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Dr. Phil
Genre	Talk show
Created by	Oprah Winfrey Phil McGraw
Presented by	Phil McGraw
Opening theme	"Shine" byMeredith Brooks used from 2002 to 2008[1]
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	21
No. of episodes	3,505[2]
Production
Executive producers	Carla Pennington Phil McGraw
Camera setup	Multiple
Running time	41–48 minutes
Production companies	Harpo Productions (2002–10) Stage 29 Productions (2010–23) Peteski Productions (2005–23) CBS Media Ventures
Original release
Network	Syndication CBS(specials only)
Release	September 16, 2002 (2002-09-16) – May 25, 2023 (2023-05-25)
Related
Dr. Phil Primetime The Doctors The Oprah Winfrey Show

Dr. Phil is an Americantalk show created byOprah Winfrey and the hostPhil McGraw. After McGraw's segments onThe Oprah Winfrey Show,Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002. On both shows, McGraw offered advice in the form of "life strategies" from his life experience as aclinical andforensic psychologist.^[3] The show was insyndication throughout the United States and several other countries. Occasional prime-time specials aired onCBS.

The executive producers were Phil McGraw andshowrunner Oprah Winfrey. It was a production ofPeteski Productions and distributed byCBS Media Ventures.Harpo Productions co-produced the series until 2010, withParamount Domestic Television and its successor,CBS Paramount Domestic Television, serving as secondary co-producers until 2007. It was originally distributed byKing World Productions.

The program was recorded before a live studio audience in Stage 29 on theParamount Pictures lot inHollywood, California. It was recorded from August to May with a break in December for the holiday season. On October 25, 2018, it was announced thatDr. Phil had been renewed for four additional seasons, taking the show to 2023, or the end of its 21st season,^[4] which would be confirmed to be its last in January of that year. The final episode aired on May 25, 2023.

TheDr. Phil talk show premiered on September 16, 2002.^[5] Before starting the show, McGraw had made regular appearances as a guest onThe Oprah Winfrey Show.^[6][7]

From September 2008 to its end,Dr. Phil was broadcast in HDTV with a revamped look and a theme written and performed by McGraw's son, Jordan. Its tenth season premiered on September 12, 2011. Reruns of earlier episodes of the series began broadcasting on theOprah Winfrey Network in January 2011.

Since 2011,Dr. Phil has ranked as the top syndicated talk show, before that it was the second highest-rated talk show afterThe Oprah Winfrey Show.^[8] In October 2015, it was reported that Dr. Phil had been renewed through 2020.^[9]

On October 25, 2018, it was announced thatDr. Phil had been renewed for four additional seasons, for a total of 21 seasons, ending in 2023.

On January 31, 2023, CBS Media Ventures confirmedDr. Phil would cease production of new episodes with the current season, ending its run at 21 seasons, with the final episode airing on May 25, 2023. The distributor offered a package of 'best-of' reruns (billed as season 22)a laJudge Judy (another show distributed byCBS Media Ventures) for stations to fulfill the remainder of their contracts, though for the most part, much of its affiliate base refused the package for other current-day programming options, or pushed it tograveyard slots or other sister stations, and in some markets, the reruns air on other stations entirely if not completely refused.^[10]On April 2, 2024, McGraw debuted his new show,Dr. Phil Primetime, out ofFort Worth, Texas, on his own television network,Merit Street. Dozens of longtimeDr. Phil staffers were reported to have relocated from Los Angeles to Texas to continue working alongside McGraw.^[11] The program features more of McGraw's conservative views on education, family values, and immigration.^[12]

On February 19, 2025, CBS Media Ventures announced thatDr. Phil will leave broadcast syndication at the end of the current season once its contracts with station groups expires and move the reruns of the show to Merit TV, officially becoming the new exclusive home of the show's 21 seasons.

McGraw's advice and methods have drawn much criticism from psychotherapists as well as from laypersons. McGraw said in a 2001Chicago Tribune interview that he never liked traditional one-on-one counseling, and that "I'm not the Hush-Puppies, pipe and 'Let's talk about your mother' kind of psychologist."^[13] In 2004, theNational Alliance on Mental Illness called McGraw's conduct in one episode of his television show "unethical" and "incredibly irresponsible".^[14] McGraw's critics regard advice given by him to be at best simplistic, and at worst, ineffective.^[15]

On April 13, 2008, an unnamed staffer forDr. Phil put up 10%, or a total of $3,300 towards the $33,000bail for 17-year-old Mercades Nichols, one of a group of eight teenage girls who beat another girl and videotaped the attack. Someone put up the remaining 90% of the bail for Nichols, who had been booked at thePolk County, Florida, jail.^[16] Theresa Corigliano, spokesperson for theDr. Phil show said that "In this case certain staffers went beyond our guidelines," and that the producers had "decided not to go forward with the story as our guidelines have been compromised."^[17][18]

Shelley Duvall, who was reportedly suffering frommental illness,^[19] appeared on a segment on the show in 2016.^[20] It drew significant criticism from the public, with many suggesting that Duvall's mental illness was being exploited.^[20] In the segment, she refused the offered treatment.^[20]

In February 2022, around a dozen current and former employees ofDr. Phil alleged that they experienced "verbal abuse in a workplace that fosters fear, intimidation, and racism".^[21][22] Seven current employees also claimed that the show's guests are often manipulated and treated unethically.^[21] Attorneys for McGraw and his co-producer, Carla Pennington, categorically denied every allegation made.^[21][23]

The show covered a wide variety of topics includingweight loss,financial planning,grief,dysfunctional families,marriage counselling,rebellious teenagers,child stars, and support for charitable causes.^[24][25][26]

Guests on the show sometimes underwentpolygraph tests. These tests were usually administered by retired FBI agent Jack Trimarco,^[27] who was a frequent guest on the show until he died in 2018. After Trimarco's death, he was replaced by polygraph examiner John Leo Grogan.^[28] McGraw is noted for often bringing families back on multiple shows for follow-up "therapy" sessions in his segment called "Dr. Phil Family."^[29]

On May 21, 2007, theDr. Phil show was ranked 4th byNielsen Media Research, with 6.69 million viewers. The show was ranked 6th with 5.69 million viewers on May 12, 2008.^[30][31] In May 2008,Dr. Phil was the second most popular talk show on television, afterThe Oprah Winfrey Show.^[32]

On July 30, 2019,Dr. Phil was the top syndicated show with a 2.9 national Nielsen rating, ranking first among talk shows for the 150th consecutive week.^[33] TheDr. Phil show was the highest rated talk show in the first week of March 2020, with a 2.8 national Nielsen rating.^[34]

• Official website
• Dr. Phil atIMDb

• 2000s American television talk shows
• 2002 American television series debuts
• 2023 American television series endings
• 2010s American television talk shows
• 2020s American television talk shows
• American television spinoffs
• American English-language television shows
• First-run syndicated television programs in the United States
• Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Television series by CBS Studios
• Television series by Harpo Productions
• Television series by King World Productions

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