“DR. Phil,” one of daytime television’s enduring talk shows, will wrap up its line of original episodes in the spring after 21 seasons.
dr Phil McGraw, 72, made the decision to end production of new episodes at the end of the current 2022-23 season. Distributor CBS Media Ventures hopes the syndicated “Dr. Phil” with a package of repeats on the air for at least the 2023-24 season.
CBS sources stressed that McGraw wanted to finish production on the hour-long series, which airs Monday through Friday. McGraw has become more involved as a producer of primetime scripted programs in recent years. He also hosts two podcasts. Despite steep declines across the board in linear TV, “Dr. Phil” still averages about 2 million viewers per episode. It is the highest-rated daytime talk show after Disney’s Live With Kelly and Ryan.
For McGraw, the sunset of “Dr. Phil” comes after a quarter of a century of daytime sleepiness. He began as a regular guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the late 1990s. This led to the launch of his own series in the fall of 2002. The series was originally produced by Winfrey’s Harpo Productions and distributed by King World Productions, part of CBS.
“I have been blessed with over 25 wonderful years in daytime television,” McGraw said in a statement. “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.”
McGraw hinted at a new TV company, noting that he intends to announce a “strategic primetime partnership” that will allow him “to increase his influence on television and viewers.” McGraw is targeting an early 2024 launch, though details remain sparse.
“I am compelled to reach out to a wider audience because of my deep concerns for the American family, and I am committed to helping restore clarity of purpose and our core values,” McGraw said.
The loss of the original “Dr. Phil” episodes and the royalties and advertising revenue that the show generates will certainly hurt Paramount Global’s bottom line. McGraw’s decision to end the re-production came in part because network operators were surprised by the high price CBS paid for the “Dr. Phil replay pack for next season.
“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. We plan to stay at the ‘Dr. Phil’s relationship with the library for years to come and welcome opportunities for future collaboration.”
CBS aims to enhance the reruns with new wrap-around footage filmed by McGraw, including updates on the fate of certain guests and new developments in counseling and therapy. McGraw has endeared himself to millions of viewers with his folksy advice to feuding couples, harried parents, grumpy teenagers, wayward adults and others struggling with substance abuse, mental illness and relationship problems.
McGraw’s show has also come under heavy criticism over the years, with some seeing it as exploiting guests and their troubles for the sake of TV ratings. 2016 “Dr. Phil” was slammed for an episode starring actress Shelley Duvall, who has had a long and public battle with mental illness. In announcing the show’s sunset, CBS noted that “Dr. Phil” has committed more than $35 million in guest resources after the cameras stopped rolling. In 2016, the show was slammed for its handling of an interview with actress Shelley Duvall, who had long struggled with mental illness.
Before he rose to fame with “Oprah Winfrey,” McGraw was a prominent jury consultant who ran his own company, Courtroom Sciences Inc. This aspect of his resume inspired the CBS drama “Bull,” which starred Michael Weatherly and ran for six seasons in 2016.
Currently, McGraw is executive producer of So Help Me Todd, the legal mother-son drama that premiered on CBS last fall. He also hosts the podcasts Phil in the Blanks and Mystery & Murder: Analysis by Dr. Phil,” produced by Stage 29 Productions, the banner he runs with his son, Jay McGraw.
“DR. Phil” has received 31 long-term Daytime Emmy nominations. McGraw serves as executive producer for season 21 along with Carla Pennington.