‘Dr. Phil’ Lays Off 25 Staff Members Ahead of Season 21

The decision was made to cut costs

Dr. Phil (CBS)
Dr. Phil (CBS)

“Dr. Phil” has laid off 25 several staffers ahead of production for its upcoming Season 21. The show cited cost-cutting measures as its reasoning for the layoffs, which mostly affected production members.

“Going into Season 21, we streamlined production to ensure longevity,” a series spokesperson told TheWrap. “As is typical of this process there were some roles we discovered that we could reduce yet still deliver our dynamic, forward-thinking program.”

The CBS show, which will return Sept. 12, made headlines in the spring after a dozen current and former employees alleged a toxic workplace that is dominated by verbal abuse, intimidation and racism, as reported by BuzzFeed News. “’Dr. Phil’ — the show about mental health where everybody who works on it has terrible mental health because our work conditions were really bad,” one former employee said. Several employees added that guests on the show are “manipulated and treated unethically” as a result of the exploitation of their vulnerable state.

Phil McGraw denied the accusations through his attorney, H. Patrick Morris, who called the piece “clickbait.” Executive producer Carla Pennington, who was also accused of unprofessional behavior along with other senior-level producers, also denied the accusations through an attorney, Bryan J. Freedman.

Variety first reported the news.

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