After nearly 20 years on air bringing laughter and joyful interviews to viewers. Ellen has announced that this upcoming season, the show’s 19th season, will be her last.
Having filmed beyond 3,000 shows and having done over 2,000 celebrity interviews. She has become one of the most recognizable faces in all of Daytime TV. Tickets to her shows tappings sell out months in advance and her holiday segment “12 Days of Giveaways,” is a crowd favorite that has many hoping for a chance to be in the audience when she presents gifts. Now, Ellen is saying goodbye to the show that made her a household name and embarking on a new journey with HBO Max.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ellen says that this is a creative decision. Telling the magazine, “When you’re a creative person, you constantly need to be challenged — and as great as this show is, and as fun as it is, it’s just not a challenge anymore.”
Recently the show faced serious backlash after members of the show came forward and spoke about a “toxic work environment” created by some of the show’s producers. At the beginning of season 18, Ellen addressed those allegations by taking responsibility, apologizing to anyone who has ever felt a negative experience and vowing a change.
While that experience was not the driving force for her decision to not continue with the show. She tells THR, “If I was quitting the show because of that, I wouldn’t have come back this season. So, it’s not why I’m stopping, but it was hard because I was sitting at home, it was summer, and then I see a story that people have to chew gum before they talk to me and I’m like, ‘OK, this is hilarious.’ Then I see another story of some other ridiculous thing and then it just didn’t stop. And I wasn’t working, so I had no platform, and I didn’t want to address it on [Twitter] and I thought if I just don’t address it, it’s going to go away because it was all so stupid.”
Mike Darnell, Warner Bros.’ unscripted TV president, called DeGeneres’ show “a phenomenon,” saying that “although all good things must come to an end, you still have hope that truly great things never will.”
While this is her farewell to daytime TV, this will not be the last time Ellen will grace the small screen. Last month the HBO Max original series, ELLEN’S NEXT GREAT DESIGNER debuted on the streaming platform.
Design aficionado Ellen DeGeneres, joined by Scott Foley, is giving uniquely talented, up-and-coming furniture designers the chance to push their creativity to the limit. The designers compete in innovative furniture-making challenges from studios in their hometowns, with DeGeneres appearing in each episode to surprise and delight the contestant. Acclaimed actor Scott Foley brings his passion for furniture design to his role as Host and judge. Interior designer Brigette Romanek and award-winning, one-of-a-kind contemporary artist and designer Fernando Mastrangelo, serve as judges.
Current episodes of ELLEN’S NEXT GREAT DESIGNER are available to watch on HBO Max.
