A tabloid talk show is a subgenre of the talk show genre that emphasizes controversial and sensationalistic topical subject matter.[1] The subgenre originated in the United States and achieved peak viewership from the mid-1980s through the end of the 1990s.[2][3] Airing mostly during the day and distributed mostly through television syndication, tabloid talk shows originated in the 1960s and early 1970s with series hosted by Joe Pyne, Les Crane, and Phil Donahue; the format was popularized by personal confession-filled The Oprah Winfrey Show, which debuted nationally in 1986.[4][5] The format has since been emulated outside the United States, with the United Kingdom, Latin America and the Philippines all having popular shows that fit the format.
Tabloid talk shows have sometimes been described as the "freak shows" of the late 20th century, since most of their guests were outside the mainstream. The host invites a group of guests to discuss an emotional or provocative topic and the guests are encouraged to make public confessions and resolve their problems with on-camera "group therapy".[6] Similar shows are popular throughout Europe.
Tabloid talk shows are sometimes described using the pejorative slang term "trash TV", particularly when producers appear to design their shows to create controversy or confrontation, as in the case of The Richard Bey Show, Geraldo (such as when a 1988 show featuring Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and anti-racism and Jewish activists led to an on-camera brawl)[7] and Jerry Springer, which focused on lurid trysts – often between family members.[8] Vicki Abt, a professor of sociology and American studies, criticized tabloid TV shows, claiming that they had blurred the lines between normal and deviant behavior.[9] The genre experienced a particular spike during the 1990s, when a large number of such shows were on the air, but which gradually gave way during the 2000s to a more universally appealing form of talk show.[2][10]