'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' Is Officially Ending After 19 Seasons, and Ellen Gave an Interview About Why
It's the end of an era: Ellen DeGeneres is stepping back from The Ellen DeGeneres Show after 18 years on television. Once Ellen's upcoming nineteenth season airs—which will put her well past the threshold of 3,000 episodes and 2,400 celebrity interviews, if you can believe—it will officially be her last on NBC.
Ellen spoke about her decision to leave the program behind her in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter and said she wants to step back. “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,” Ellen explained.
Ellen pulling the plug on her show isn't happening out of the blue, though. In a 2018 profile for The New York Times, Ellen revealed that her wife Portia de Rossi urged her to stop filming the show, but producers at Warner Bros. wanted her to continue. After going back and forth, Ellen ultimately decided to sign on for another three seasons.
Ellen's departure also comes a year after former employees accused producers on her show show of bullying, sexual harassment, favoritism, and racism. Ellen also faced serious accusations about cultivating a toxic work environment—in August, an Us Weekly source said Ellen “want[ed] out of the show” and was “pissed that people have come forward to share these negative stories about her and feels betrayed.” James Corden was reportedly floated as a potential host replacement in discussions when the drama peaked, so it sounds like the door is now open to that possibility!
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