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“Dr. Phil” is coming to an end after more than two decades on the air.
Phillip McGraw announced to Variety on Tuesday that his daytime show will wrap up this spring after 21 seasons.
“I have been blessed with over 25 wonderful years in daytime television,” the host, 71, told the outlet.
“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.”
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However, CBS Media Ventures claimed Dr. Phil won’t be off the air for long.
In a statement, the company announced that McGraw “plans to announce a strategic prime-time partnership, scheduled for an early 2024 launch.”
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McGraw’s departure marks the end of an era for daytime television, following other big stars such as Ellen Degeneres, Wendy Williams and Oprah Winfrey — who gave Dr.Phil his start in the ’90s.
The beloved talk show host’s decision to end the show comes less than one year after a dozen former — and current — staffers spoke out about the allegedly “traumatizing” environment on set.
“Everyone was just pretty miserable. You would walk into the building and there was just a palpable dread and anxiety,” one ex-employee claimed to BuzzFeed News. “’Dr. Phil’ — the show about mental health where everybody who works on it has terrible mental health because our work conditions were really bad.”
Others claimed they had “nightmares” about going to work, while another group of staffers defended the TV icon, saying the “intense” atmosphere was “always professional.”
While none of the tales directly implied McGraw was to blame for the “negative environment,” his attorney, H. Patrick Morris, “categorically denie[d]” all the allegations.
Despite the controversy, “Dr.Phil” was the most watched daytime syndicated talk show for nearly a decade up until last year. Although it lost its crown to “Live! With Kelly and Ryan,” the show was still averaging 2 million viewers per episode in its now-final season.
