[1][2] This led to an overhaul of the structure which by the mid-1990s led to the show as it is known now, filled with controversial topics (such as incest and adultery),[3] profanity, chanting, heckling, physical fights (involving a mixture of slapping, boxing, wrestling and liquid spraying as well as martial arts with frequent interventions of security), nudity, scantily clad guests and flashing audience members for "Jerry Beads".

Springer then ended the show by giving a formal lecture, sitting by himself on the stage, on the principles of refined values in regards to the featured guests.

[5] Springer's "final thought" segment ended with the concluding statement, "'Til next time, take care of yourselves and each other," which was his sign-off line during his days as a newscaster in Cincinnati.

Generally, Springer tended to present his program standing up, pacing the aisle steps between the seating areas, rather than having a podium or mark on the main stage.

The general look of this set was carried over when the series first moved to Chicago in September 1992, with an unpolished, open air look and bright colored shapes.

In the fall of 1994, a few months after the series underwent its format overhaul, the studio received a makeover to make it look a bit warmer and more inviting, complete with brick walls, artwork, and bookcases.

The stage walls were designed so that they could be projected outward into the audience, making room for a catwalk that was used in shows such as the 1997 episode Stripper Wars!

By December 1994, the show started featuring physical brawls and fights on stage for the first time in episodes like "High Class Hookers Tell All",[13] "Holiday Hell With My Feuding Family",[14] "My Boyfriend Turned Out To Be A Girl", and "I Want My Man To Stop Watching Porn!

"[15] Originally seen in only the five markets where Multimedia owned TV stations (Cincinnati, Macon, St. Louis, Cleveland and Knoxville), it was dramatically different from the later version of the show.

In April 1994, Multimedia threatened cancellation if ratings didn't improve by that November, which led to a major overhaul that saw Murphy's departure and replacement by fellow Jerry Springer producer Richard Dominick, under Dubrow's purview.

[25] Additionally, Barry Diller, the head of Jerry Springer distributor Studios USA, ordered producers to eliminate physical fighting between guests, as he had reportedly become upset by the show and the controversies it sparked.

[28] Diller's demands to tone down the show, coupled with it losing the top spot in the ratings, led to speculation that Springer would seek a new distributor after his contract expired in 2000.

Hours after it was broadcast, on July 24, 2000, Campbell-Panitz was found dead in a home that the three were fighting over, and Florida police soon confirmed that they were treating the death as a homicide.

[34] In 2001, efforts by groups like the Parents Television Council and the American Family Association forced some advertisers to decrease or to stop their sponsorship of Jerry Springer.

[35] In the United Kingdom, the Independent Television Commission banned Jerry Springer and other tabloid talk programs from being shown on television during daytime hours on school holidays in response to numerous parental complaints and concerns about children's potential exposure to the salacious content (there was a short-running British version of the show made for ITV called The Springer Show that was lighter and more tongue-in-cheek).

2006 also saw the addition of fan favorite Reverend Shnorr, a drunken womanizing character who would often get into heated confrontations with guests while bringing a fresh comedic edge to the show.

They include hockey players Joe Corvo[45] and Adam Burish, and mixed martial arts fighters Andrei Arlovski,[46] Shonie Carter,[47] and Bas Rutten.

[65]Jerry Springer aired on various stations in the United States at various times of the day, whether in the morning, the afternoon, or the late night hours.

All syndicated episodes of Jerry Springer were censored, regardless of time, to comply with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) broadcast decency standards.

Men being violent against women was never acceptable, on- or off-camera; in Ringmaster, Springer mentioned that he always asked female guests if they wanted to press charges.

[68] On June 13, 2018, the industry publication Broadcasting & Cable reported that the series had ceased production and that the 2018–19 season forward would solely consist of reruns.

[70] Reruns continued to air thereafter in broadcast syndication and on The CW Plus until September 6, 2024, when both ceased carrying the show in all markets, just nearly seventeen months after Springer’s April 2023 death from pancreatic cancer.

[76] In 2005, the program became a subject of criticism in Bernard Goldberg's book 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America, being called "TV's lowest life-form"[77] and Springer himself being ranked at 32 and labeled an "American Pioneer".

[78] Goldberg also claimed that Springer was knowingly capitalizing on the disadvantages of his guests and the stupidity of his audience, also citing the controversial episode revolving around the man who married his horse.

[79] As the show's popularity peaked in 1998, a backlash grew against its tawdry content and the quantity of onstage fights between guests during this time became extremely common after steadily rising around December, 1994.

Most commercials during Jerry Springer were "1-800-number ads -- for technical schools, personal-injury law firms, mortgage lenders, insurance companies and health services".

[82] By 2005, security director Steve Wilkos became a cult figure on his own, and would close each show walking down a hallway engaging in casual talk with one of the more colorful guests of the preceding episode.

During the show's most popular era in the mid-late 1990s, Jerry Springer released videotapes and later DVDs marketed as Too Hot for TV, beginning in October, 1997.

In 1999, ITV made 12 British-based version episodes of the series Jerry Springer UK, filmed at the same studios as his American show.

[87] In 2005, another British version was shown made for ITV titled The Springer Show as a replacement for Trisha Goddard, which defected to Channel 5.