Dr. Phil is back — and this time it will be in prime time.
Less than half a year after Dr. Phil McGraw ended his long-running daytime talk show after 21 seasons, the TV personality has announced that he will be back in front of viewers’ screens every day – and this time his show will air at 8:00 PM ET.
“I’m back in primetime on a brand new network called Merit Street Media,” McGraw, 73, said in a video announcement posted Monday on X (formerly known as Twitter). “It’s my new network, but I have some news to share with you about it. This isn’t really my network, this is our network. This is something that will be completely focused on what is important to you. What you want to talk about, what you want to do and Dr. Phil will be in prime time.”
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dr. Phil Primetime will premiere on February 26, according to a press release from Merit Street Media, which is described as “a new cable TV network dedicated to delivering essential news and entertainment to viewers.”
The network will be anchored by McGraw’s upcoming show, which will be taped in front of a live audience at a newly constructed studio in the Dallas-Forth Worth area.
In a statement, the host said of the new show: “As always, the audience will dictate our content because they are our content, and I want my viewers’ help in building Merit Street. I remain committed to helping individuals, couples and families have the hard conversations, face the hard realities and get real answers for the most positive and effective outcome.”
McGraw continued, “I absolutely love talking to real people about real problems. People who aren’t just complaining but actively looking for real solutions to a better life.”
The program will follow the same format as McGraw’s previous talk show. “It all starts and ends with real people who are really dealing with these problems, using common sense, fact-based information and action plans to get results,” he said.
dr. Phil visits SiriusXM Studios in New York in November 2019.
Cindy Ord/Getty
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The final episode of McGraw’s long-running daytime talk show aired on May 25, four months after he announced the end of the series.
In a statement he shared with PEOPLE at the time, McGraw said, “I’ve been blessed with more than 25 wonderful years on daytime television. With this show, we’ve helped thousands of guests and millions of viewers through everything from addiction and marriage to mental health and parenting.”
He continued: “This has been an incredible chapter in my life and career, but as I leave the day, there is still so much I want to do.”
The move to primetime was mentioned in his first statement, with CBS Media Ventures saying it would embark on a “strategic partnership in primetime” to help “increase its impact on television and viewers.”
Of his desire to switch to the prime-time show, McGraw said at the time, “I am compelled to engage with a larger audience because I am deeply concerned about the American family and determined to help restore clarity of purpose as well as our core values.”
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dr. Phil interviews TV veteran Larry King as a host launching his new daytime talk show in 2002.
Mathew Imaging/FilmMagic
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McGraw’s television career skyrocketed after several appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the nineties of the last century.
He launched his own show in 2002, and an average of 2 million people watched nearly 4,000 episodes a day. It ended up being the second most watched talk show.
In 2022, he told Kelly Clarkson that he expresses his gratitude to Winfrey, 69, for her role in launching his career every year.
“It was very important to me every year to stop and sit down and write her a letter and say, ‘Thank you for the impact you’ve had on me and my family,'” he told Clarkson, 41, on an episode of her show. “And I did that every year for 25 or 26 years.”
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Source: HIS Education