(CNN)Ellen DeGeneres tells The Hollywood Reporter that she plans to end her long-running daytime talk show in 2022.
“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,” DeGeneres told THR in an interview published Wednesday. A rep for DeGeneres subsequently confirmed the news to CNN.
“The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” which has won 64 daytime Emmy Awards, is currently in its 18 season. The show will wrap after Season 19, according to the report. DeGeneres will discuss her decision in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, scheduled to air on Thursday’s episode.
“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” is produced by Warner Bros. Television, which, like CNN, is part of WarnerMedia.
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresEllen DeGeneres has been hosting her daytime talk show for 18 seasons.Hide Caption 1 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres was born in Metairie, Louisiana, in 1958.Hide Caption 2 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresA young DeGeneres poses for a family photo.Hide Caption 3 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres is interviewed by Johnny Carson on a “Tonight Show” episode in 1986. She was a stand-up comedian whose career began as an emcee at a New Orleans comedy club.Hide Caption 4 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres’ stand-up success led to her own sitcom, “Ellen,” which aired from 1994-1998. The show was actually called “These Friends of Mine” in its first season, but the name was changed to avoid confusion with another new sitcom, “Friends.”Hide Caption 5 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres, left, and Patricia Richardson co-hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards in 1994.Hide Caption 6 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres got her first starring role in a movie when she starred with Bill Pullman in 1996’s “Mr. Wrong.”Hide Caption 7 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDuring an “Ellen” episode in 1997, DeGeneres became the first lead actor in a sitcom to come out as gay. Earlier that month, DeGeneres herself came out during an episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”Hide Caption 8 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres and her mother, Betty, attend the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center’s 27th Anniversary Gala in 1998.Hide Caption 9 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres appears in the 1999 movie “The Love Letter.”Hide Caption 10 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres and Sharon Stone receive direction from director Anne Heche, left, on the set of the TV movie “If These Walls Could Talk 2.” Heche and DeGeneres were in a relationship for several years.Hide Caption 11 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres hosts the Primetime Emmy Awards in 2001. During her career, DeGeneres has also hosted the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards.Hide Caption 12 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres began her daytime talk show, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” in 2003. Joining her on set here is actress Jennifer Aniston.Hide Caption 13 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres accepts an Emmy Award on behalf of her show in May 2004. “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” was recently extended to 2022.Hide Caption 14 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres carries the Olympic torch in Los Angeles in June 2004.Hide Caption 15 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres and actress Portia de Rossi started dating in 2004. They were married in 2008.Hide Caption 16 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres carries an Oscar as she hosts the Academy Awards in 2007.Hide Caption 17 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres dances with presidential candidate Barack Obama during an episode of her talk show in 2007. Obama was elected president in 2008.Hide Caption 18 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres and de Rossi pose for photos after being married in 2008.Hide Caption 19 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres poses with Rosie McClelland and Sophia Grace Brownlee at the 2012 Teen Choice Awards. The young musical duo became popular with their regular appearances on DeGeneres’ show.Hide Caption 20 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres poses with her new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.Hide Caption 21 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres, US Marines and children attend the launch of Duracell’s “Power a Smile” program in 2013.Hide Caption 22 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres dresses up as Glinda the Good Witch while hosting the Oscars in 2014.Hide Caption 23 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres takes a moment to orchestrate a selfie with a group of movie stars at the 2014 Oscars. Actor Bradley Cooper, seen in the foreground, was holding the phone at the time. “If only Bradley’s arm was longer,” DeGeneres tweeted. “Best photo ever.” It became the most retweeted post of all time.Hide Caption 24 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres and de Rossi arrive at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in 2014.Hide Caption 25 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresFirst lady Michelle Obama hugs DeGeneres after they danced during an episode of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in 2015.Hide Caption 26 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres performs with singer Taylor Swift during Swift’s concert tour in 2015.Hide Caption 27 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres hosts Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in October 2016.Hide Caption 28 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresPresident Obama presents DeGeneres with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in November 2016. “It’s easy to forget now, when we’ve come so far, where now marriage is equal under the law — just how much courage was required for Ellen to come out on the most public of stages almost 20 years ago,” Obama said.Hide Caption 29 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres takes phone calls to help raise money for charity in 2017.Hide Caption 30 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres returned to stand-up comedy with her Netflix special “Relatable” in 2018.Hide Caption 31 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres appears on Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show in 2018.Hide Caption 32 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresFormer US President George W. Bush shares a laugh with DeGeneres and de Rossi at an NFL football game in 2019. Some people criticized DeGeneres online for hanging out with Bush. DeGeneres addressed it on her show. “Just because I don’t agree with someone on everything doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be friends with them,” she said. “When I say, ‘be kind to one another,’ I don’t only mean the people that think the same way that you do. I mean be kind to everyone.”Hide Caption 33 of 34
Photos: The life and career of Ellen DeGeneresDeGeneres accepts the Carol Burnett Award at the Golden Globes in 2020. The award, chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, is presented annually to a person who has made “outstanding contributions to the television medium on or off the screen.”Hide Caption 34 of 34
Read MoreThe news of DeGeneres moving on from her talk show comes after a pandemic-impacted season. The show went on a brief hiatus when DeGeneres was diagnosed with Covid-19 in December. Staffing changes were also made last summer after some producers came under scrutiny for creating a toxic work environment. When her show returned in September for the Season 18 premiere, DeGeneres spoke about the negative reports saying that she was taking “responsibility” and that she was “sorry” anyone had a negative experience behind the scenes. DeGeneres told THR that the drama surrounding her show isn’t the reason for her departure, but it definitely impacted her.”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 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,” she said. DeGeneres said one of the most difficult parts of her decision is that she will miss her staff.”Listen, this is my family. They’ve become my best friends,” she added. “I come to work and I laugh every single day.”DeGeneres said she is thinking about her next steps professionally.
“I have some ideas but my agent is just like, ‘Why don’t you just sit still for a minute. You probably don’t even know how exhausted you are and what it’s going to be like to sit still.’ And I don’t know how long I’ll be able to do that because I’m like a Ferrari in neutral. I’m constantly needing to go.”So, that’s my first challenge and then I’m going to figure it out. I wouldn’t have thought I was ever going to do a talk show when I stopped doing movies and sitcoms. I thought that that was the only path. And then all of a sudden there was a talk show that took me on this 19-year journey.”
Source: edition.cnn.com
