Tribune Broadcasting plans to air a daytime talk show featuring preacher T.D. Jakes come fall 2009, according to sources close to the company.
The show, developed and produced by Dr. Phil McGraw’s Stage 29 Productions, will be distributed by CBS Television Distribution. Tribune is likely to add the program to a daytime line-up that includes NBC Universal’s Maury, Jerry Springer and Steve Wilkos.
Tribune and Fox also are kicking the tires on a late-night talker from Warner Bros. that would feature George Lopez, star of Warner Bros.' off-net sitcom, according to sources. Lopez is performing well in off-net syndication, last week losing to Sony’s veteran, Seinfeld, in third place, by only one-tenth of a ratings point.
T.D. Jakes will be the third first-run show to announce solid clearances for next summer and fall, following Sony’s announcement in September that it had cleared the Harpo-produced Dr. Oz on the Fox station group and Debmar-Mercury’s announcement, also in September, that Fox is picking up Wendy Williams, featuring the New York-based shock jock, starting next summer.
Other first-run shows on the fall 2009 include Program Partners’ Marie Osmond and Twentieth’s Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader, although neither company has announced clearances yet.
