Springer springs talk show on Connecticut

STAMFORD, Conn., Aug. 11 (UPI) -- The titan of trailer-trash talk television, Jerry Springer, will call a stage in Stamford, Conn., his TV home for a while.

NBC officials said they moved production of the shows -- produced for syndication by NBC Universal -- to Connecticut because of the state's favorable film tax credits, The Hartford Courant reported Tuesday.

NBC has a multiyear lease on the Rich Forum, a former stage theater, and said it plans to tape about 160 episodes of Springer's show, as well as "The Steve Wilkos Show" and Maury Povich's "Maury" show through June.

Springer's show is entering its 19th season.

Nathaniel Jones, a former bartender for the Long Island Rail Road, told the Courant he has watched "Springer" almost daily since its first season, and traveled to Connecticut from the South Bronx Monday to attend the first day of taping.

"They've got the marriages, they've got the strippers," Jones, 62, said as he waited outside the studio Monday, trying to keep out of the sun. "They've got a variety of everything."

Tracy Wilson, NBC Universal's vice president for program and development, said Monday's show tapped into Springer's bread and butter: "Love triangles and cheating spouses."