Phil McGraw says 'Dr. Phil' had to end so he could grow his "platform" beyond daytime television.
Dr Phil has teased his future plans
The 72-year-old TV personality recently announced that he long-running daytime series is coming to an end after its 21st season later in 2023, and he's keen to point out he isn't moving on from TV as a whole, but instead embracing primetime.
He told 'Entertainment Tonight': "I've been doing this for 21 years and I love it, I'm still very passionate about it, and make no mistake, I'm not moving on from television. I'm just moving on from daytime [TV]."
While he "can't talk about" his new venture yet because he's "about to close all the details," he revealed he was keen to "partner with a network" to help him do things "that really have significance".
He teased: "[It's] not just a show, but a whole approach to what's going on in America right now because... I'm very concerned with what's going on in America right now.
"I'm concerned that the American family's under attack, that our values are under attack, that the very concept of truth is under attack.
"I wanted a bigger audience, a bigger play, a bigger platform than daytime can afford."
He noted that the goal is to "return to the air in January of '24 in a really big way".
He added: "My commitment to helping people do what they need to in their lives, learn what they need to use in their lives, and be of service to them, that's what I'm gonna focus [on].
"I'm not getting ready to do a political show... It's gonna be 'Dr. Phil' - I think at my highest and best use of television - dealing with couples, dealing with families, how everything going on is impacting them, and seeing things through their eyes."
He also confirmed he will be involved in CBS Media Ventures' plans to offer stations library episodes of 'Dr. Phil' with the added bonus of new content.
He explained: "I want to stay involved, so I'm gonna be putting new information in some of those shows, I'm going to be working with their anchors and stuff to keep people apprised with what's going on, updating guests, things like that.
"It's not gonna be pure library [episodes], because I'm gonna be in there, freshening things up and going along every step of the way."
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