FORT WORTH, Texas — The Dr. Phil Show was placed on an “indefinite hiatus” this week, according to a LinkedIn post by a former employee.

TV psychologist and talk-show host Phil McGraw initially ended the show in 2023, shortly before announcing that he would start a new Fort Worth-based media company, Merit Street Media, the Star-Telegram previously reported. The new show, “Dr. Phil Primetime,” launched in April 2024.

The employee was laid off due to the hiatus, according to the LinkedIn post. This round of layoffs is the second to hit Merit Street Media in two years: 40 to 50 employees were let go last fall as part of “ongoing consolidations of departments and roles in efforts to achieve efficiencies at the highest level,” the Star-Telegram previously reported.

Last November, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) organization canceled a contract with Merit Street over what PBR claimed was a failure to pay rights fees to the organization.

McGraw was set to air footage from exclusive interviews with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials that took place before and after a series of controversial immigration raids in California. The talk show host filmed multiple interviews with the Trump administration’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, around the time of the raids, which sparked widespread protests and the deployment of the California National Guard.

Neither the former employee nor representatives for Merit Street Media could be immediately reached for comment Friday afternoon.

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