“Dr. Phil,” one of daytime TV’s talk show stalwarts, will end its run of original episodes in the spring after 21 seasons.
Dr. Phil McGraw, 72, has made the decision to stop producing new episodes at the end of the current 2022-23 season. Distributor CBS Media Ventures hopes to keep the syndicated “Dr. Phil” on the air with a rerun package through at least the 2023-24 season.
CBS sources stressed that McGraw made the call to end production on the hour-long series, which airs Monday through Friday. McGraw has been doing more as a primetime scripted producer in recent years. He also hosts two podcasts. Despite the sharp decline in linear television, “Dr. Phil” still averages about 2 million viewers per episode. That makes it the highest-rated daytime talk show since Disney’s Live with Kelly and Ryan.
For McGraw, the sunset of “Dr. Phil” comes after a quarter century of day job. 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 CBS-owned King World Productions.
“I have been blessed with over 25 wonderful years in daytime television,” McGraw said in a statement. “With this show, we’ve helped thousands of guests and millions of viewers through everything from addiction and marriage to mental health and parenting. It’s been an amazing chapter in my life and career, but as I move on from the day, there’s so much more I want to do.”
McGraw hinted at a new TV venture, noting that he intends to announce a “strategic partnership in primetime” that will aim to allow him to “increase his influence on television and viewers.” McGraw is targeting an early 2024 launch, though details remain scarce.
“I am compelled to reach out to a wider audience because I have serious concerns about the American family and I am determined to help restore clarity of purpose as well as our core values,” McGraw said.
The loss of the original “Dr. Phil” episodes and the licensing fees and advertising revenue the show generates will certainly be a hit to Paramount Global’s bottom line. Word of McGraw’s decision to end the new production came in part because broadcasters were surprised by the high price CBS was seeking for “Dr. Phil” rerun package for next season.
“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,” said Steve LoCascio, president of CBS Media Ventures. “Phil changed the daytime landscape as the force behind one of the most popular talk shows ever to air on daytime television. We plan to be at “Dr. Phil is working with the library for years to come and welcomes opportunities to work together in the future.”
CBS aims to dress up the recurring episodes with extensive new material filmed by McGraw, including updates on the fate of specific guests and new developments in counseling and therapy. McGraw endeared himself to millions of viewers with his folksy brand of advice, which he dispensed to busy couples, frazzled parents, moody teens, wayward adults and others struggling with substance abuse, mental illness and relationship problems.
McGraw’s show has also faced harsh criticism over the years for what some see as exploitation of guests and their issues for the sake of TV ratings. In 2016, “Dr. Phil” took a hit for an episode featuring actor Shelley Duvall, who has had a long and public battle with mental illness. In announcing the show’s sunset, CBS noted that “Dr. Phil” provided more than $35 million in resources for guests after the cameras stopped rolling. In 2016, the show came under fire for its handling of an interview with actor Shelley Duvall, who has a long battle with mental illness.
Before he rose to fame with “Oprah Winfrey,” McGraw was a prominent jury consultant who ran his own firm, Courtroom Sciences Inc. This aspect of his autobiography inspired the CBS scripted drama Bull, which starred Michael Weatherly and ran for six seasons beginning in 2016.
McGraw is currently an executive producer on “So Help Me Todd,” the mother-son legal drama that debuted 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” earned 31 Daytime Emmy nominations during its long run. For season 21, McGraw served as an executive producer alongside Carla Pennington.
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