NATPE 2010: Complete Coverage From B&C.
Debmar-Mercury is partnering with British producer ITV Studios to launch a U.S. version of successful British talker The Jeremy Kyle Show later this year. As Debmar-Mercury has done with previous shows, including Wendy Williams, House of Payne and Meet the Browns, it will run a multi-week test to gauge the show's appeal. If the show tests well, Debmar-Mercury will roll it out for national syndication in fall 2011.
Several syndicators have indicated that they plan to test potential 2011 daytime offerings this summer as they look to fill time periods made available by The Oprah Winfrey Show's pending departure.
Londoner Kyle is a proven talent in the U.K, with 12 years of radio talk-show experience. He's hosted The Jeremy Kyle Show in England since 2005, and the program already has 1,000 episodes in the can.
“In less than five years, Jeremy Kyle has become a phenomenon in U.K. daytime television and has the talent to accomplish the same feat here,” says Paul Buccieri, president-CEO of ITV Studios.
“I am particularly looking forward to meeting ordinary American people and hearing about their extraordinary lives,” says Kyle, who focuses on relationships in his U.K.-based program. “This show isn't about me; it is about their issues and problems and how we can face them together, with complete honesty and openness, in front of U.S. audiences.”
