 |
| Bishop T.D. Jakes |
The force behind T.D. Jakes Ministries and the annual celebrity-studded celebration of faith called Mega Fest, Jakes has become a sort of celebrity in his own right. Time magazine once wondered if he might be America's next Billy Graham.
While Jakes leads The Potter's House, the North Texas non-denominational mega church that's 30,000 members strong, he's getting ready to reach an even larger audience Mondays through Fridays with The T.D. Jakes Show.
The program's trial run will air daily from August 17 - September 11 of this year.
"It's nice to be challenged again at this stage in my life," he said of the new talk show. "I'm 58 years old and I have the opportunity to do something new and fresh and exciting."
Jakes says while he'll still draw on his faith in the new venture, he has no plans to preach. He says the show will reveal a different side of himself.
"People tend to define you by how they met you, and they tend to incarcerate you by how they define you," he said. "But, I'm a kind of guy that breaks boundaries and likes to talk about everything and likes to enjoy life and have a lot of fun."
That should be evident for an hour each weekday afternoon after the show launches. While Jakes said he'll delve into fun topics, he really perked up when he talked about his plans to address issues faced by everyday people in everyday life.
"There are not that many people on television who are saying anything that's hopeful anymore," he said. "And to be encouraging and positive and uplifting and help people work through tight places in their lives is what I do anyway, so to do it on television and reach other people is really a calling for me."
Jakes says viewers can expect "a Dr. Phil meets Oprah sort of thing."
"I'm absolutely excited about it," he said. "We're going to deal with everything, some of the pitfalls we get into, but more importantly how do we get out of them? It's an opportunity to reach a lot of people with hope and encouragement and excitement. And it's fun for me to be able to be on a platform where I can talk about everything."
The hour-long weekday show will be produced by TEGNA and Debmar Mercury. The T.D. Jakes Show will initially debut on four TEGNA stations starting August 17th:
WFAA in Dallas: 3 to 4 p.m.
WXIA in Atlanta: 2 to 3 p.m.
KARE in Minneapolis: 2 to 3 p.m.
WKYC in Cleveland: 3 to 4 p.m.
Information: Courtesy WFAA.com
