’d be in show business. I started out being a lawyer and working for Bobby Kennedy. My background is political and legal.”

After a stint as the Mayor of Cincinnati from 1977 to 1978, Springer was offered a job as an NBC affiliate in his city, which he said was “kind of a rational transition” as the funnel usually goes “from politics to reporting to news to anchoring”.

Little did he know that he would host a show that featured guests airing their stinky laundry in front of a live studio audience for 27 years.

I prefer the Jerry Springer version of My Mum Your Dad #MyMumYourDad pic.twitter.com/QtcoK78Wqj

— Jason Ford (@TheFordFactor) November 14, 2022

Now, he is well aware that his drama-laden show basically “ruined culture”:

Yontef asked Springer if he considers himself “the grand daddy of reality TV,” sharing that the wide breadth of material he covered, such as the outcome of paternity tests as well as relationship drama, set the stage for modern day reality TV. Springer, however, said he felt guilty for his role in perpetuating toxicity on TV.

“I just apologize. I’m so sorry,” he said. “What have I done? I’ve ruined the culture. I just hope hell isn’t that hot.”

NME reported that his show often led to serious real-world consequences, like the time a woman – who was featured on the show in 2002 when she revealed that she was sleeping with her ex-husband without the knowledge of his new wife – was murdered by the vengeful couple.

NBC Universal decided to quietly cancel the show with no official announcement in 2018.

While Springer has been busy hosting The Jerry Springer Podcast since 2015, producers mentioned there is the “possibility” of more original TV-based shows in the future.

Is a threesome the perfect anniversary gift? #JerrySpringer pic.twitter.com/AndK46ol6U

— The Jerry Springer Show (@SpringerTV) March 17, 2022

If hell is not already a place on Earth, Springer better tread carefully into that possible future.

[sources:nme&yahoo!entertainment]