Ellen DeGeneres says show is ‘happy place’ for 19th, final season
LOS ANGELES — Ellen DeGeneres has a lot of ground to cover in the 19th and final season of her talk show, which she promises will be a “huge celebration.”
She intends to salute longtime viewers, stroll down memory lane to revisit early appearances by fledgling stars such as Rihanna and Justin Bieber and celebrate the show’s achievements.
“This is going to be a ‘thank you’ to everybody, because the show doesn’t happen without the support of fans,” DeGeneres said during a production break on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” which returns Monday.
Also to be spotlighted: The show’s philanthropy, which included far more than product giveaways.
“We’re going to check in with people that we’ve helped through the years [and] people that have paid it forward,” DeGeneres said. That includes a Las Vegas educator who opened her own wallet for students in need and whose school was rewarded by the show with a new library and other resources.
“I want people just to really remember what the show has been,” the host said. “It’s been a happy place and it continues to be a happy place. And I hate that it would be remembered in any other way.”
That DeGeneres voices such a concern over the legacy of her greatest career success to date should be surprising for the host-comedian whose motto is “be kind.” But it’s inevitable given allegations last year that the show was a toxic workplace.
Three of its producers exited amid claims of an environment that harbored misbehavior, including sexual misconduct and racially insensitive remarks. DeGeneres, who made an on-air apology for “things that shouldn’t have happened,” also defended herself as being the same genuine person — if an imperfect one — on- and off-camera.
In a recent phone interview, she said she was reluctant to address the situation further, and that it had been dealt with by the Warner Bros. studio.
Viewership for “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” dropped substantially in the 2020-21 season compared to the previous one, from 2.6 million to 1.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen. That’s common for an aging show, Carroll said, and also reflects changing television and, to some extent, the workplace issues.
Her final episodes, likely to be loaded with stars and non-celebrities who became familiar to viewers, should allow the show to end on a higher ratings note.