DeGeneres pulling plug on daytime talk show

Ratings are down 43% after allegations her set was a toxic workplace

“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” will soon no longer be dancing across TV screens.

Ellen DeGeneres told The Hollywood Reporter Wednesday that she plans to end her long-running talk show after 19 seasons next May.

“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 the magazine. The comedian, 63, said the daytime series would end after the upcoming 20212022 season.

“Although all good things must come to an end, you still have hope that truly great things never will,” Mike Darnell, president of “Ellen” producer Warner Bros.’ Unscripted TV, told the Hollywood Reporter.

The move doesn’t come as a huge surprise considering the age and cost of the series. DeGeneres’s lucrative contract — she is said to make at least $50 million a year — also expires next May, and she has spoken publicly in the past about potentially ending the show, including in a controversial 2018 New York Times profile. The ratings for the show have also tumbled 43 per cent this season, averaging 1.4 million viewers, from 2.5 million at this point last season.

Every talk show is down in the ratings this season, but “Ellen” saw a far bigger decline since she was embroiled in controversy in 2020 after allegations of toxic workplace conditions and mistreatment. Three executive producers were ousted as a result of an internal workplace review. DeGeneres apologized privately to her staffers and publicly on air last September. She said in the Hollywood Reporter interview that her decision to end the show was unrelated to last summer’s allegations. “It almost impacted the show. It was very hurtful to me. I mean, very. But if I was quitting the show because of that, I wouldn’t have come back this season.”

“I learned that things happened here that never should have happened. I take that very seriously, and I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected. I know that I’m in a position of privilege and power, and I realize that with that comes responsibility, and I take responsibility for what happens at my show,” she said at the start of the series’ 18th season last fall.

Debuting on Sept. 8, 2003, “Ellen” became a cultural mainstay. Over its life, it has won 61 Daytime Emmy Awards and 17 People’s Choice Awards. DeGeneres was known for her “be kind” mentality and tone, her frequent dancing and silly games with her guests and audience members and memorable celebrity gags and interviews.