Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action

Gripping, provocative and at times disturbing two-part Netflix documentary series.

Fights, Camera, Action makes it very clear – an offstage killing was all part of the show’s phantasmagoria. All of human life was on The Jerry Springer Show. Nothing held it back. You’ll watch this series through your fingers. But you’ll watch it.

What is remarkable in this documentary is the denial and evasion of responsibility that persists, even now, from almost everyone involved in the show who is featured, despite footage of producers whipping guests up into a fury before pushing them on stage, in pursuit of the physical fights that would become synonymous with the show.

It would have been nice to include a few more clips from past interviews to get more of an understanding of his take on the show. That said, there’s rarely an ill word spoken of him throughout both episodes, so maybe it’s not entirely necessary. “Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action” is clearly made for everyone who chose to spend a few hours now and then watching the worst of humanity bare its soul on national television in the 90s.

The reason why we’re so hard on Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action is that The Jerry Springer Show, and Jerry himself, are such fascinating topics that we wanted a deeper exploration of the cultural phenomenon that the show was than what we got. It’s one of the few cases where a docuseries needs more episodes, not less.

Delivers about as much insight as one might expect from a 97-minute affair—which is to say, very little.