Another daytime figure, Dr. Phil McGraw, is leaving after more than two decades as one of television’s most popular talk show hosts. His syndicated daytime show Dr. Phil will conclude her series of original episodes with the current 2022-2023 television season, the 21st of the show.
McGraw’s decision comes as his last contract comes to an end. dr Phil received a five-season renewal in 2018 as part of a mega-deal renewal with CBS Media Ventures, which extended him to the current season.
It’s been a transformative year in the increasingly challenging landscape of daytime talk shows, with long-running hits The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Wendy Williams Show, Maury, Dr. Oz and The Real, all of which ended within the last 12 months.
CBS Media Ventures will produce episodes from the Dr. Offer Phil. They include new content such as McGraw wrap-arounds and intros, as well as guest updates.
I heard the rental aims to get Dr. Maintaining Phil’s prime-time reruns at the same or similar price, met with initial resistance from broadcasters. CBS Media Ventures successfully did so with Judge Judy following the conclusion of the hit 2021 court show. Reruns air in the same time periods in most major markets, with Judge Judy currently the #4 most-watched syndicated show with little loss in ratings.
The current doyen of the day, McGraw began his television career in the late ’90s on The Oprah Winfrey Show before headlining his own spin-off produced by Winfrey’s Harpo Studios. dr Phil was launched in September 2002 and was an instant hit, second only to Oprah in the ratings. After Winfrey’s departure from the daytime program in 2011, Dr. Phil holds the crown as the most-watched syndicated daytime talk show in the last decade, only recently slipping to No. 2 behind Live with Kelly & Ryan.
“I’ve been blessed with over 25 wonderful years in daytime television,” McGraw said. “Through this show, we’ve helped thousands of guests and millions of viewers through everything from addiction and marriage to mental wellbeing and parenting. This has been an incredible chapter of my life and career but as I get away from the day there is so much more I want to do.”
With two other McGraw-produced daily syndicated shows, The Doctors and Chron TV, being canceled last year, his decision to retain Dr. Phil, a definitive daytime exit for the popular TV personality who, alongside his daytime career, has built a track record in prime time, executive producing back-to-back hit CBS drama series Bull and newcomer So Help Me Todd.
In the near future, McGraw plans to focus on primetime programming with a new partnership set to launch in early 2024.
“I am compelled to engage with a wider audience because of my deep concerns for the American family, and I am committed to helping restore purpose and our core values,” he said.
During his term, Dr. Phil, in which McGraw covers a different topic on each show and offers advice to his guests, received 31 Emmy nominations and won five PRISM Awards for its accurate portrayal of drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse and addiction as MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers ) Media Prize.
“Phil is a valued partner and member of the CBS/King World family, and while his show is ending after 21 years, I’m pleased to say our relationship is not,” said Steve LoCascio, president of CBS Media Ventures . “Phil changed the daytime landscape as the driving force behind one of the most popular talk shows of all time on daytime television. In the coming years, we plan to stay at the Dr. Phil business with the library and look forward to opportunities to work together in the future.”