Maury Povich Admits ‘There’s No Way’ He Could Do His ‘Crazy’ Talk Show Today

Maury Povich could get away with just about anything on TV in the 1990s — and he knows it!

In the trailer for ABC’s three-part special Dirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Ruled TV, the legendary talk show host, 86, admitted, “I couldn’t do that show today. There’s no way.”

Released on Thursday, January 8, the first look teased throwback footage to some of the most popular daytime talk shows during the 1990s and 2000s, including The Jerry Springer Show, The Geraldo Rivera Show, Sally, Ricki Lake and The Montel Williams Show.

Maury, which regularly featured explosive arguments and blowout fights, ran from 1991 to 2022.

“Remember when daytime television was, well, let’s just say a little over the top?” Povich — known for his iconic paternity testing on Maury — asked in the trailer. “Every day was filled with crazy. And America just couldn’t look away.”

According to ABC, “Dirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Ruled TV examines the rise, fall and lasting impact of the most sensational era in television talk show history. By exploring the psychological forces that shaped the talk TV genre, the series reveals how these shows transformed from trusted confessional spaces into lightning rods of controversy, leaving a lasting impact on culture, media and the people caught in the chaos.”

The series will include “never-before-told stories from the hosts, producers and insiders who defined the talk TV world.”

Guest appearances include Povich, Sally Jessy Raphael, Montel Williams and Leeza Gibbons as well as Talk Soup host John Henson; Ricki Lake creator Garth Ancier; Jerry Springer and Sally executive producer and creator Burt Dubrow; Geraldo executive producer Marty Berman; former Jerry Springer Show bodyguard-turned-host Steve Wilkos; media psychologist Dr. Pamela Rutledge; and journalist Ross Benes, among others.

Dirty Talk premieres Wednesday, January 14, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and streams the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.