After more than 20 years on the air, daytime talk show “Dr. Phil” will end after its current season.
CBS Media Adventures says host Phil McGraw is choosing to exit the syndicated show “for new ventures,” adding that there will still be original episodes through the current 2022-2023 television season.
“I have been blessed with over 25 wonderful years in daytime television,” McGraw said in a press release. “With this show, we have helped thousands of guests and millions of viewers through everything from addiction and marriage to mental wellness and raising children. This has been an incredible chapter of my life and career, but while I’m moving on from daytime, there is so much more I wish to do.”
McGraw says he will be focusing on prime-time programming, with plans to announce a “strategic prime-time partnership” scheduled for 2024. While there are no details just yet, CBS says the partnership will “expand his reach and increase his impact on television and viewers” — so it sounds like McGraw will still be on our television screens.
“I am compelled to engage with a broader audience because I have grave concerns for the American family, and I am determined to help restore a clarity of purpose as well as our core values,” McGraw said.
McGraw received a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of North Texas in 1979 and opened a practice with his father. He then created a self-motivation seminar called Pathways, and in 1989, founded a company called Courtroom Sciences that helps trial lawyers build cases via mock trials, behavioral analysis and more.
He began his TV career on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in the late ’90s, eventually getting his own show in September 2002. CBS says that in the 21 years on air, the show received 31 Emmy nominations. “Dr. Phil” currently averages about 2 million viewers per episode.
Variety reports that CBS emphasized that the decision to end the show was McGraw’s, as he has become more involved in scripted primetime shows in the past few years and now has two podcasts.
Although the show will soon end, fans will probably have plenty of reruns to watch. CBS Media Ventures will offer TV stations library episodes of “Dr. Phil” for the 2023-2024 season and beyond, which will include episodes with new content like intros by McGraw and guest updates.
“Phil is a valued partner and member of the CBS/King World family, and while his show may be ending after 21 years, I’m happy to say our relationship is not,” Steve LoCascio, president of CBS Media Ventures, said in a press release. “Phil changed the daytime landscape as the force behind one of the most popular talk shows ever on daytime TV — We plan to be in the ‘Dr. Phil’ business with the library for years to come and welcome opportunities to work together in the future.”
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