Ellen DeGeneres is reportedly thinking of ending her show, and the world just got a little darker
Ellen DeGeneres is basically one of the most beloved celebrities of our time. And there might be new things on the horizon for her, because she’s apparently thinking about bringing The Ellen DeGeneres Show to an end. According to a profile published in The New York Times today, December 12th, DeGeneres is toying with retiring from the show, which has run for the past 15 years. The comedian has extended her contract until the summer of 2020, but The Times reports that she is undecided about staying on beyond that point. Those close to her are divided about whether she should stay or go, too. Her brother, Vance DeGeneres is reportedly encouraging her to stay, but her wife, Portia de Rossi, thinks it’s time for a change.
"I just think she’s such a brilliant actress and stand-up that it doesn’t have to be this talk show for her creativity," de Rossi told The Times. "There are other things she could tackle."
Even if she does decide to keep hosting, DeGeneres is shaking up her career in other ways. She has a new comedy special, Relatable, coming to Netflix on December 18th, which is her first since 2003. She told The Times that she had decided to return to stand-up because “I wanted to show all of me.”
"The talk show is me, but I’m also playing a character of a talk-show host," she noted. "There’s a tiny, tiny bit of difference."
After 15 years, Ellen is returning to standup. I profiled her. It was eventful. https://t.co/MfAofq00nG
— Jason Zinoman (@zinoman) December 12, 2018
Although DeGeneres hasn’t officially decided to end her hosting duties just yet, she did tell The Times that she has other goals she’d like to accomplish. She specifically said she would like to play “someone unappealing” in a movie. De Rossi told the paper that she could see her wife hosting a radio show or a podcast (which we could totally get behind, TBH).
Whatever DeGeneres decides to do, we’re sure it will be amazing. In the meantime, we’re excited to catch Relatable when it drops next week.
