DR. Phil McGraw is set to make his first appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” since launching his own show seven years ago.
McGraw is set to appear Thursday, Sept. 17 on “Oprah” (4 p.m./Ch. 7) during the show’s premiere week.
McGraw will “set the record straight” and “bring viewers the story of a woman whose father is a serial killer,” according to a show press release.
Winfrey helped launch McGraw into stardom by featuring him on “Oprah” and also produces “Dr. Phil,” which began airing in 2002.
It’s unclear why McGraw hasn’t appeared on “Oprah” since then — but Winfrey has appeared on “Dr. Phil,” most recently on that show’s 1,000th episode in January 2008.
Winfrey’s premiere week will also feature two days of Whitney Houston (Sept. 14 and 15), Winfrey’s reminiscences of Michael Jackson (Wednesday) and Friday’s live show from New York featuring Mariah Carey and Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa.
The hoopla surrounding the debut week for Oprah has been high this year, perhaps to counter a spate of news stories that — while still TV’s No. 1 daytime show — her ratings have begun to slip.