Another daytime program, Dr. Phil McGraw, leaves after more than two decades as one of television’s most popular talk show hosts. His syndicated daytime show, Dr Phil, will end the original episode run with the current 2022-2023 television season, the show’s 21st.
McGraw’s decision comes as his most recent contract expires. Dr Phil was given a five-season extension in 2018 as part of a mega-deal extension with CBS Media Ventures, taking it through the current season.
It’s been a transformative year in the increasingly challenging landscape of daytime talk shows, with steadfast people The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Wendy Williams Show, Maury, Dr. Oz like The real all ending within the past 12 months.
CBS Media Ventures offers station library episodes from Dr Phil for the 2023-24 season and beyond. They will feature new content such as wrap-arounds and intros from McGraw, as well as guest updates.
I hear the distributor is trying to keep Dr Phil’s primetime periods for the repeats at the same or similar price, which initially meets with some resistance from stations. CBS Media Ventures did this successfully Judge Judy after the end of the hit court show in 2021. Reruns will air during the same time slots in most major markets, with Judge Judy as the #4 most-watched syndicated program currently, with little ratings erosion.
McGraw, the current daytime doyen, started his TV career on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the late ’90s before headlining his own spin-off produced by Winfrey’s Harpo Studios. Launched in September 2002, Dr Phil was an instant hit, second only in ratings Oprah. After Winfrey’s daytime departure in 2011, Dr Phil took the crown as the most-watched syndicated daytime talk show, holding it for the past decade, only recently to No. 2 behind Live with Kelly & Ryan.
“I’ve been blessed with more than 25 wonderful years in daytime television,” McGraw said. “With this show, we have helped thousands of guests and millions of viewers with everything from addiction and marriage to mental wellbeing and raising children. This has been an incredible chapter of my life and career, but as I move on from the daytime, there’s so much more I want to do.
Featuring two other daytime syndicated shows produced by McGraw, The doctors and daily post tv, canceled last year, his decision to terminate Dr Phil marks a final departure from the day for the popular TV personality who, in addition to his daytime career, has built a track record in primetime, executive producing back-to-back hit CBS drama series in Taurus and freshmen So help me Todd.
For the foreseeable future, McGraw plans to focus on primetime programming with a new partnership, slated for an early 2024 launch.
“I am compelled to speak to a wider audience because I am deeply concerned about the American family and am determined to help restore clarity of purpose and our core values,” he said.
During its run, Dr Philin which McGraw addresses a different topic on each show and offers advice to his guests, has received 31 Emmy nominations and won five PRISM Awards for the accurate portrayal of drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse and addiction, as well as a MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) Media award.
“Phil is a valued partner and member of the CBS/King World family, and while his show may be coming to an end 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 power behind one of the most popular daytime talk shows ever. We plan to be in the Dr Phil doing business with the library for years to come and welcome opportunities to work together in the future.”