Ellen DeGeneres is about to have a lot more time on her hands, as her hit daytime talk show is ending after 19 seasons. The former sitcom star recently shared a thankful message with fans after she taped the final episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which is set to air May 26, and now that it’s really over, what’s coming next? DeGeneres’ wife, Portia De Rossi, weighed in on what she thinks the longtime host’s best next move would be.
When Ellen DeGeneres announced the final guests who would be interviewed on the show, among them was Arrested Development actress Portia De Rossi, whom DeGeneres has been married to for 13 years. The comedian took the opportunity on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to get her wife’s opinion on what her next career project should be, and De Rossi had a specific idea about what she thinks Ellen would enjoy:
Well, honestly, I just want you to do something that makes you really happy. But I want to make sure that you continue being a teacher because that’s really what you’ve been for everybody. I just feel like more than ever, we need love and light and laughter. So I hope that you continue to do something like that. Like stand-up, for example. Or, whatever.
Ellen DeGeneres seemed amused by her wife’s answer and recalled that Portia De Rossi didn’t have that opinion back in 2018 when the comedian did her stand-up special Relatable for Netflix. The Finding Dory voice actor recalled De Rossi being “petrified” about Ellen’s decision to do stand-up again after 15 years. However, after seeing her performance, De Rossi agreed with DeGeneres’ statement that she wanted to go back out on tour with the comedian:
Yeah, I do! Because you’re so good at it.
Ellen DeGeneres started her career performing stand-up comedy in the 1980s, and was successful enough to land her own sitcom, Ellen, which premiered on ABC in 1994. It was during the fourth season when her character Ellen Morgan famously came out as gay, mirroring the actress’ real-life coming out on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She found long-term success with her talk show, but has struggled with ratings in the past couple of years amid accusations that the show fostered a toxic workplace culture.
When production returned to the studio for Season 18 following COVID shutdowns, the ratings continued to decline, and despite the number of people who tuned in to see her address the workplace allegations, viewership subsequently fell by 40 percent. The host maintains that the drop in ratings did not contribute to her decision to end her talk show. She cited her need “to be challenged” in new ways as a key factor in the choice. Could “returning to the stage for a comedy tour” serve as one of her challenges?
Along with The Ellen DeGeneres Show coming to an end, it was also announced in January that her game show Ellen’s Game of Games was canceled by NBC after four seasons. It doesn’t seem likely that she’ll be gone for good from the small screen in the coming years, given her work as a producer, but it’ll definitely be on a more limited basis.
So will Portia De Rossi get her wish to accompany her wife to Las Vegas for more stand-up? Only time will tell, but until then, fans can still tune in to The Ellen DeGeneres Show for new episodes through Thursday, May 26. Check your local listings to see when and where to catch the final episodes in your area, and also check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see what new and returning shows are premiering soon.
