Phils

The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s departing music director Gustavo Dudamel will return to the Hollywood Bowl next week.

Dudamel, the face of the classical music world in L.A. since his 2009 debut as music director, is in his penultimate season here before departing to lead the New York Philharmonic. Given recent federal travel bans on Venezuelans, he was forced to cancel local dates with his Simón Bolivar Symphony Orchestra in August, and he only had one week planned for conducting during the Bowl’s summer season this year.

The season’s opening night at the Bowl was “a relatively somber occasion, which, despite the lovely atmosphere, fit the mood of the times,” as Times critic Mark Swed said.

So this one-week return with an exceptionally diverse bill will be a welcome occasion to see him in the twilight of his tenure in L.A.

On Aug. 5, Dudamel (with pianist Seong-Jin Cho) will lead a program pulled from jazz giant Duke Ellington and French composer Maurice Ravel, including Ellington’s “Harlem” and “Black, Brown and Beige” and Ravel’s Piano Concert for the Left Hand and Piano Concert in G. The pairing will show how American jazz and the Harlem renaissance influenced and expanded possibilities for Ravel and European music of the era.

He’ll follow that up on Aug. 7 with Mahler’s bombastic Symphony No. 1 “Titan,” with Vilde Frang playing Erich Korngold’s violin concerto (a fitting spotlight on a golden-era Hollywood score legend). On Aug. 8-9, Dudamel will conduct John Williams’ crowd-favorite “Jurassic Park” score over a live screening of the summer blockbuster.

Dudamel recently debuted with the L.A. Phil at Coachella, a long-awaited crossover event where the orchestra collaborated with pop stars including Dave Grohl, Zedd, Laufey and LL Cool J. For Los Angeles music fans who want to see Dudamel in the Bowl before he departs after next year’s season, these are some of the best chances to do so in 2025.

Merit Street Media, the TV network launched last year by talk show host Phil McGraw, has filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors and is suing its distribution partner, Trinity Broadcasting Network.

McGraw’s company filed the suit Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court claiming Fort Worth-based Christian media firm Trinity, or TBN, failed to meet its obligations to provide studio space and secure TV stations and pay TV distributors to carry Merit.

McGraw, who hosted the successful syndicated talk show “Dr. Phil” for 21 years, entered a joint venture in 2023 with Trinity, which agreed to carry Merit on its TV stations across the country and provide production services.

But according to the suit, McGraw is funding the struggling venture out of his pocket — shelling out $25 million over six months. The company laid off 40 employees in June and had to terminate its TV deal with Professional Bull Riders after failing to pay its rights fee.

Merit Street’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing lists the company’s liabilities at $100 million to $500 million. The document, filed in Texas, gives the same range for the value of Merit Street’s assets. Like TBN, Merit Street is based in Fort Worth.

TBN did not respond to a request for comment on the suit.

Merit Street carries “Dr. Phil Primetime,” in which the host delivers right-of-center political commentary as well as guest interviews. The program was put on summer hiatus when the June layoffs were announced.

McGraw recently attracted attention when the show had a camera embedded with Immigration and Customs Enforcement during immigration raids in Los Angeles.

McGraw, once a practicing psychologist, became a self-help guru propelled to fame by Oprah Winfrey, who hired him to help prepare her for a libel case brought by the Texas Beef Group in 1996. Since leaving his daily talk show, he has emerged as a political commentator who is supportive of President Trump.

Merit also has a nightly newscast and a true crime program featuring veteran legal commentator Nancy Grace.

The lawsuit claims Merit’s operations were hampered by TBN’s contracted technical services, which it described as “comically dysfunctional.” Teleprompters and monitors allegedly blacked out during live programs with a studio audience.

TBN was using “amateur” video editing software and Merit staff were unable to use phones in the studio due to poor cellphone coverage, the suit added.

McGraw’s company, Peteski Productions, launched Merit in a joint venture with TBN, which offers religious programming to its TV stations and affiliates across the country.

As the majority owner, TBN was required to provide all back office and production services for Merit. TBN was also obligated to cover the cost of distributing Merit’s programs on its outlets and pay TV providers, the suit said.

The lawsuit claims TBN failed to provide that service, forcing Merit Street to enter its own agreements to get the network carried on TV stations and cable and satellite providers at a cost of $96 million. TBN’s failure to pay led to a number of TV stations to drop Merit Street programming.

The suit also claims TBN failed to deliver promised marketing and promotional services, only providing minimal social media advertising.

TBN missed a $5-million payment to Merit in July 2024, which led the partners to change the terms of their arrangement, the complaint said. Merit became the 70% owner, with TBN taking a 30% stake. But the suit claims TBN still failed to meet its contractual obligations.

The suit said that TBN’s failure to fund Merit forced McGraw and Peteski to provide $25.4 million to finance the network’s operations from December 2024 to May 2025.

July 4 (UPI) — Former daytime television talk show host Phil McGraw‘s JV Merit Street Media has filed for bankruptcy protection and sued its business partner, Trinity Broadcasting, for breach of contract, saying it destroyed his television network.

McGraw, known as Dr. Phil, hosted his talk show for 21 years before it ended after the 2022-2023 season, a program that remained on the air in syndication.

Merit Street’s lawsuit focuses on Christian television broadcaster Trinity Broadcasting Network, and claims it violated distribution agreements.

“Trinity Broadcasting Network is being sued by Merit Street Media for failing to provide clearly agreed upon national distribution and other significant foundational commitments critical to the network’s continuing success and viability,” according to a statement from MSM, Deadline.com reported. “The suit is part of a restructuring proceeding also initiated by MSM.”

TBN was founded in 1973 by televangelist Paul Crouch and his wife, Jan, and is currently operated by Matthew Crouch. In 2000, Paul Crouch was sued for $40 million by author Sylvia Fleener, who accused Paul Crouch of plagiarism in his book The Omega Code, which had an apocalyptic, end times theme.

Crouch was also accused of paying a former male employee $425,000 to keep the man quiet about a sexual relationship Crouch had with him.

Under terms of the deal, TBN was to distribute original versions of McGraw’s content at no cost in exchange for a controlling equity interest in the network, the lawsuit said.

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing comes just weeks after the company laid off 40 employees, the second round of job cuts which followed layoffs in Aug. 2024 that saw the company release a third of its staff.