The Ellen DeGeneres Show has been renewed for three more years, the star announced yesterday.
In a monologue delivered on the show, DeGeneres told the audience that she has been working on Ellen for 16 years.
“That’s about 3,000 episodes. A lot. I don’t remember them, but I’m told it was enjoyable,” she joked.
“When we started, that was before Instagram, before YouTube, we were young, we were bored out of our minds, and from the beginning I said this show was going to be like a relationship. We have been through the good, the bad, the Fifty Shades of Grey phase. And it’s been a lot of fun, and 16 years is a pretty good run.
“Sometime in a relationship, you need to take a break,” DeGeneres continued.
“But I don’t. You’re stuck with me, because I just signed for three more years.”
The announcement was greeted with rapturous applause from the audience.
– Ellen DeGeneres
DeGeneres said she had “no idea” what the show was going to be like when it started.
“I had gone through a tough time, I had lost my career for a little while. This show was my second chance, and it turns out it also helped other people go through a tough time.
“I got letters from people telling me that I helped them go though chemo, and that they were inspired by one of my guests, or watching the show made them laugh for the first time in a very long time. That’s why I’m going to keep doing this show, for people like you,” DeGeneres said.
“And Lamborghinis are expensive,” she quipped.
There had been much speculation about whether DeGeneres would sign on for more seasons on her hit talk show.
Last December, she revealed to The New York Times that she was considering quitting the show, but that she was getting conflicting advice. Her wife, Portia de Rossi had urged her to quit, but her brother had told her she should stay on.
“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 New York Times. “There are other things she could tackle.”
Meanwhile,Variety reports that DeGeneres now has a large ownership stake in the show, with more points awarded with every contract renewal.
Earlier this month, DeGeneres told Deadline that she wasn’t ready to give up on the show just yet, and said she felt “torn” about ending it.
