'Dr. Phil' show to end after 21 years

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Dr. Phil McGraw will end his daytime talk show "Dr. Phil" after 21 seasons.

The airing of original episodes will end this spring, according to a report by Fox News.

"I have been blessed with over 25 wonderful years in daytime television. With this show, we have helped thousands of guests and millions of viewers through everything from addiction and marriage to mental wellness and raising children," McGraw, 72, said in a statement Tuesday. "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."

"Dr. Phil" was created by McGraw and Oprah Winfrey back in 2002, when he founded his own production company, with Winfrey's Harpo Studios producing the show. He was already a practicing psychologist when Winfrey hired his legal consulting firm in 1995 for a courtroom battle her talk show was involved in. He then became a frequent guest on her show after their court victory in 1998.

Since then, over 3,500 episodes of the syndicated talk show have been broadcast.

In 2019, he interviewed Sherry Ballard, giving national attention to the case of her missing daughter, Crystal Rogers, and the shooting death of her husband, Tommy Ballard.

He also highlighted the murders of two teen girls in Delphi, Indiana, in an episode that aired in 2017.

"Dr. Phil" airs Monday through Friday from 3-4 p.m. on WDRB.