Ellen Degeneres Ends Talk Show After 19 Years
In May 2021, Ellen announced she would be ending her famous talk show the following year, 2022, after more than 3,20 episodes and 64 Daytime Emmy awards. As the “The Ellen Degeneres Show” airs its farewell season, Ellen, the multi-Emmy award winner, has announced that her final show will air on Thursday May 26th.
The 64-year-old TV icon shared in an Instagram post stating “I'm going to miss this” alongside a new promo. In the 19th final season she has announced a list of special guests. Fans of the celebrated host are in for a treat as former first lady Michelle Obama, Jennifer Garner, Channing Tatum, Serena Williams, Zac Efron, Adam Levine, Behati Prinsloo, Gwen Stefani, David Letterman, Diane Keaton and her wife, Portia de Rossi, are all set to sit down with DeGeneres before the finale.
DeGeneres announced the finale of her show ten months after the show faced accusations of a toxic workplace and the departure of three executive producers. Following a Buzz Feed report, an internal investigation took place, then in an exclusive with TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie following DeGeneres announcement, she said that the controversy was not why she decided to end the show. "I was going to stop after season 16. That was going to be my last season, and they wanted to sign for four more years and I said I'd sign maybe for one," she said. "They were saying there was no way to sign for one. ``We can't do that with the affiliates and the stations need more of a commitment.” In another statement with The Hollywood Reporter she says, “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.”
In her pre - recorded opening monologue, she said , “"I want you to know that I've thought a lot about this decision. I sat with it for a while. I meditated on it." Degeneres made her name as a stand up comedian and with a self-titled sitcom in the 1990’s, she goes on to say, "Two years ago, I signed a deal for three more years and I always knew in my heart that season 19 would be my last." Fellow talk show host Oprah Winfrey will join her in Thursday's show to discuss the announcement, as well as singer Pink, who sings the theme song.
