It’s the end of an era!
After three decades on air, Maury, the daytime talk show will end production this year. ET can confirm that the longtime host, Maury Povich, is retiring. Original episodes of the hit talk show will run through September, and then the show will go into syndication with old episodes airing every day.
The longtime host confirmed the news in a statement. “Six years ago when I was ready to retire, my the NBCUniversal family asked me to continue the show,” Maury said. “Even though I told them I was ready for assisted living, out of loyalty to NBCUniversal and my more than 100 staff and crew members, Tracie Wilson and I agreed to one more deal. I’m so proud of my relationship with NBCUniversal and all those who worked on the “Maury” show but as I occasionally tell my guests on “Maury,” “Enough, already!”
A source tells ET, “Maury is young at heart, but at 83 years old he has been ready to retire for a while now. For the last few years, he wanted to keep the show going for the sake of the many people he employed—especially during the precarious times of the pandemic.”
The source adds that Maury and his wife, Connie, are looking forward to spending more time with their family and traveling.
The talk show began its run in 1991 as The Maury Povich Show. In 1998, the series effectively changed its name to Maury. In the years that have followed, the show has gone on to be known for its many topics. Most notably, the paternity test segments, which have led to the host’s delivering his famous line, “You are not the father.”
In 2019, Povich spoke to ET about being a “titan” or rather a “survivor” of the daytime television market, and how he found talk show gold with one question, “Who’s the daddy?”
“They said, ‘We have this idea. We want to do paternity tests, and we can have a result within 10 or 12 minutes,'” Povich recalled. “And the audience, all they’re looking for is a result. You build that up with the drama.”
Povich said that it was important that his reactions and responses were genuine and realistic for the drama to play out realistically. “I said, ‘I don’t wanna know the result [before hand]. I don’t wanna know anything more than my guests. I don’t wanna think anything more than my audience. My live audience, my audience at home. If I know the answer, I will skew my questions,'” he said. “And that was the key… because I’m as surprised as they are!”
That key has resulted in the veteran host working two days a week, making $13 million a year, and the series running for 31 seasons and airing over 2,000 episodes.
As Seen On (ET)
