Daytime television was a place where shows like Judge Judy and Maury were able to thrive. They consistently found wild guests who made for interesting television, and people could not help but tune in regularly.
Jerry Springer had a hit daytime show and made a fortune from it. His show's guests were all insane, which the audience absolutely loved. Acting like a lunatic on television was compelling, but was it profitable for the guests who were in front of the cameras?
Let's take a look and see how much the guests on The Jerry Springer Show were compensated.
'The Jerry Springer Show' Was A Hit
Debuting back in 1991 and running all the way until 2018, The Jerry Springer Show was a fixture on daytime television for nearly 30 years. Hosted by Jerry Springer himself, the show was a bizarre look at the chaotic lives of your regular, every day folks, and while the show was a slow starter, it eventually found its groove and became a success.
During its time on the small screen, The Jerry Springer Show aired nearly 5,000 episodes. If you were bored at home during that nearly 30-year stretch, then there is a good chance that you caught an episode or two. It was a complete mess, sure, but let's not act like the show wasn't insanely entertaining, especially when the drama was cranked up to 11 and the guests started fighting and spilling the beans on some of the wildest stories that they could conjure up.
It Was Chaotic
While Jerry Springer was still on the air, it never received good reviews, but the audience in attendance and at home could not have cared less. People were sucked into the chaos that unfolded on screen each episode, and this kept folks coming back for more each time the show was airing on television.
Reel Rundown discussed the authenticity of the guests and their crazy stories, writing, "So is the show real or fake? It is actually a little bit of both. People are able to call the show to inquire if they can be guests. They need to have some type of story they can sell. The raunchier it is, the more likely the show will book you."
"The show looks for stories involving multiple people so there can be potential for fistfights. Producers have claimed that they screen people to ensure guests are legitimate. However, some former guests have revealed that this is not the case as they fabricated their stories to get on the show," they continued.
The utter chaos of this show was its selling point, and it kept the show thriving for years on end. The chaos, however, did have fans wondering about the show's compensation for its guests. After all, who in the world would do something like this on televisionn without making a little bit of money?
Were Contestants Paid?
So, were the people who appeared on The Jerry Springer Show actually paid for being on national television, or were they simply there hashing out their differences? A number of stories have emerged throughout the years, and there have been varying reports on what actually goes down in regard to compensation.
According to someone in the know on Quora, "Some folks I’ve worked with who worked on the Springer show shared a few behind-the-scene details with me. In almost every case, guests were given airfare, set up to stay in a rather nice hotel, given access to nice restaurants, and in some cases, even given wardrobe upgrades. They also said that sometimes money would be offered to a reluctant guest, but as a rule, they were not paid outright."
This was given some credence from Reel Rundown, who wrote, "Guests aren't exactly paid for their appearance on the show but there are some perks. The show will pay for their travel and hotel. Guests also receive a small stipend during their stay. The main appeal of being on the show is getting your 15 minutes of fame."
All in all, that's not a pretty bad deal. Sure, it's not a formal check, but getting the chance to have free travel and appear on television is clearly more than enough for people to air out their dirty laundry for the world to see. Shows like this have thrived for years, and as long as people are enticed by the compensation, then these shows will always have a well of folks to tap into.
