Watch Ellen DeGeneres's monologue confirming her daytime talk show will end after Season 19
The Hollywood Reporter exclusively broke the news Wednesday that The Ellen DeGeneres Show will end next spring following its 19th season.
DeGeneres confirmed her decision to walk away with her monologue for Thursday's episode:
"This show has been the greatest experience of my life," the 63-year-old said, in part, while getting visibly choked up, "and I owe it all to you. So, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. I want you to know that I thought a lot about this decision. I sat with it for a while."
Within DeGeneres's interview with THR's Lacey Rose, she expounded upon how the Emmy-winning program nearly ended two years ago:
"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. 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.' So, we [settled] on three more years, and I knew that would be my last. That’s been the plan all along. And everybody kept saying, even when I signed, 'You know, that's going to be 19, don't you want to just go to 20? It's a good number.' So is 19. (Laughs.)"
And when Rose asked whether DeGeneres has wavered, she doubled down:
"No. When we did our 3,000th show, they showed that highlights montage and everybody was emotional. We all hugged and everyone had tears in their eyes, and Mike Darnell was here going, 'You really want to [end this]?' Look, it’s going to be really hard on the last day, but I also know it’s time. I’m a creative person, and when you’re a creative person you constantly need to be challenged, which is why I decided to host the Oscars or why I decided to go back to stand-up when I didn’t think I would. I just needed something to challenge me. And as great as this show is, and as fun as it is, it’s just not a challenge anymore. I need something new to challenge me."
Thursday's episode included a visit from Oprah Winfrey, who ended her universally beloved and successful and also eponymous daytime talk show in 2011:
The 3,000th episode of Ellen aired April 29.
The show debuted in September 2003 with Jennifer Aniston as its first guest.
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