Why did Tyra Banks pull the plug on The Tyra Banks Show even though its ratings were still steady? Probably because she sensed that daytime talk shows in the confessional Oprah-inspired mold are dead, writes Jessica Grose of Slate. Fifteen years ago, daytime TV was full of these shows, from Ricki Lake to Montel Williams to Sally Jessy Raphael. Now, reality TV has taken over most of that niche.
One former producer says that talk shows have really been in decline ever since one guest on the Jenny Jones Show murdered another for admitting he had a same-sex crush on him. “It became less cool to watch these shows,” the producer says. The genre isn't totally dead—Rosie O'Donnell plans to launch a show capitalizing on Oprah's departure. But if Tyra, a shrewd businesswoman, "thinks that confessional talk shows are no longer the best way to reach a female audience, I'm inclined to believe her," concludes Grose. (More daytime talk show stories.)