Exclusive: Debmar-Mercury's 'Jeremy Kyle' to End After This Season

British talk show host's overseas popularity never translated to U.S.

By Paige Albiniak -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/18/2012 3:51:20 PM

Debmar-Mercury's Jeremy Kyle, a conflict talk show featuring popular British talk show host Kyle, will not be returning for a third season, the company confirmed on Tuesday.

"We can confirm the U.S. version of The Jeremy Kyle Show won't be returning for a third season," said Debmar-Mercury copresidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein in a joint statement. "This is in no way a reflection of the quality of the show. Backed by a first-rate production team, Jeremy was amazing and showed all of us why he is such a rock star in the U.K. Simply put, Jeremy is one of the best hosts we have ever seen, and we expect to see more of him on U.S. television in the years ahead. Unfortunately, talk shows like this simply take time to build and, while we were seeing ratings progress in many markets, it wasn't enough to justify going forward with another season."

With the Fox and Sinclair-owned stations as its launch groups, Jeremy Kyle managed to last longer in syndication than expected considering its average 0.5 live plus same day household rating. But the show had strong international clearances and thus, ancillary revenue, so it managed to remain financially viable into a second year. 

Kyle also stars in a similar show on the U.K.'s ITV and that show, which is produced separately from the U.S. version, will continue.