The series premiered July 8, 1991, with a thirteen-week trial run in select American markets. As time went on, however, the genre became less popular, and toward the end of the show's run,
Montel usually focused on inspirational stories and less controversial subjects. Common themes seen on
Montel include finding lost loves, reuniting mothers who gave their children up for adoption, or stories of strong women who faced certain danger (such as rape or attempted murder) and fought their way out.
Multiple sclerosis was also a frequent topic, as Williams suffers from the disease. Most Wednesdays (and sometimes on Fridays as well during the summer), self-proclaimed
psychic Sylvia Browne was Montel's guest, and performed
psychic readings of guests as well as discussing her ideas about spirituality and the afterlife. Her predictions have been the target for much criticism, and her psychic abilities explained as
cold reading by critics such as
Robert S. Lancaster. She refused to partake in the
One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge from
James Randi, a prominent
skeptic. During its final week on the air, Montel's television talk show aired a series of clip shows known as "Finale Week" looking back on the show's past 17 seasons, including past guests and Browne's past appearances on the show.
Production and distribution The series was produced by Mountain Movers for its entire run, with Out of My Way Productions co-producing on its first four seasons and then Letnom Productions for the following two seasons. The first three seasons were distributed by
Viacom Enterprises. After
Viacom's purchase of
Paramount Pictures in March 1994, Viacom Enterprises was merged into
Paramount Television's distribution arm,
Paramount Domestic Television. PDT began distributing the show in fall 1994, and became
CBS Paramount Domestic Television after the
Viacom/
CBS Corporation split in 2006. Its distributor changed names once again in 2007, as CPDT was merged with
King World Productions to form the current distributor,
CBS Television Distribution.
Montel originated from
Television City in
Hollywood, California, for its first season. For season two, the show moved to Unitel Video's studio space on West 53rd Street in
New York City, where it remained for the rest of its run. On January 30, 2008, the end of production of new episodes of
The Montel Williams Show at the end of the 2007–2008 television season was announced. ==Reception==