Wednesday, October 24, 2007

"Dr. Phil" spinoff clears half of the country

CBS Television Distribution has cleared a spin-off of Dr. Phil called The Doctors in 50 percent of the country. Among station groups clearing the show include CBS, Belo, Gannett, Scripps, and Cox.

Stations grabbing the strip include WCBS-TV in New York, KCAL-TV in Los Angeles, KYW-TV in Philadelphia, KTVU-TV in San Francisco, WSB-TV in Atlanta (which will likely replace Montel Williams, which is headed to WPCH-TV), WXYZ-TV Detroit, KARE-TV in Minneapolis, WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh, and KSHB-TV in Kansas City.

In Chicago, the program has cleared WCIU-TV (thanks to Mark and TV Barn 2 for the info.)

The program is being primarily targeted for morning time periods, in which The Doctors has already cleared the 9 a.m. time slot on WCBS.

The Doctors (working title) is a hour-long strip features a team of five medical professionals, dispensing advice and discussing health related topics. The host is Dr. Travis Stork, who appeared on The Bachelor. The five individuals will appear on Dr. Phil during this season.

The program is being produced by Stage 29 Productions (named for the soundstage Dr. Phil is shot on at Paramount Studios), headed by Dr. Phil's son Jay McGraw.

Trivia:

- The Doctors was the name of a soap opera that aired on NBC from 1963 to 1982.

- Paramount's The Aresnio Hall Show was shot on Stage 29 from 1989 to 1994. Other programs that have used the soundstage included talk shows hosted by Marilu Henner (1994-95) and Stephanie Miller (1995).

- Dr. Phil continues to shoot at the Paramount lot, despite the fact that CBS and Viacom (owner of Paramont Pictures) split in 2006.

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