Dr. Phil, the daytime television program that has provided US families with life guidance for more than two decades, will be canceled.
Tuesday, CBS Media Initiatives stated that the show’s host, Phil McGraw, will be leaving the program to pursue “other ventures.”
Since 2002, the talk program has been noted for interviewing guests with unusual life experiences.
New episodes will continue to air till the end of the current cycle in 2022-2023.
Mr. McGraw was a licensed psychologist previously. In the 1990s, he began his television career as a life counselor on The Oprah Winfrey Show, where he came to notoriety among American homes.
Then, Ms. Winfrey assisted him in launching his own program. Since then, Dr. Phil has provided guidance on a variety of topics, including mental health, parenting, and family relationships.
Mr. McGraw stated in a news statement from the program’s production firm, CBS Media Ventures, that he has been “blessed with over 25 fantastic years in daytime television.”
The 72-year-old stated,
“With this show, we have assisted tens of thousands of guests and millions of viewers with issues ranging from addiction and marriage to mental health and childrearing.”
“This has been an amazing phase in my life and career, but while I’m leaving daytime, I have so much more I want to do.”
The announcement statement did not explain what Mr. McGraw’s new projects will be, but the production company stated that he will focus on prime-time programs that “will expand his reach and strengthen his effect on television and audiences” and will premiere in early 2024.
The show is noted for interviewing eccentric guests with high shock value, and many of the interviews have spawned internet memes.
In recent years, Mr. McGraw and his show have also attracted serious criticism. Specifically, a 2016 interview with retired actress Shelley Duvall was criticized as “exploitative.”
He was criticized in 2020 for commenting harshly about Covid-lockdowns despite lacking medical competence on the condition.
Buzzfeed, an American news source, reported in 2022 that current and former employees of the program alleged “verbal harassment in a workplace that breeds fear, intimidation, and prejudice.”
According to the Buzzfeed piece, employees also spoke out against the unethical treatment of guests with mental illness.
Mr. McGraw and the program have refuted every accusation made in this report.
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