Dr. Phil McGraw's New Show and Cable Network Will Set Up Shop in DFW

He's baaaaaaaaack and he's heeeeeeeeeere.

TV's Dr. Phil McGraw is bringing his entire operation to Dallas-Fort Worth to launch a network centered on his new show, Dr. Phil Primetime. The series will premiere on Monday, Feb. 26, and air nightly at 7 p.m., putting the doctor into primetime for the first time, according to a released statement.

The new airdate will mark the first time Dr. Phil has his own regular TV show with his name on it in over a year. Last February, he ended his daytime television show after 21 seasons in syndication.

The new studio will be part of a 5-acre broadcasting complex somewhere in the DFW area that's currently under construction. The only clue as to where it might be is that it will be "based in the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth area," according to the announcement.

So ... Dallas, then?

Dr. Phil Primetime will be just like the old Dr. Phil show except it will be in primetime. McGraw promises the show will feature him "talking to real people about real problems" who are "actively looking for real solutions to better their lives," the statement reads.

That means get ready for a lot of awkward conversations about super-personal subjects where the only possible outcome is defensive backtalk and visible squirming of facial features and butt muscles.
Once the new studio gets set up, the Merit Street Network will announce a new fleet of primetime programming around Dr. Phil's anchor show. The schedule will include "multiple hours of original daily programming, including live news broadcasts that will bring fact-based truth and transparency."

That's right. Dr. Phil is getting his own news show. Does this mean his anchors will have the right to tell the Secretary of Transportation that he's got "a dumb bird sitting on your shoulder"? Sadly, that doesn't stray far from the current state of cable news. 

The news of Dr. Phil's transition to a Dallas-Fort Worth studio isn't a new trend. When Fox News screeching face Glenn Beck left his show in 2011, he launched an internet channel on (wait for it) Sept. 12, 2011, that morphed into his cable network Blaze Media. Beck's empire ended its linear TV model in 2019, and just last month, Blaze Media shifted to a subscription only, ad-free model.

It's not just cable networks that seem to have taken an interest in our little corner of the world. The Irving-based media group Nexstar Media Group is reportedly in talks to buy the entire ABC network empire that Disney has been looking to unload since streaming started changing the way we access the movies, TV shows and reality series that we keep on in the background so the silence doesn't drive us insane. 

Could this mean that more networks and cable empires are headed our way? Anything's possible. We've got more studio spaces being built or renovated, such as the newly rejuvenated South Side Studios. The telecom giant Frontier Communications is planning to relocate to Dallas soon. Just think of it. Dallas could become the next Television City.