Final Thoughts: Jerry Springer | The Straight Man | 5

What does it take to make six figures on OnlyFans? Leon and Gracie explore what feels like a modern-day Playboy Mansion, where intimacy is engineered for scale and success. Elsewhere, a medical worker who turned to OnlyFans during the pandemic finds that the connection she sells after hours may be just as life-saving.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Journalist Leon Neyfakh thought he understood OnlyFans — and dismissed it. After a surprising conversation with his sister unsettles that certainty, he teams up with comedian and OnlyFans creator Gracie Canaan to begin asking what people are really paying for when intimacy goes digital.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this provocative investigation into OnlyFans— the adult platform where subscribers around the world spent more than $7 billion in 2024— journalist Leon Neyfakh teams up with comedian and OnlyFans creator Gracie Canaan for a one-of-a-kind exploration into the current state of human connection. Throughout, they discover that the site originally built for spicy adult content has quietly and surprisingly become something more complicated— an emotional marketplace where desire, performance, care, fantasy, and vulnerability seemingly blur together. As Neyfakh and Canaan navigate timely questions about autonomy, performance, and profit, a question emerges: is connection mediated by a screen still authentic? To find the answer, they meet creators building lucrative businesses, subscribers who believe they’ve found something real, professional “chatters” who are paid to simulate affection, and pioneers who have helped engineer intimacy at scale.Captivating and tender, <i>OnlyFantasy</i> is ultimately about the cost of loneliness, the seductive power of desire, and how the rules of human intimacy are being rewritten online.Is what’s happening on OnlyFans real? Or is it only a fantasy?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Donald Trump’s rise to power casts a new light on Springer’s political baggage. As he pursues his last chance at a political career, he must grapple with the reality of how other people see him, and reconcile it with how he sees himself.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

While Springer plays the ringmaster on his show, deep down he dreams of returning to political life. By the early 2000s, he seems ready to make a comeback. While some seem eager to welcome his brand of progressive politics, it’s unclear if voters can reconcile Springer’s serious side with the man they know from the show.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Springer’s willingness to push the boundaries of what’s allowed on television – and the increasing amount of fighting on screen – put the show under a microscope. Springer and the show’s staff stand firm as accusations of violence, moral debasement, and fakery abound. In the process, Springer becomes a world-famous superstar – but what has he lost along the way?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

By the mid-1990s, The Jerry Springer Show had made a name for itself by embracing the messy and unbelievable aspects of people’s personal lives. As ratings soar, producers scramble to make shocking episodes that will live up studio executives’ highest expectations – and Springer’s guests are caught in the crossfire.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As his success on the nightly news in Cincinnati lands him his very own show, Springer struggles to stand out from the crowded field of daytime talk… until one strong-willed producer encourages him to take the show in a new direction.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Springer makes his most ambitious political move yet. And while his work on the campaign trail may not deliver him to the governor’s office, he finds his stride in another arena: television.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When the scandal around Springer explodes into public view, he faces a reckoning in the city he has come to think of as his home. As Springer works to regain the trust of his community, where will he go next?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.