The Steve Wilkos Show

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The Steve Wilkos Show
Logo of The Steve Wilkos Show.png
GenreTabloid talk show
Created bySteve Wilkos
Presented bySteve Wilkos
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons14
No. of episodes2,200
Production
Executive producersRachelle Wilkos
Steve Wilkos
Jerry Springer
Camera setupMultiple
Running time42 minutes
Production companyStamford Media Center Productions
DistributorNBCUniversal Television Distribution
Release
Original networkSyndication
Picture format1080i (16:9 HDTV)
Audio formatStereo
Original releaseSeptember 10, 2007 (2007-09-10) –
present
External links
Website

The Steve Wilkos Show is a syndicated American tabloid talk show hosted by Steve Wilkos. The show debuted on September 10, 2007, two months after Wilkos' departure as director of security on Jerry Springer.

History[]

The show has Wilkos expanding on his Steve to the Rescue shows that he did while serving as a co-host for Jerry Springer whenever Springer took breaks or was doing other projects, such as Dancing with the Stars.[1][2] 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 Jerry Springer pitched the idea of giving Wilkos his own show to NBCUniversal, which proved successful.[3] On his show, each episode of the show focuses on the topics usually addressed by this type of talk show, mainly involving adultery, domestic abuse, paternity, disrespectful children and teenage pregnancy, with other topics of the same genre also covered often.

As noted, Wilkos' show takes a darker tone and deals with more serious topics than Springer's usually covered, most involving criminal justice issues. Wilkos will often refuse to allow guests accused of excessively heinous misbehavior, such as being convicted of certain crimes (especially sex offenses and spousal/child abuse) to sit down in the chairs on his soundstage. Wilkos will sometimes toss these chairs aside when he is angry (and at times he has also thrown the chairs, thereby breaking them).[4]

Despite lack of evidence of their efficacy,[5][6][7] polygraph exams are commonly used on the show as a means for resolving issues. Often guests are polygraphed in regards to cases of physical abuse, child molestation, rape, murder, and infidelity. When the results of a polygraph are disputed by an accused guest, Wilkos brings out the production's polygraph expert, Daniel Ribacoff (who has been on the show since the third season) to explicate the results. Guests usually take the polygraph exam three times or more.[8][9]

The show also focuses on clearing the names of those who are wrongfully accused and/or convicted of serious offenses such as rape, abuse, murder, and other offenses of that nature. If the accused passes their lie detector test, Steve often turns his anger towards the accusers the same way he expresses anger at those who are guilty of committing those offenses.

Wilkos then ends a segment by having his bodyguards escort the guilty party off his stage, out of the studio, and then into a transport van, where he or she are transported to a corrections facility to pay their debt to society.

Wilkos has appeared twice on Maury; the first time was in 2008,[10] and the second was when he appeared on the 2,500th episode in 2013.[11]

On November 22, 2013, The Steve Wilkos Show celebrated its 1000th episode, along with Jerry Springer and Rachelle Wilkos as special guests. The 1,000th episode took a look back on the first seven seasons of the show.[12]

The Steve Wilkos Show celebrated its tenth anniversary in September 2016. Steve Wilkos and Rachelle Wilkos, as well as the producers, hosted a series of tributes entitled "A Decade of Steve", looking back on the first nine seasons of the show.

In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Steve was doing his talk show without an audience involved in his studio due to social distancing regulations until further notice at the time while only a certain number of guests were allowed to be at the studio in person and others talked to Steve virtually (via video chat).

Format changes[]

In the second season, Wilkos began dividing some episodes into two segments, each one dealing with different guests and issues. In rare cases, there can be three segments on one episode. Additionally, paternity tests and infidelity were added as topics to the show. As time went on with the paternity and infidelity stories, Wilkos would often make jokes with guests just to get laughs from himself, his guests and the audience, since paternity and infidelity are not as serious an offense as abuse of any kind.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, executive producer Richard Dominick was forced from the program by Jerry Springer and NBCU Domestic Television after encouraging Wilkos to become extremely physical with a guest. Rachelle Wilkos, Wilkos's wife and a long time Jerry Springer crew member, became the program's executive producer.[13][14]

Wilkos' third season premiered September 14, 2009, originating from the Stamford Media Center in Stamford, Connecticut. Production of the show had relocated Chicago to Stamford earlier that year, complete with a new studio.[15] Fellow NBC-Universal talkers Maury and Jerry Springer made the move, as well.[16]

In March 2020, NBCUniversal Television Distribution announced that The Steve Wilkos Show had been renewed for two additional seasons.[17][18][19]

Notable episodes[]

Some episodes of the show have led to guests being arrested or convicted of sexual crimes.

