'Dr Phil' talk show will end after 21 seasons

Dr Phil, the daytime television show offering life advice to US households for more than two decades, will go off air.

Phil McGraw, the show's host, will be exiting the programme for "new ventures", CBS Media Ventures announced on Tuesday.

The talk show, on air since 2002, is known for interviewing guests with unconventional stories.

New episodes will still air through the end of the current 2022-2023 cycle.

Mr McGraw, once a licensed psychologist. started his television career as a life coach on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the 1990s, where he rose to prominence in US households.

Ms Winfrey then helped him launch his own programme. Since then, Dr Phil has been offering advice on an array of topics from mental wellness to parenting to family relationships.

In the news release by CBS Media Ventures, the programme's production company, Mr McGraw said he has 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," the 72-year-old said.

"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 news release did not specify what Mr McGraw's new ventures will be, but the production company said he will focus on prime-time programming, scheduled for an early 2024 launch, that "will expand his reach and increase his impact on television and viewers."

The show is known for interviewing high-shock-value guests with unconventional stories, and many of the interviews have launched viral memes on the internet.

Mr McGraw and his show have also drawn significant criticism in recent years. In particular, a 2016 interview with former actress Shelley Duvall drew backlash for being "exploitative".

In 2020, he was criticised for speaking negatively about Covid-lockdowns despite his lack of medical expertise on the disease.

In 2022, US news outlet Buzzfeed reported that current and former employees of the programme have alleged "verbal abuse in a workplace that fosters fear, intimidation and racism".

Employees also spoke out about the unethical treatment of guests with mental illness, according to the Buzzfeed report.

Mr McGraw and the programme have denied all of the allegations in that report.