New York- When Ellen DeGeneres returned from a summer break to open season 18 of her interview program in September, she arrived armed with an apology. “I learned that things happen here that should never have happened,” he said. “I take it very seriously. And I mean I’m very sorry for the people who were affected.” These comments came as a result of reports of misconduct in the workplace on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
Viewers tuned in to the apology: this year’s season premiere had the highest ratings for a “Ellen” premiere in four years. And then they turned off the TV. “Ellen” has lost more than a million viewers since September, according to research firm Nielsen, with an average of 1.5 million viewers in the last six months, compared to 2.6 million in the same period from last year.
The decline has come at a time when workplace behavior, in Hollywood and elsewhere, has been the subject of intense scrutiny in a context of protest and social change. It’s a startling setback for one of the most successful daytime television franchises and for DeGeneres, who was at the forefront of a previous cultural shift when, as the star of a star-studded sitcom in in the 1990s, he announced he was gay.
DeGeneres, 63, has publicly reflected on the possibility of leaving the program in recent years, and attention to her workplace problems has added to questions about her future. His contract with the interview program ends next year. Warner Bros., who produces “Ellen,” confirmed that the show would return for a season number 19 in September, after its usual summer break. A spokeswoman for DeGeneres declined to comment on whether the 2021-22 television season would be the last.