CBS Television Distribution's The Doctors has produced a Texas-centric episode that will air only
in Texas
markets on Wednesday, March 10.
Texas
boasts some of the country's biggest TV markets, including fifth-largest
Dallas, and tenth-largest Houston. Producing a show specifically for Texas is an effort by
Jay McGraw and The Doctors' producers
to give back to the show's TV affiliates in that state.
"This is one of the things that we are doing to connect with
viewers on a local level," says McGraw, who hails from Dallas. (McGraw is the son of Dr. Phil
McGraw, host and producer of CTD's Dr.
Phil). "What syndication calls for is to give viewers something that they
can relate to on a very person level and that they can then find value in. The
more relatable a story can be, the more it's going to impact the viewer."
Texas-specific elements will include segments on an
anti-smoking video game created by Dr. Alexander Prokorhov at Houston's
M.D. Anderson
Cancer Center;
on warm, windy weather in central Texas that
contributes to allergy problems across the state; and on a five-year-old girl
from Odessa, Texas, who received a second kidney
transplant from a donor in her own town.
On that day, The
Doctors also will welcome local doctors and experts from Texas,
including Dr. Stephanie Coulter from Houston's
Texas Heart Institute and Dr. Craig Schwimmer, an ENT doctor from Dallas.
The Doctors will
tie in local affiliates when WOAI San Antonio anchor Elsa Roman asks the show's
four doctors a question via video.
Finally, Dallas-based syndicated radio talk-show host Kidd
Kraddick will discuss his non-profit organization Kidd's Kids, and the show
will present Kraddick with a commendation on behalf of Texas Governor Rick
Perry and his wife, Anita.
TV stations in Texas
have been promoting the show on their air, and the show's hosts have been
appearing on local radio stations. If McGraw and CTD feel that the Texas experiment is successful, the show will do similar
episodes focusing on other states and regions, such as California
and New York City.
"I'm from Texas
so I love it," says McGraw. "People from Texas
have been great to our show, so it's the first place we are trying."
