The Steve Wilkos Show is a syndicated American talk show hosted by Steve Wilkos, former director of security on
The Jerry Springer Show. The show debuted on September 10, 2007, with Wilkos having departed from Springer two months earlier in order to start focusing on his foray into talk television.
History
The show has Wilkos expanding on his successful "Steve to the Rescue" shows that he did while serving as a substitute for Jerry Springer whenever Springer took breaks or was doing other projects, such as
Dancing with the Stars. The idea of Wilkos having his own show came as a result of this approach, which proved to be so popular with viewers that the producers of Springer pitched the idea of giving Wilkos his own show to NBC Universal, which proved successful. On his show, each episode of the show focuses on topics such as adultery, divorce, spousal abuse, sexual violence, homophobia, homosexuality, child abuse, child molestation, cyber crime, deadbeat parents, incest, pedophilia, pornography, gangs, missing children, teenage pregnancy, alcohol addiction, drug addiction, homelessness, prostitution, racism, obesity, eating disorders, lie detector tests and paternity.
As noted, Wilkos' show deals with more serious topics than Springer usually covers. Wilkos will often refuse to let guests accused of misbehavior, convicted of certain crimes (especially sex offenses and spousal/child abuse) to sit down in the chairs on his sound stage. Wilkos will sometimes toss these chairs aside when he is angry and for dramatic effect. He often notes in his show that the reason he does so is because when the accused committed the crime against the victim, they weren't making them "comfortable" and as such, they don't deserve to be "comfortable" while on his show. He often gets "nose-to-nose" with guests and raises his voice, but he avoids physical contact with them unless necessary to defend himself or his guest if they get physical with the guest.
Changes
In the show's first season, Wilkos frequently closed episodes with readings of both positive and negative e-mails he received from viewers. He would preface the readings by saying, "if I read your letter, and if you're not a knucklehead, moron or belly-rubber, I'll send you a free t-shirt." He also proclaimed his show to be "Moron-Free TV", and declared that those who sent him negative e-mails were "not allowed to watch." In the second season, these readings are less frequent, Wilkos no longer uses the "knucklehead," "moron," "belly-rubber" or "Moron-Free TV" labels, and everyone who has their e-mail read gets the free t-shirt.
Also in the second season, Wilkos began dividing some episodes into two segments, each one dealing with different guests and issues.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, show creator and executive producer Richard Dominick was forced from the program and Springer by NBCU Domestic Television after encouraging Wilkos to become extremely physical with a guest. Rachelle Consiglio, Wilkos' wife and a long time Springer crew member, is now the program's executive producer.
Wilkos' third season premiered September 14, 2009, now originating from the Stamford Media Center in Stamford, Connecticut complete with a new studio. Fellow NBC-Universal talkers Maury and Springer made the move, as well. On October 25, 2010, it was announced that his show was picked up by NBC Universal through the 2013-14 season.
Summary courtesy of
Wikipedia
