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Topics: News, Film and TV
Charisa Bossinakis
Topics: News, Film and TV
Dr. Phil is finally ending his show after 21 seasons.
As the king of daytime television is finishing the series, its distributor CBS Media Ventures, hopes to keep Dr. Phil syndicated for at least the 2023/2024 season, as per Variety.
Despite the show’s viewership dwindling over recent years, Dr. Phil still attracts around two million viewers per episode, making it the highest-rated television talk show right behind Live with Kelly and Ryan.
Dr Phil McGraw released a statement confirming the show ending, saying: “I have been blessed with over 25 wonderful years in daytime television.
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"This has been an incredible chapter of my life and career, but while I’m moving on from daytime, there is so much more I wish to do.”
The former psychologist said he would focus on new programming under a new partnership moving forward.
“I am compelled to engage with a broader audience because I have grave concerns for the American family, and I am determined to help restore a clarity of purpose as well as our core values,” he said.
Over the past few years, Dr Phil and his show have been subject to controversy, particularly for promoting the Turn-About Ranch in Utah, a facility supposedly treating ‘troubled teens’.
In March 2021, Bhad Bhabie, the 19-year-old famous for her ‘Cash Me Outside’ phrase, was sent to the facility and has since claimed the ranch's staff abused her.
In a video posted to social media, the rapper said workers would take away her bare necessities, including her bed.
She recalled how the staff placed her in a teepee and refused to let her sleep.
She said: “You have to sit there for three days.
"They wouldn’t let me lay down for nothing. Like, I was falling asleep, and they’re like, ‘Oh, get up, get up.’ So I’m just sitting here like, ‘This is gonna be really bad,’ when I see these people have no sympathy.”
Her allegations followed another former resident at the ranch, Hannah Archuleta, coming forward with her own sexual abuse allegations, as per the Los Angeles Times.
According to the outlet, in October, Archuleta filed a lawsuit against McGraw and ViacomCBS for negligence for recommending that the teen undergo the program at the retreat.