Phil McGraw To End Daytime Talker ‘Dr. Phil’ In The Spring

Another first-run syndicated daytime talk show is concluding.

Following the departures last season of Ellen DeGeneres, Maury Povich, Dr. Mehmit Oz, Wendy Williams and the panel-populated The Real and The Doctors, Dr. Phil McGraw has decided to call it quits. Dr. Phil from CBS Media Ventures, hosted by Dr. Phil McGraw, will conclude after 21 seasons at the end the current 2022-2023 television season.

“I have been blessed with over 25 wonderful years in daytime television,” said Dr. Phil McGraw in a statement, who began his TV career on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the late 1990s. “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.”

“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,” noted Steve LoCascio, president of CBS Media Ventures in a statement. “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.”

McGraw, 72, will focus on primetime programming and plans to announce a partnership, scheduled for an early 2024 launch. “I am compelled to engage with a broader audience because I have grave concerns for the American family, and I am determined to help restore a clarity of purpose as well as our core values,” he said.

In August 2021, McGraw attempted to find an audience on CBS in primetime with the weekly hour House Calls with Dr. Phil. In the series, he visited various families at home and offered advice on their home life. It aired for six episodes and averaged a modest 1.61 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research data.

Like the majority of all programming on any linear platform, Dr. Phil has seen its audience size wane over the years. Based on the most recent national data from Nielsen (Live+Same Day for week of January 16th). Dr. Phil finished second among the 10 original first-run syndicated talk shows with an average 2.07 million viewers. Tops was Live With Kelly & Ryan from Disney ABC Domestic Television Distribution with 2.49 million viewers. Third was The Kelly Clarkson Show from NBCUniversal with 1.42 million.

Mirroring corporate court show cousin Judge Judy, CBS Media Ventures will offer stations library episodes of Dr. Phil (translation: repeats) for the 2023-2024 season and beyond. The classic library episodes will include new content such as wrap-arounds and introductions by McGraw, as well as guest updates.

Also based on the most recent week of Nielsen data, the latest batch of library episodes of Judith Sheindlin in Judge Judy (who exited in first-run syndication in July 2021 for her current Freevee streaming entry Judy Justice) remains one of the highest-rated programs in all of daytime television and syndication. It finished fourth overall (behind game shows Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune and Family Feud), with an average 6.60 million viewers.

Library episodes of talkers Maury and The Jerry Springer Show are all seen in various stations across the country in daytime.

In other words, while Dr. Phil may be ceasing original production, his presence in daytime syndication is not about to end anytime soon. The question, of course, is how he will resonate in primetime.