‘Dr. Phil’ Talk Show To End In The Spring After 21 Seasons
Dr. Phil McGraw started the popular show in the fall of 2002 and said he has been ‘blessed’ to ‘help thousands of guests and millions of viewers’ over the years.
Dr. Phil is coming to an end after airing as a successful talk show for 21 seasons. Dr. Phil McGraw, 72, who hosts the popular CBS Media Ventures series, decided to end filming new episodes in the spring, according to Variety, and the distributor hopes to keep airing repeats of the show through at least the 2023-24 season. Dr. Phil’s decision to end the show, which airs Monday-Friday, comes as he’s been hosting two podcasts and working as a producer of scripted primetime programming in recent years.
“I have been blessed with over 25 wonderful years in daytime television,” Dr. Phil said about his time working on Dr. Phil. “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.”
Dr. Phil started appearing as a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show to talk about different topics in the late 1990s, and it led him to starting the Dr. Phil talk show in 2002. It was initially produced by Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions and distributed by CBS-owned King World Productions. At the time Phil made the decision to end the series, it was averaging about 2 million viewers per episode, which makes it the second highest-rated daytime talk show behind Live With Kelly and Ryan, Variety reported.
“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. “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.”
Before Phil started appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show, he was a jury consultant who ran his own firm, Courtroom Sciences Inc. His experience at the firm reportedly inspired the CBS scripted drama, Bull, which starred Michael Weatherly and ran for six seasons starting in 2016. Dr. Phil earned 31 Daytime Emmy nominations during its epic run and in season 21, Dr. Phil served as executive producer with Carla Pennington.