“Dr. Phil” is ending after more than two decades on the air.
Philip McGraw announced to Variety on Tuesday that his daytime show will wrap up this spring after 21 seasons.
“I’ve been blessed with over 25 wonderful years in daytime television,” the 71-year-old host told the outlet.
“With this show, we’ve helped thousands of guests and millions of viewers through everything from addiction and marriage to mental health and parenting. It’s been an incredible chapter in my life and career, but when I’m moving on from daytime, so I want to do more.”
McGrath announced the news on Tuesday.
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however, CBS Media Ventures claimed that Dr. Phil would not be off the air much longer.
In a statement, the company announced that McGraw “plans to announce a strategic prime-time partnership, scheduled to launch in early 2024.”
McGraw’s departure marks the end of an era in daytime television, following other big stars like Ellen DeGeneres, Wendy Williams and Oprah Winfrey — who gave Dr. Phil its start in the ’90s.
The beloved talk show host’s decision to end the show comes less than a year after a dozen former – and current – staffers spoke out about the allegedly “mind-boggling” environment on set.
“Everybody was so miserable. You’d walk into the building and there was just a palpable fear and anxiety,” one former employee claimed to BuzzFeed News. “’Dr. Phil’ – a show about mental health where everyone who works on it has terrible mental health because our working conditions were really bad.
Others claimed they had “nightmares” about going to work, while another group of staff defended the TV icon, saying the “intense” environment was “always professional”.
While neither story directly implies that McGrath was not to blame for the “negative environment,” his attorney, H. Patrick Morris, categorically denied this.[d]”All charges.
Despite the controversy, “Dr. Phil” was the most-watched daytime syndicated talk show for nearly a decade until last year. Although it lost its crown to “Live! With Kelly and Ryan,” the show still averaged 2 million viewers per episode in its final season.
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