Dr. Phil to end his reign as the king of daytime TV! Host announces plan to step down from iconic talk show after season 21… and has his eyes set on primetime
- Phil McGraw, 72, has decided to end his show Dr. Phil after 21 years
- The former psychologist hopes to move from daytime to primetime
- His profile soared in the ’90s with appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show
Phil McGraw is saying goodbye to his popular daytime talk show Dr. Phil after a stunning 21 years.
The series’ conclusion was announced on Tuesday, after the 72-year-old former clinical psychologist opted to stop producing the show.
Sources at CBS indicated that it was McGraw himself who made the decision to end the series, rather than the network, Variety reported, as he hopes to move into primetime programming.
The host — whose contributions to daytime television were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2020 — reportedly plans to finish out the 2022–2023 season, but CBS hopes to keep reruns of the show airing in syndication through 2024.
End of an era: It was announced on Tuesday that Phil McGraw is ending his popular daytime talk show Dr. Phil after a stunning 21 years on the air; pictured on Dr. Phil in 2018
Variety notes that McGraw has been increasingly focused on scripted shows airing in higher-rated primetime slots in recent years, which seems to be where his focus has shifted.
His show has managed to stay remarkably popular over more than two decades on the air, and it averages around two million viewers per new episode.
ABC’s Live With Kelly And Ryan is currently the only daytime show that is able to best McGraw’s ratings.
McGraw’s public profile began to soar in the 1990s when he was a regular guest of Oprah Winfrey on her massively popular daytime talk show.
He proved to be a hit with her fans, and that success led to his eponymous talk show, which premiered in 2002.
Time for a change: Sources at CBS indicated that it was McGraw himself who made the decision to end the series, rather than the network, Variety reported, as he hopes to move into primetime programming; seen in Hollywood in 2020
Moving on up: McGraw’s public profile began to soar in the 1990s when he was a regular guest of Oprah Winfrey, which led to his own talk show starting in 2002; seen with (L-R) Suze Orman, Winfrey, Dr. Mehmet Oz and Nate Berkus
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