Dr. Phil (TV series)

Dr. Phil is a reality/talk television show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002. On both shows McGraw offers advice in the form of "life strategies" from his life experience as a clinical psychologist.

The show is in syndication throughout the United States and a number of other countries. Its ninth season premiered on September 13, 2010. The show is to be renewed through 2014, or twelve seasons. Occasional prime time specials have aired on CBS. The program has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award every year since 2004.

Since September 8, 2008, Dr. Phil has been broadcast in HDTV with a revamped look and a new theme written and performed by McGraw's son, Jordan.

Originally produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions in association with Paramount Television, since 2007 it is produced solely by PTV's successor, CBS Television Distribution with dummy company Peteski Productions, owned by Dr. Phil.

Reruns of the series began broadcast on the new OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network as of January 2011.

Format

The show covers a wide variety of topics, including weight loss, financial planning, errant children, gift suggestions, children who have been diagnosed with autism, unhappily married couples, rebellious teenagers, mothers who dress far from their age, mothers who refuse to attend weddings, children being stars in their parents' rights, dysfunctional families, mothers who refuse to give their married sons money and support for charitable causes. Radio personality and ex-child star Danny Bonaduce, came to the show twice in a year to discuss his failing marriage (and later divorce) with Gretchen. On several shows, children and/or adults have taken a lie detector exam. The show is generally serious in tone, leavened with humor from time to time. It has its occasional tense moments and often trashy scenes, like that of The Montel Williams Show, but without melees or aggressive fights on stage, in contrast to The Jerry Springer Show, The Steve Wilkos Show or Maury. He is noted for often bringing back families for multiple shows for follow-up "therapy" sessions in his segment called "Dr. Phil Family." Generally, the program is filmed and guests appear in studio, but in 2006, the Dr. Phil House began as an occasional series. McGraw and his production staff invite guests to a special house wired with numerous cameras and microphones. There, his staff monitor the conversations of the guests he is trying to help, and intervene as necessary to prevent physical violence. McGraw also provides on-the-spot advice and counseling to the "house guests". Dr. Phil's wife Robin sits in the studio audience for almost every show and at its end he will walk out of the set with her.

Notable shows

• In a show that aired on May 2, 2005, twin sisters Jocelyn and Crystal Potter appeared. Crystal claimed to want to "work" in the adult industry together with Jocelyn, who rejected the idea as repulsive. Brothel owner Dennis Hof was interviewed and stated that the two could make half a million dollars per year in his establishment. It turns out that the sisters' testimony was less than truthful: since 2002 they have appeared as the "Potter sisters" in numerous pornographic films together, and in 2003, they even appeared together with Hof in the porn film Goin' down at the Bunny Ranch. This show received much criticism due to hypocrisy. His son is married to a playboy play mate who was notable for performing with her two other, identical triplet sisters.^[1][2]
• The Dr. Phil House was set in an actual house within the Wilshire Park neighborhood in Los Angeles. It received numerous complaints from neighbors about the disruption caused by filming crews, the guests, cables and production trucks clogging the neighborhood and the constant traffic caused by filming. After the Los Angeles City Council revoked film permits, in September 2006, Dr. Phil stopped filming there. However, Peteski Productions, the show's production company, still owns the house. The Dr. Phil House has since moved to a studio back lot and the interior of the house shown in the program is that of a sound stage and not that of the actual house.^[3]
• There was a confidence scam involving a psychic shop that fraudulently represented Dr. Phil. The women set up a phone line that they claimed to be run by the director of Dr. Phil. By telling customers that they could have a phone conversation with McGraw for $750 an hour, they scammed Dr. Phil's viewers out of thousands of dollars.^[4]
• On December 12, 2006, the show featured a segment on Bumfights and attacks on the homeless across America. McGraw discontinued an interview, before asking any questions, with the creator and distributor of the video series, who had styled himself in a manner similar to Dr. Phil. He was forced off the set by Paramount Studios security guards as the studio audience clapped and cheered.^[5]

Logos and title cards

Broadcasters

• In the Arab World the show airs on MBC 4 at 17:00KSA. However, the program's popularity waned after the episode of Katherine Lester and Abdullah, when an American girl left the states to meet a young man in Palestine. And MBC 4 cancelled the show later due to low ratings.
• In Australia the show currently airs on the Network Ten at 12pm each weekday. Prior to 2006, it aired on the Nine Network. The show is also aired on Bio. on cable television.
• In Belgium the show airs on VijfTV at 03:45 PM. And repeats in the night at 01:15.
• In Belize, Great Belize Television airs it regularly at 5:30 PM Monday to Friday.
• In Brazil the show airs on Fox Life every weekday at 20:00
• In Canada the show airs on CTV, at varying times depending on region.
• In Denmark the show airs on TV3 at 14:20.
• In Estonia the show airs on Neljas every day at 18:25 on weekdays and at 18:00 on weekends.
• In Iceland the show airs on SkjárEinn at 17:45 every day of the week, and all the week's episodes shown again at the weekend.
• In Finland the show airs on Nelonen at 17:50.
• In Ireland the show airs every weekday morning on RTE1.
• In Israel the show airs on yes stars Base and HOT Family at 14:30.
• In Latvia the show airs on TV3 at 4.30 in the morning.
• In Mexico the show airs by cable on American Network during the week .
• In the Netherlands the show airs on RTL5 at 16:40 and on RTL 8 at 18:40.
• In New Zealand the show airs on TV3 at 13:00.
• In Norway the show airs on TV3 at 11:35.
• In the Philippines the show airs on Q every Monday, Tuesday, and Friday at 6:10 to 7:15 pm
• In Poland the show airs on TV Puls on weekdays at 13:00.
• In Portugal the show airs on SIC Mulher at 4:15, 7:45 and 19:55.
• In South Africa the show airs every weekday on SABC2 at 12:30.
• In Sweden the show airs on Sjuan at 19:05.
• In the United Kingdom the show airs on Living, throughout the week. Zone Romantica will air the show 12 noon and 5pm weekdays from September 2009.
• In Venezuela the show airs on Fox life, throughout the week.

Dr. Phil Now

This format of Dr. Phil is when McGraw sits down with people that are having big problems in the news the week the show airs. The "Now" episodes have a set with a desk like a news center, and open with another type of music ("breaking news" music). It has the same dynamic. Themes have included rapists, criminals, or Hollywood stars' issues. One episode included Britney Spears and her 2008 divorce and child custody battle. The show's slogan is If it's happening now, we're going to deal with it now.

Notes

Further reading

Sophia Dembling, Lisa Gutierrez (2005). The Making of Dr. Phil: The Straight-Talking True Story of Everyone's Favorite Therapist. Wiley. ISBN 0471696595. 

External links

• Official website
• Dr. Phil at the Internet Movie Database
• Dr. Phil at TV.com
• Dr. Phil Audience Tickets