The final season of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is due to conclude with its 19th and final season sometime in 2022.
The daytime talk show has been on the air since 2003, running for 18 seasons so far.
Its final episode does not have an exact date at this time, though DeGeneres exclusively told The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday (12 May) that the programme’s 19th season would be its last.
“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,” she told the publication.
DeGeneres will further discuss the move with Oprah Winfrey in a special episode of her show on 13 May. According to The Hollywood Reporter, DeGeneres’s decision is believed to have been several years in the making.
Ellen became the subject of an investigation last year over allegations of a toxic work environment. Numerous staff members, both currently and previously employed by the show, made allegations of sexual misconduct, racism and bullying taking place. DeGeneres was also at the centre of unverified allegations about her off-camera behaviour, from demanding that people should not look her in the eye, to having a real-life personality that seemed to clash with her on-camera persona.
DeGeneres revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that the claims had previously made her want to quit the show, and that they were part of a “tsunami” of bad news that affected her last year – including a home robbery and the deaths of four of her animals.
“When it started, with that stupid ‘someone couldn’t look me in the eye’ or whatever the first thing was, it’s like a crest of a wave,” she explained. “Like, ‘This isn’t going to be that big of a wave.’ And then it just keeps getting bigger and bigger until it was out of control. And I really, honestly, felt like, ‘I don’t deserve this. I don’t need this. I know who I am. I’m a good person.’”
