Daytime TV A Dunn Deal?
Sally Jessy Raphael couldn’t get through a week without him. Jerry Springer launched his national talk show around him. And today, Dr. Phil, Extra and The Today Show count on him. His name is Troy Dunn but most purveyors of daytime television know him simply as “Troy, the reunion guy”. But that narrow description may be widening next fall.
Dunn, 39, has been a staple of nearly every daytime talk show in America since 1990. He has a deal with A&E for his own reality show. He has made the dreams of thousands of unsuspecting talk show guests come true on national tv. And after 16 years and over 500 guest appearances, the Gods of the TV universe believe Troy Dunn should be the next person to come into your home 5 days a week, ala his own talk show. But Dunn isn’t making it easy on them.
No, he isn’t demanding more money- he doesn’t want a larger dressing room and he isn’t seeking a parking spot with his name on it. No, Dunn has asked for something which the talk industry has not had to deal with before- something so rare, it even has Hollywood lawyers scrambling for some sort of previous precedent- Dunn’s big demand, his deal-breaker, must-have is…a “morality clause!”
Imagine that- a talk show host with a code of ethics! According to Dunn, that’s the missing ingredient in today’s talk show environment, “Every single show on TV today is, in some way, offensive to the traditional American family. I will NOT be a contributor to that repulsive display of hypocrisy.”
When pressed for more details, I was shocked to see how readily he launches an assault on the current daytime yakkers- including the all-powerful queen of the talk universe, Ms. Oprah herself! “Oprah is the most loving and generous hypocrite on TV today. She preaches strong moral beliefs and principles while she is living out of wedlock and chooses career over family. I admire her dedication to her charitable works but am repulsed by her terrible example to the American family.”
And what does Dunn have to say about Oprah’s protégé, Dr. Phil? “Another TV hypocrite! No man 50 pounds over weight should EVER be out promoting a weight loss product!” Space won’t allow me to share with you his comments on Jerry Springer, Rachael Ray and Ellen, but suffice to say, he’s making no apologies. And he wants “middle America” to stop apologizing too. Here is a sample of just one of the many rants Dunn explodes into during our interview; “Why have moral Americans become apologetic and in some cases, embarrassed about their traditional values and strong sense of family? Why do married men feel inferior around their single friends? Why are parents afraid to spank their children now? Why do people sit in silence while the guy next to them blows cigarette smoke in their face? Good Lord America- get on ebay and buy a spine! Stop apologizing for being moral! Stand for something or fall for anything!”
That is just a small taste of the many soap boxes Dunn hopped on during the course of our 2 hour lunch interview. Jonathan Koch, CEO of Asylum Entertainment (the production company behind Dunn’s new A&E reality show) says, “Now you see why the major syndicators are climbing over one another to sign him; love him or hate him- he makes for great tv!”
Jon Moonves, entertainment lawyer to Dunn, confirms his client has been in talks with NBC-Universal, Paramount, Fox, Buena Vista and Sony. When pressed for who looks to be the front-runner, Moonves simply said, “we are keeping our options open. When Troy decides, he’ll tell the rest of us.” So what’s the hold-up? Dunn. This 39 year old father of seven (yes, I said 7) who has been married to his high school sweetheart for 19 years, insists on a clause in his deal which gives him veto power over any show content Dunn (solely) considers immoral, deceitful or unethical. “Some people tell me I’m making too big a deal out of this. But I have been involved behind the scenes in almost every daytime talk show on television over the past two decades and I have seen how things can spin out of control and people get hurt. That will NOT be allowed on my show and I must be able to put a stop to anything of the sort.”
While Dunn may leave a bitter taste in the mouths of the liberal crowd, some are saying he can do for daytime television what Fox News did for cable news- bring it home to the conservative base of the country, in a very big way. Major syndicators appear to be ready to bank on that possibility. After the massive failures of all three freshman syndicated talkers this year- Behrendt, Ablow and Mullally, syndicators are realizing that daytime audiences are ready for "one of their own".
National Polling Data Company (NPDC)surveyed 2,150 people from coast to coast on the matter and the overwhelming response when asked about the characteristics of the ideal daytime tv host were "family values".
Dunn, it would appear, has those in spades. "Some have told me I represent family values with an attitude. I don't know about that. But I do know that making aplogies for one's integrity is not politically correct as far as I'm concerned. The day of liberal-leaning daytime hosts is over. America wants their daytime back and I intend on giving it to them."
Dunn is relatively tight-lipped when asked which syndicators or networks he is leaning closest to but he is quick to rattle off the names of people from his many years in talk television that he would love to create his show with. "There are only a handful of people I trust with something as important as the sculpting of my own talk show. Cathy Chermol, Amy Rosenblum, Eric Shotz, Jonathan Koch, Ann Lewis and a couple of others who will remain secrets for now," Dunn says with a grin.
Will Dunn accept one of the 7 figure deals currently being dangled in front of him? Will daytime audiences finally get a "man of the people" as one producer describes him? Dunn says he is making no promises but is "reasonably optimistic."
