Dr. Phil Suffers Major Business Setback

Dr. Phil McGraw just suffered a major career setback. Following January’s news that the clinical psychologists’ long-running talk show would be coming to an end after 23 seasons, McGraw suffered another setback this week after CBS Studios on Monday confirmed it suspended its overall deals with several major producers, including McGraw.
 
The move comes amid the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. Confirmed by The Wrap, Variety, and Deadline, CBS’ on Monday suspended term deals with three major producers – McGraw and his production company Stage 29, BET+’s Kingdom Business producer DeVon Franklin, and Nancy Drew executive producer Lis Rowinski’s. The suspension involved non-writing executive producers, but does not impact alternative, unscripted or animated projects or some non-WGA activity, per The Wrap. Insiders said that CBS Studios will reportedly continue to cover the salary and benefits “for assistants on the term deals through the end of the strike or the end of 2023, whichever comes first.”
 
Representatives for CBS Studios and USG declined to comment on the suspension, and McGraw also hasn’t addressed the suspension, which came on the same day that NBCUniversal’s Universal Studio Group suspended deals with Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Seven Bucks. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. TV has suspended deals with Bill Lawrence, Mindy Kaling and Greg Berlanti. The wave of suspensions began in May, and it is expected that more will be announced as the strike continues, and there is currently no indication that a deal will be reached between the AMPTP and the WGA or the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). Suspending term deals means that studios aren’t actively paying producers.
 
Monday’s news marks just the latest hit for McGraw,  who founded Stage 29 Productions with his son Jay McGraw. In June of last year, The Doctors and Daily MailTV, daytime shows created by Stage 29, were canceled. Meanwhile, in January of this year, CBS confirmed that an era was coming to an end, with McGraw’s long-running talk show Dr. Phil ending after more than two decades on air. McGraw said he was stepping away from the show because “there is so much more I wish to do.”
 
McGraw began his TV career on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the late 1990s before his talk show premiered in September 2002. The show has remained in the No. 1 or No. 2 ratings spot in its genre throughout its time on air. In 2020, McGraw was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.