After 17 years as one of the most recognizable faces in daytime television, Ellen DeGeneres is signing off from her Emmy-winning talkshow, CNN said Thursday.
DeGeneres will end her eponymous daytime talkshow next year after its upcoming Season 19, she said in an interview published in The Hollywood Reporter Wednesday.
The 63-year old comedian will discuss the decision on Thursday's show with special guest Oprah Winfrey, the entertainment publication said.
"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," The Reporter quoted DeGeneres as saying in the interview.
"The Ellen DeGeneres Show" has won 64 daytime Emmy Awards and is currently in its 18 season. It premiered in 2003 and it is produced by Warner Bros. Television, which, like CNN, is part of WarnerMedia.
Based on a 2018 New York Times profile, DeGeneres revealed her actress wife, Portia de Rossi, had encouraged her to quit from the talkshow, which requires her to do 180 shows per year. But executives at Warner Bros. and even the comedian's brother, had urged her to stay, THR said.
In the end, she decided she would continue for three more seasons which would see her doing more than 3,000 shows and interviewing 2,400 celebrities. It would be her final contract then she's out.
DeGeneres began her career in stand-up comedy in her hometown in New Orleans before moving to television, where she starred in "Ellen", a comedy show in the mid-1990s.
The Ellen DeGenerese Show went on a short hiatus when DeGeneres was diagnosed with COVID-19 in December. Personnel reshuffle was also made last summer after some executives came under scrutiny for creating a toxic work environment, CNN said.
