Editing Ricki Lake (1993 talk show) (section)

===Conception and development===
[[File:Jane Pratt.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|alt=See caption|[[Jane Pratt]]'s talk show was retooled into ''Ricki Lake''.]]

In 1992, television producers [[Garth Ancier]] and Gail Steinberg conceived the idea of a talk show that targeted young adults.<ref name="nytimes">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/24/garden/at-dinner-with-ricki-lake-half-the-weight-and-on-the-rise.html |title=Half the Weight and on the Rise |last=Degen |first=Peter |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 24, 1993 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304220741/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/24/garden/at-dinner-with-ricki-lake-half-the-weight-and-on-the-rise.html |archive-date=March 4, 2024}}</ref> It materialized as ''Jane'', a show hosted by ''[[Sassy (magazine)|Sassy]]'' editor [[Jane Pratt]] that focused on young and explicit topics.<ref name="variety">{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/1992/tv/news/ricki-you-join-talk-war-100453/ |title='Ricki,' 'You' join talk war |last1=Huff |first1=Richard |last2=Benson |first2=Jim |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=November 10, 1992 |archive-url= |archive-date=}}</ref> It received a 13-week trial run on [[WNYW]]; however, it was not renewed or picked up for [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]].<ref name="chicagotribune">{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/04/25/learning-to-talk-3/ |title=Learning to Talk |last=Beroset Diamond |first=Deborah |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=April 25, 1993 |archive-url= |archive-date=}}</ref> Ancier claimed that ''Jane''{{'}}s production company, [[20th Television|20th Century Fox]], liked the show's format although not Pratt as host.<ref name="chicagotribune"/> As a result, Ancier searched for a new host for the show.<ref name="nytimes"/> Over 100 women auditioned for the role and the finalists included [[Veronica Webb]], [[Melissa Rivers]], and [[Ricki Lake]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-04-ca-31589-story.html |title=Upstarts Want to Break the TV Talk-Show Mold |last=Arkush |first=Michael |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=September 4, 1993 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606222243/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-04-ca-31589-story.html |archive-date=June 6, 2024}}</ref><ref name="nytimes"/> According to Steinberg, producers wanted "someone who's young but someone who has enough of a world view to bring some understanding to a range of topics. When we met Ricki, we felt all of that immediately."<ref name="chicagotribune2">{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/12/05/talk-time/ |title=Talk Time |last=Davis |first=Bridget |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=December 5, 1993 |archive-url= |archive-date=}}</ref> Most of ''Jane''{{'}}s production staff was retained for Lake's show, which Ancier described as ''Jane'' with a new host.<ref name="variety"/><ref name="chicagotribune"/>