Jay & Dr. Phil McGraw’s Stage 29 Inks First-Look Deal With CBS TV Studios, Taps Julia Eisenman As Head Of Scripted

Following the successful start of CBS drama Bull, series executive producers Jay McGraw and Dr. Phil McGraw are ramping up their scripted efforts. The father-and-son duo have signed a first-look deal for their Stage 29 Productions at CBS Television Studios, the studio behind Bull, and have recruited Julia Eisenman, SVP Development at EveryWhere Studios, to head up scripted television at Stage 29.

Under the pact, the McGraws, through Stage 29, will develop new scripted dramas and comedies for broadcast and streaming platforms. They will continue to serve as executive producers of hit CBS drama series Bull, which is based on Phil McGraw’s earlier career as a world renowned trial sciences expert.

During her tenure at EveryWhere, Eisenman oversaw development for the Lifetime Television movie, Who Killed Jon Benet? and the UP Network TV series, Date My Dad. Before that she was President of Production at Endgame Entertainment. Feature films Eisenman developed include Erin Brockovich, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Meet the Fockers, Fifty First Dates, Up In The Air, Hotel Rwanda, Proof, and I’m Not There.

“Adding a scripted executive of Julia’s stature, experience and expertise is critically important for Stage 29’s aggressive development agenda,” said Jay McGraw. Added Dr. Phil McGraw, “I’m pleased to extend our long-standing relationship with our CBS family even further with this development deal.”

The McGraws have long-standing relationship with CBS on the syndication side. CBS Television Distribution handles Phil McGraw’s long-running Dr. Phil, TV’s No. 1 daytime talk show, returning this fall for its 16th season, as well as the Stage 29-produced The Doctors, returning this fall for its 10th season, and the upcoming DailyMailTV.

Stage 29 Productions is repped by UTA and attorneys Joseph Horacek and Manatt Phelps of Manatt and Christopher Chatham of Chatham Law Group.