The “T.D. Jakes Show” made its return to network television this week. Best-selling author, film and music producer and entrepreneur Bishop T.D. Jakes tells rolling out, “I am very pleased that we were able to go into syndication. We did the test tour very well. The numbers escalated every week and we were able to be green lighted. We are covering about 50 percent of the country through local television stations. And, the rest of the country is covered, with some overlap as well, through OWN [network].”
The show which Jakes points out is subject-matter driven as opposed to celebrity-driven works from ground zero and is helping families to address issues. Jakes points out, “We are dealing with child abduction, human trafficking, bulimia and substance abuse.”
When it comes to topics for the show, Jakes and his team gather to debate ideas, their fluency and effectiveness, and then green light them. “We are dealing with domestic violence, and issues in the homes of Americans — Black, White and Brown people facing similar vicissitudes. We are dealing with race, religion and politics and how that plays out in the home where people have different ideas on the subjects, yet they are married to, love each other or a parented by somebody who has a different worldview. We are dealing with how the differences collide in the day-to-day lives of Americans and how they resolve those issues,” he continues.
Day-to-day for Jakes is “grueling.” They shoot three shows a day, two days out of the week, with a prep day before each show. He ministers at home, in Dallas, on Sundays as much as he can, then flies to Los Angeles where the show is filmed. “I have stopped traveling around the country speaking. I don’t do that almost at all anymore. I have downsized some of my events and conferences to accommodate this, says Jake who was in New York at the time of this interview preparing to preach on Sunday in Dallas and traveling to Los Angeles on Monday. The good thing is I have family in Los Angeles. My daughter lives there and my son goes to school there. My wife and I have family out there. Then the rest of the kids live in Dallas, so we get a home-cooked meal each place we go. My wife either travels with me or covers for me when I can’t be at the church. As much as possible, she tries to hang with me, which is really cool.”
When asked if he’s working on his replacement at his church, The Potters House in Dallas, he says, “No, no, not right now. This is not an either-or. I am basically planning on pastoring my church and doing this show. If the show continues to be relevant, I want to continue to do it and I want to continue to pastor my church. My children are all grown. We are empty nesters. We can pack a bag and run out the door without any apprehension or anxiety. It’s the season in our lives where we can travel again. I love what I am doing.”
For more information about the show: https://www.tdjakes.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BishopTdJakes/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bishopjakes
