“This has been a great chapter of my life and career, but as I leave daytime, there is so much more I want to do,” Dr. Phil stated.
“Dr. Phil,” the long-running talk show featuring Dr. Phil McGraw, 72, doling out advice to feuding couples, parents, teens, and people dealing with various substance abuse or mental health issues, will end after the current 2022-2023 television season, CBS Media Ventures confirmed to NBC News on Jan. 31.
McGraw has worked in television for more than a quarter-century, beginning on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in the late 1990s, according to the announcement, and he is “choosing to quit daytime for other pursuits.”
“I have been blessed with over 25 wonderful years in daytime television,” McGraw said in the 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, who is an executive producer on his titular show, will “concentrate on prime-time programming” in the near future and “plans to announce a strategic prime-time partnership, scheduled for an early 2024 start,” according to the announcement.
“I am impelled to (connect) with a bigger audience because I have severe worries about the American family, and I am determined to assist restore a clarity of purpose as well as our core values,” McGraw says in a press statement.
According to Variety, despite the fact that fewer and fewer people are watching linear TV, “Dr. Phil” is still the second most-watched midday show on the air, with an average of around 2 million viewers per episode, which airs for one hour Monday through Friday.
“Phil is a treasured partner and member of the CBS/King World family, and while his show may be coming to an end after 21 years, I’m delighted to announce our connection will not,” stated Steve LoCascio, president of CBS Media Ventures, in a press release. “Phil revolutionized the daytime landscape as the driving force behind one of the most popular discussion shows ever on daytime TV — We hope to be in the ‘Dr. Phil’ business with the library for years to come and welcome further possibilities to collaborate.”
