Ellen: Here to Stay
Belated kudos for Ellen DeGeneres whose popular daytime show has been guaranteed a run through the 2009-10 season on NBC-owned stations in 10 major U.S. cities including Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. The show is currently renewed in 90 percent of the country through 2008-09, and 70 percent through the following year which assures us of many more afternoons with Ellen.
Warner Bros. executives described DeGeneres, one of the highest-profile lesbians in the country, as a host who "connects with the upscale, suburban soccer-moms that advertisers pay a premium to reach."
Who would have thought that Ellen, who has won multiple Emmys for her current show, would be such a commodity in mainstream America? Especially since her ABC sitcom was dumped from the airwaves not long after her landmark coming out episode? Her follow up CBS sitcom, "The Ellen Show," lasted less than a season in 2003.
But now, the dancing, funny and charming Ellen is the toast of daytime television. It seems, that in the long run, it pays to be authentic!
Greg Hernandez has covered the entertainment industry for the Daily
News since 2001. He's considered a bit odd by some for his obsession
with box office numbers, has been known to camp out near the kitchen
at premieres for first crack at the hors d'oeurves, and Greg's never
seen a red carpet he didn't want to stroll down.
Comments
There were TWO Ellen sitcoms? Who knew?
Greg, how did Ellen's coming out affect her stand-up comedy? I know that Rosie O'Donnell and Ellen DeGeneres both did stand-up before they were out. It had to affect the way they perform -- it's got to be hard, especially in stand-up, which is so personal, to hide that aspect of yourself.
Posted by: Steven Rosenberg | August 14, 2006 04:55 PM