'Dr. Oz' Show To End After Star Announces Senate Run For Pennsylvania's Open Seat
NEW YORK (AP/KDKA) — U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz will end his "Dr. Oz" syndicated talk show next month, and producers will replace it with a cooking show featuring his daughter.
The "Dr. Oz" show, in its 13th season, will air its last episode on Jan. 14, Sony Pictures Television said on Monday.
The heart surgeon and talk show host is running for the U.S. Senate as a Republican in Pennsylvania. Television stations in Philadelphia, New York City and Cleveland that are seen in Pennsylvania had already taken "Dr. Oz" off the air, for fear that the Federal Communications Commission's "equal time" rules would allow rival candidates to seek similar air time.
In many parts of the country, "Dr. Oz" will be replaced by "The Good Dish," a combination talk-cooking show where hosts Daphne Oz, Gail Simmons and Jamika Pessoa will serve up a dish of the day. Producers boasted it would be "the most fun you can have in the kitchen without having to do the dishes."
The show is an outgrowth of a weekly segment on "Dr. Oz," much like Oz's television career got an early boost from Oprah Winfrey. Sony said it has commitments to air "The Good Dish" in stations representing 90% of the nation's population. It begins Jan. 17, Sony said.
When the Trump-endorsed candidate Sean Parnell dropped out of the race in November, there was no clear favorite in the Republican primary, creating an opportunity for Oz to join the fray.
He may have to explain why he isn't running for office in New Jersey, where he has lived for the past two decades before he began voting in Pennsylvania's elections this year by absentee ballot.
His ties to Pennsylvania include his medical and business degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and his wife Lisa who is from suburban Philadelphia.
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