'Be Kind' Ellen To Be Gone After 19-Seasons

Ellen DeGeneres is ending her daytime talk show after 2022’s Season 19. 

The Wrap reports that’s good news for (relative) newcomers Kelly Clarkson and Tamron Hall, who have been nipping at her heels in syndicated TV ratings for the last year or two. Ellen’s fellow syndicated veteran Maury Povich probably won’t be too broken up over her exit either.

Like much of the TV landscape, the “Ellen” ratings have declined for years — but they really started to struggle this season, which kicked off just weeks after production company Warner Bros. fired three of the show’s top producers amid accusations of a toxic workplace and sexual misconduct that tarnished her onscreen persona as a queen of “nice.”

DeGeneres’ daytime show is down a whopping 47% in ratings from her previous season so far, averaging a 1.0 in national household ratings. She had a 1.9 average in 2019-20 and a 2.1 in 2018-19. “Ellen” has shed 784,000 daily viewers from last season.

“Dr. Phil” has regularly been the daytime talk show leader in ratings since the Oprah days, though “Live With Kelly & Ryan” is currently ahead this season, averaging a 1.9 to Phil’s 1.8. (“Live” and “Phil” tied atop the ratings in the 2015-16 season, which is the year Michael Strahan walked away from the seat now occupied by Ryan Seacrest.)

All of the syndicated daytime talk shows pale in comparison to courtroom leader “Judge Judy,” which is ending this season. But that’s really a different genre.

These days, “Ellen” is outclassed by “Phil” and “Live With Kelly & Ryan.” She is instead tied with “Maury” and one-tenth of a ratings point ahead of “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (which boasts a 0.9 in its second season).

Ellen tears up as she shares her decision to end her show in 2022 https://t.co/iYKNcDpbz3 via @DailyMailCeleb

— Tom Benson (@Tombenson1) May 13, 2021

The Daily Mail was first to report the news that DeGeneres would be ending her talk show in 2022, with a source telling the website, “She’s promised one more season after this one and will exit at the end of the 2021/2022 season – the 19th season of the show. The ratings have tanked and have been truly appalling this year and Ellen knows her time is up.”