Dr. Phil aired its last episode on May 25, 2023, but after all this time, some viewers still don’t know why. The program was popular enough to keep going for a while longer at least, so when its conclusion was announced, it came as a shock to many.
Around since 2002, Phil McGraw’s talk show was one of the longest-running in daytime TV, gathering the a large audience with its dives into the (often wild) lives and problems of guests. The stories brought to Dr. Phil were at worst entertaining, and lead many of the show’s guests to achieve fame. Danielle Bregoli (aka Bhad Bhabie) is the best examples of this, but folks like “Pregnant with Baby Jesus” Haley and “Brat Camp” Noah are also incredibly memorable for fans.
Of course, there is something to be said about Dr. Phil’s readiness to use his guests’ behavioral and/or mental struggles for entertainment in exchange for advice, but alas, the show’s success could not be stopped. Well, actually, it could. And it did, but not for the reasons that most practicing psychotherapists had hoped for. Some viewers speculate that the decision to pull the plug on Dr.Phil may be related to his marriage with Robin McGraw. Is there any truth to the rumors, though?
Why was Dr. Phil canceled?
Dr. Phil’s show was not canceled because of his wife — they’re still together — nor due to the frequent criticism it received. Despite folks’ doubts surrounding Phil McGraw’s credentials, it seems like the decision to end the program came from Dr. Phil himself. In a statement shared by Paramount Press Express, the TV host said that he felt it was time to embrace new projects. Although he expressed his gratitude for the two decades he spent on daytime TV, McGraw wished to move on from it, and so he did.
All that said, we have to wonder if the abuse claims by former Dr. Phil employees that surfaced in February 2022 had anything to do with this decision. We may never know, but McGraw did in fact move on to another project, aptly named Dr. Phil Primetime. It’s basically just Dr. Phil conducting interviews, but on primetime TV instead of daytime. A huge difference, I know.
Still, if you’d like to accompany McGraw on this new journey by watching the new version of Dr. Phil, you can do so through Merit Street Media. New episodes air at 8/7C, but the cable network also broadcasts reruns throughout the day.