The end is near for a daytime classic. Maury Povich confirmed that Maury will end in fall 2022 after the syndicated talk show finishes season 31.
“Six years ago when I was ready to retire, my NBCUniversal family asked me to continue the show,” the 83-year-old host explained said in a statement to Us Weekly on Sunday, March 20. “Even though I told them I was ready for assisted living, out of loyalty to NBCUniversal and my more than 100 staff and crew members, Tracie Wilson and I agreed to one more deal.”
The TV personality added, “I’m so proud of my relationship with NBCUniversal and all those who worked on the Maury show, but as I occasionally tell my guests: ‘Enough, already!’”
Tracie Wilson, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios executive vice president, further confirmed that the Washington, D.C. native was the one to make the decision to end the series, which launched in 1991. Povich is the longest-running daytime talk show host in the history of broadcast television.
“Maury and I decided two years ago that this season would be the farewell season for the show, and while his retirement is bittersweet, we are so happy for him to be able to spend more time on the golf course,” Wilson said in a statement. “Maury is a television icon, a pop culture legend and we couldn’t be more proud to have been a part of his incredible career.”
Much like NBCUniversal’s other syndicated hits, such as The Jerry Springer Show and Judge Judy, the end of original episodes does not mean Maury will be absent from the airwaves. Anyone missing his delightful delivery of the iconic line, “You are not the father!” will be able to see episodes in syndication. After 31 seasons, Maury has a catalogue that includes thousands of hours of television.
Povich graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1962 with a degree in television journalism and had his first brush with fame in 1967 as the co-host of a local talk show, Panorama, in Washington, DC. He went on to co-anchor the evening news at an NBC affiliate in Chicago in 1977 before heading to Los Angeles in 1978 to lead the news at a CBS station, which is where he met wife Connie Chung, who he married in 1984. The Emmy-nominated emcee then hosted A Current Affair, a magazine format news show, in New York from 1986 to 1990. He left to host The Maury Povich Show in 1991, which was later rebranded as Maury.
Maury has been up for a variety of Emmy Awards but only won Outstanding Hairstyling at the Daytime Emmys in 1995. Povich was most recently nominated for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host in 2020 but lost to Kelly Clarkson.
Listen to Us Weekly’s Hot Hollywood as each week the editors of Us break down the hottest entertainment news stories!
For access to all our exclusive celebrity videos and interviews – Subscribe on YouTube!