Anthony Freire, A producer from The Maury Povich Show, revealed BTS secrets from ’90s talk show set – including the time they poached a guest from Sally Jessy Raphael’s show.
In the premiere episode of Dirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Ruled TV, Maury’s producer opened up about the unknown competition to secure guests amid a crowded market.
On-set secrets revealed:
Anthony recalled an instance in which producers from Maury stole a guest who was slated to appear on Sally Jessy Raphael’s self-titled talk show. “It was crazy. We did some unscrupulous things.”
“It was a Sally guest … and it was a woman who had cut out her own breast implants. A producer from Maury whisked her away into our studios and kind of pushed her on the set. And there she was, talking to Maury.”
Burt Dubrow, a producer on Sally Jessy Raphael at the time, also remembered the incident. “I would like to think that we never stole a guest from another show. However, I do remember somebody stealing a guest from us.”
“We flew her in, we put her in a lovely Holiday Inn across the street, and the producer went to get her, and she was not there.”
What to expect from Dirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Ruled TV …
Dirty Talk features juicy anecdotes about the rise of the so-called “Trash TV” era, which included shows like The Maury Povich Show, Montel Willams, The Jerry Springer Show, Ricki Lake, Leeza, and SJR.
Maury appears in the documentary, alongside Montel, Sally, Leeza Gibbons, and oodles of producers who worked on their shows.
In the documentary, Montel exposed all of the big-name talk show hosts for participating in the frenzy. “Early on, I did as many strippers as Oprah did, I did as many strippers as Sally did, I did as many strippers as Phil did. Everybody was trying to figure out how they could put the biggest breasts on air.”
In the trailer, Maury discussed the segment he says he “couldn’t do” today.
Episode breakdown:
The first episode dove into how the daytime format exploded in the ‘90s, with sex and conflict becoming key to the show’s appeal.
According to a release, the second episode explores why viewers watched and why guests agreed to bare it all on air. It’ll also dive into the shocking incident when one guest murdered another after a taping.
The third and final episode will dive into the “new levels of sensationalism,” with The Jerry Springer Show leading the race.
Dirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Ruled TV will air Wednesdays at 9 pm. Episodes stream the following day on Disney+ and Hulu.
