Debmar-Mercury, ITV Studios Partner for New U.S. Talk Show

SANTA MONICA: Debmar-Mercury is working with ITV Studios on an American version of the popular British daytime series The Jeremy Kyle Show for the national syndication market.

The show will be rolled out by Debmar-Mercury to local station groups in 2011 following a limited, multi-week on-air preview. Airing on ITV, the original version of The Jeremy Kyle Show averages a 32 share among women and a 26 share of all individuals watching TV. More than 1,000 episodes of the series have been produced since its 2005 debut.

“We believe American viewers, stations and advertisers will wholeheartedly embrace Jeremy Kyle, who is such a great talent and brings his unique sensibility to a proven format, in the new U.S. version of this very popular series,” Ira Bernstein, co-president of Debmar-Mercury said. Co-president Mort Marcus added: “ITV Studios’ superb creative vision convinced us that Jeremy Kyle can conquer another continent. His series also provides us with another very strong talk format that can spark the interest of viewers during a limited preview window and go on to become a long-term franchise for us, just as The Wendy Williams Show did.”

“In less than five years, Jeremy Kyle has become a phenomenon in U.K. daytime television and has the talent to accomplish the same feat here,” noted Paul Buccieri, the president and CEO of ITV Studios in the U.S. “This well-honed format crafted by ITV, combined with Debmar-Mercury’s winning track record as an innovative producer-distributor and our own ability to successfully adapt TV formats for U.S. viewers, gives us great confidence in this project.”

Kyle added: “I am particularly looking forward to meeting ordinary American people and hearing about their extraordinary lives. This show isn’t about me; it is about their issues and problems and how we can face them together, with complete honesty and openness, in front of U.S .audiences.”

The U.S. version of The Jeremy Kyle Show will be distributed worldwide by ITV Studios Global Entertainment.