From the late ’80s through the early 2000s, daytime talk shows hosted by the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Springer and Maury Povich dominated the airways. The shows would often tackle controversial topics involving sex, race and gender expression — occasionally spiraling into live on-air TV violence. The new documentary series Dirty Talk, which premieres Wednesday, takes a look back at one of TV’s most controversial eras.

“We used all of those classic Shakespearean themes of distrust, conflict, confrontation, lust, love, betrayal,” Povich told ABC Audio.

Povich hosted The Maury Povich Show, later renamed Maury, starting in 1991. He said competition in daytime talk was fierce.

“There was a lot of money to be made, and so therefore we’re looking at ratings every single day. And now, ‘Oh this show did this crazy episode, oh well [now] we’ve got to do a crazy episode,’” he said.

Dirty Talk examines how the genre faced frequent criticism for exploiting guests by putting people in unexpected situations in the quest for higher ratings. Povich was known for doing paternity tests on-air.

“What I was trying to do was to be able to, for instance, in the paternity tests, to bring families together,” Povich said. “Critics would say I would exploit those themes, I don’t think I did. And I was on so long that I could bring those couples back 20 years later and find out if anything worked.”

Despite the pushback, Povich stands behind his show.

“I have no regrets. Lord knows I’ve had my critics over the years,” Povich said. “I’ve always thought that we had a leg to stand on.”

While the era of chaotic daytime talk is largely over, Povich said the public’s impulse to look toward those “Shakespearean themes” is alive and well.

“I firmly believe we triggered the Housewives genre, we triggered the Kardashians, we triggered the Jersey Shore,” Povich said.

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