  • In November 2011, Norwich, Connecticut police arrested Burke Bergman after he failed a lie detector test about sexually molesting his son, in the episode "Three Possible Dads, One Possible Molester" aired on September 19, 2011.[20]
  • Five months following the October 3, 2012 episode "Did You Rape My Daughter?", guest Shaun Whitt was arrested in Flagler County, Florida on charges of raping his then-11-year-old step-daughter beginning in 2010. In September 2014, Whitt was convicted of two counts of sexual battery against a child and sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years.[21]
  • The May 6, 2015 episode "Did You Violate Our Trust...and Our Children?"[22] led to the arrest of 22-year-old Dameion McBride in Kansas City, Missouri for sexually abusing three children.[23] McBride was convicted in late 2016 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.[24]
  • Nearly a week after the May 15, 2017 broadcast of the episode "Horrific Child Abuse Caught on Video",[25] police in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania arrested 21-year-old Jessica Lynn Samick on two charges including felony endangering the welfare of a child. She is suspected of beating and burning a one-year-old boy whom she was babysitting.[26][27]

Ratings[]

The show's first season had the highest rated premiere of fall 2007, with a Nielsen rating of 1.1.[28] From 2007 to 2014, the show had the highest ratings growth out of any syndicated talk show, especially among households and women aged 25 to 54.[29] In November 2014, the show had a Nielsen rating of 1.5,[30] with an estimated 1.8 million daily viewers.[31] As of March 2020, the show averaged a 1.0 Nielsen rating, with 1.4 million daily viewers according to NBCU.[32]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "NBCU to Launch The Steve Wilkos Show; Announces Clearances". Mediaweek. January 14, 2007. Archived from the original on February 18, 2007.
  2. ^ Berman, Marc (September 3, 2007). "Mr. Television: Talking Tough". Mediaweek. Archived from the original on September 14, 2007.
  3. ^ "'Maury,' Jerry Springer and Steve Wilkos talk shows renewed through 2016". The Stamford Times. July 15, 2012.
  4. ^ Yarborough, Chuck (November 11, 2008). "Jerry Springer's bouncer, Steve Wilkos, gets his own show". cleveland. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  5. ^ "Scientific Validity of Polygraph Testing: A Research Review and Evaluation". Washington, DC: U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment. 1983. Retrieved February 29, 2008.
  6. ^ "Monitor on Psychology – The polygraph in doubt". American Psychological Association. July 2004. Retrieved February 29, 2008.
  7. ^ Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences and Education (BCSSE) and Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) (2003). The Polygraph and Lie Detection. National Research Council. doi:10.17226/10420. ISBN 978-0-309-26392-4.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) (Chapter 8: Conclusions and Recommendations, p. 212)
  8. ^ "Daniel Ribacoff - Steve Wilkos". February 2, 2021.
  9. ^ Video on YouTube
  10. ^ Video on YouTube
  11. ^ "Steve Wilkos". TVGuide.com.
  12. ^ Andrea Morabito (November 22, 2013). "Ex-Marine Steve Wilkos battles his way to 1,000 episodes". New York Post. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  13. ^ Feder, Robert (September 11, 2008). "Choked up; Ex-'Springer' producer says he gave 'everything I had inside me'". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on September 11, 2008.
  14. ^ Feder, Robert (September 3, 2008). "Fall from 'Springer'". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  15. ^ Andrea Morabito (November 22, 2013). "Ex-Marine Steve Wilkos battles his way to 1,000 episodes". New York Post. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  16. ^ "The new studio – Steve Wilkos". Archived from the original on September 26, 2009.
  17. ^ "The Steve Wilkos Show: Daytime Talk Show Renewed through 2022". canceled + renewed TV shows – TV Series Finale. March 5, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  18. ^ Albiniak, Paige. "'Steve Wilkos' Joins 'Maury' With Two-Season Renewal". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  19. ^ Paige, Sara. "DAYTIME TALK SHOW 'THE STEVE WILKOS SHOW' RENEWED THROUGH 2022". NBCUniversal. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  20. ^ Smith, Greg (November 2, 2011). "Taftville man arrested after TV appearance". The Bulletin. Norwich, CT. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  21. ^ Holt, Tony (September 19, 2014). "Flagler child rapist was confronted on 'Steve Wilkos' talk show". Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  22. ^ "The Steve Wilkos Show". TVGuide.com.
  23. ^ Babbitt, Kasey (July 15, 2015). "Kansas City metro man charged with child molestation after appearing on daytime talk show". Fox4KC.com. WDAF. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  24. ^ Kaplan, Don (February 19, 2017). "Steve Wilkos helps bust perv, failed TV lie detector test launches police investigation". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  25. ^ "The Steve Wilkos Show". TVGuide.com.
  26. ^ Metrick, Becky (May 24, 2017). "Update: Charges filed in Waynesboro child abuse case featured on Steve Wilkos Show". Public Opinion. Chambersburg, PA. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  27. ^ Metrick, Becky (April 19, 2018). "Family's plea stops agreement in child abuse case featured on Steve Wilkos Show". Public Opinion. Chambersburg, PA. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  28. ^ Albiniak, Paige (September 11, 2007). "Syndication Ratings: The Steve Wilkos Show Leads Pack". Broadcasting Cable. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  29. ^ "Ratings – "The Steve Wilkos Show" Posts Strong November Sweeps Ratings | TheFutonCritic.com". www.thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  30. ^ Walsten, Jessika (December 10, 2014). "The Steve Wilkos Show Posts Strong November Sweeps Ratings". Broadcasting Cable. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  31. ^ "'Maury,' 'Jerry Springer Show,' 'Steve Wilkos' Get Two-Season Renewals". The Hollywood Reporter. October 6, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  32. ^ Albiniak, Paige (March 5, 2020). "'Steve Wilkos' Joins 'Maury' With Two-Season Renewal". Broadcasting Cable. Retrieved February 26, 2021.

External links[]

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