Another Starr Report exclusive:
Richard Dominick, who helped launch Jerry Springer to talk-show stardom, is hoping to do the same with “Bar Rescue” host Jon Taffer.
Dominick has shot a talk-show pilot with Taffer, which he’ll shop to syndicators in hopes of launching “Taffer” in the fall of 2014.
“The format [of the show] is Jon fighting for the underdog . . . when you have no place to turn, you turn to Taffer,” says Dominick, who also created truTV’s ratings hit “Hardcore Pawn,” among other shows.
Dominick funded the pilot, which was shot in Chicago, out of his own pocket — because that’s how much he believes in Taffer, who’s hosted Spike’s “Bar Rescue” for three seasons now (and will continue to do so if the talk show is sold).
On “Bar Rescue,” Taffer — a veteran food service expert/consultant — travels to struggling bars around the country and tries to whip them into shape (think Gordon Ramsay and “Kitchen Nightmares”).
“What I like about Jon is that he’s got great range and, on ‘Bar Rescue,’ he has a big women demo, so it’s great to know that women like him,” says Dominick. “I like his direct approach and the way he deals with people, and when I was watching ‘Bar Rescue’ I found I couldn’t take my eyes off of him — he was so into it.
“There are certain talk-show hosts who pretend to help somebody, but when you’re watching Jon on ‘Bar Rescue’ . . . he’s a passionate man who really cares about what he does and he has a great big personality that fills a room. It’s like watching ‘Dirty Harry’ and not Adam Sandler.
“To me he’s a natural,” says Dominick. “Sometimes when I see someone I’m like, ‘My god, why didn’t I think of that?’ When I saw Jon on ‘Bar Rescue,’ it was just so obvious.”
The pilot for “Taffer” was shot in front of a live audience and comprised three segments — one about an abusive relationship, one about a deadbeat dad and his daughter, and the third encompassing a 22-year-old woman whose mother is a drug addict.
“Jon doesn’t baby the 22-year-old — he tells her she’s 22, she has two kids and that it’s time for her to stand up and walk away from [her mother],” Dominick says.
“We’re not solving anyone’s problems in an hour. That’s silly. We’re not doing gimmicks — no DNA testing, no lie detectors . . . just pure common sense.”
Dominick says he envisions “Taffer” as a late-afternoon or evening show.
“I’ll go to the Tribune Stations, to Sinclair, Fox . . . I’ll make the rounds with Jon — because when he walks into a room and takes it over, hopefully people will see what I see in him.”
More talk-show news: Lisa Oz, wife of “Dr. Oz” host Mehmet Oz, will host a prime-time talk show on Veria Living, with production on “The Lisa Oz Show” set to begin shortly in the network’s midtown Manhattan studios.
Meanwhile, “Live From the Couch” co-host Carolina Bermudez revealed on yesterday’s show (7-9 a.m./Ch. 55) that she’s expecting a baby boy. Co-host Lisa Kerney is also pregnant (with a girl). I can safely confirm that John Elliott, the show’s third co-host, is not pregnant.
And Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live” snared its best numbers of the season Monday night, with 2 million viewers tuning in to watch Andy Cohen interview Porsha Stewart (“Real Housewives of Atlanta”) and Vivica A. Fox.
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Last, but not least:
* Last Saturday’s episode of “My Cat From Hell” on Animal Planet averaged 1.2 million viewers — the most-watched episode in series history — while “Brain Games” snared 1.5 million viewers on Nat Geo Monday night for its series viewership record . . . Patricia Ciano has joined Carla Pennington and Jay McGraw as an EP of “The Test,” a syndicated show premiering this fall with host Kirk Fox . . . Fred Grandy, who played Gopher on “The Love Boat” — and later served four terms in Congress — will co-star in “Sleuth” with Christian Pedersen at Surflight Theatre in Beach Haven, NJ (May 8-18) . . . Bang for his buck: Author Robert Harken’s interview on George Noory’s “Coast to Coast AM” radio show regarding his sci-fi novel, “Life on Nubis,” spiked interest in deal-making land.