''The Ellen Show'' is an American television

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

created by and starring

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". Sh ...

that was broadcast during the 2001–02 season on CBS, aired from September 24, 2001, to January 11, 2002. It was DeGeneres' second attempt at a sitcom, following ''

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: *Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress * Elle ...

'' on ABC (1994–98), but it was unable to attract strong ratings and was quickly cancelled after 13 episodes, leaving 5 episodes unaired. DeGeneres

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

as a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

in ''Ellen'', and her character on ''The Ellen Show'', Ellen Richmond, was also a lesbian, although the show did not focus as heavily on the character's

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied wit ...

unlike the final season of her first sitcom. ''The Ellen Show'' also starred

Cloris Leachman Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nomina ...

, Martin Mull,

Kerri Kenney Kerri Kenney-Silver (born January 20, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and musician. She is best known for starring as Trudy Wiegel on the mockumentary series '' Reno 911!'' and previously for her sketch comedy work on MT ...

Jim Gaffigan James Christopher Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. His material often addresses fatherhood, laziness, food, religion, and general observations. He is regarded as a "clean" comic, using l ...

, and Emily Rutherfurd.

Plot

After her internet company Homelearn.com goes bankrupt, Ellen Richmond decides to move back to her hometown to live with her eccentric mother, Dot, and scatter-brained sister, Catherine. At home, Ellen becomes reacquainted with her senior prom date, Rusty, who thinks they can pick up where they left off (which, since she is a

, seems unlikely), and her befuddled high school teacher, Mr. Munn. Though worlds apart from the people who love her, Ellen begins to adjust to a very different way of life and takes a job as a guidance counselor at her former high school.

Cast

Main

as Ellen Richmond *

as Rusty Carnouk * Emily Rutherfurd as Catherine Richmond * Martin Mull as Ed Munn *

as Pam *

as Dot Richmond *

Diane Delano Diane Delano (born January 29, 1957) is an American character actress. She is known for her numerous roles in films and television, such as Sergeant Barbara Semanski on the CBS television series ''Northern Exposure'' and Roberta "Bobbi" Glass ...

as Bunny Hoppstetter

Guest stars

Jennifer Irwin Jennifer Irwin is a Canadian actress best known for her roles as Dolly Durkins on iZombie and as Laurie Neustadt in the comedy '' Superstore''. Irwin is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. She worked with The Second City in ...

as Meg (episode: "Pilot") *

Regan Burns Regan Burns (born June 14, 1968) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Bennett James on '' Dog with a Blog,'' as well as being the host of the hidden camera game show '' Oblivious.'' Burns is also known for variou ...

as Officer "B" Arthur (episodes: "Walden Pond", "Joe"") *

John Francis Daley John Francis Daley (born July 20, 1985) is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, and musician. He is known for playing high school freshman Sam Weir on the NBC comedy-drama '' Freaks and Geeks'' and FBI criminal profiler D ...

as Erik (episode: "Walden Pond") * Susan Yeagley as Waitress (episode: "Chain Reaction") * Marissa Jaret Winokur as Tina (episode: "Vanity Hair") *

Tom Poston Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

as Joe (episode: "Joe") *

Betty White Betty Marion White (January 17, 1922December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of Golden Age of Television, early television, with a television career spanning almost seven decades, White was noted for her vast work i ...

as Mrs. Gibson (episode: "Missing the Bus") * Dakota Fanning as Young Ellen (episode: "Missing the Bus") *

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and '' The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), whi ...

as Aunt Mary (episode: "Ellen's First Christmess") * Ed Asner as Santa Claus (episode: "Ellen's First Christmess") * John Ritter as Percy Moss (episode: "Gathering Moss") * Maureen McCormick as Rita Carter (episode: "Shallow Gal") * Kaley Cuoco as Vanessa Carter (episode: "Shallow Gal")

Production

The show was created by

Carol Leifer Carol Leifer ( ; born July 27, 1956) is an American comedian, writer, producer, and actress whose career as a stand-up comedian started in the 1970s when she was in college. She has written many television scripts including ''The Larry Sanders ...

and

Mitchell Hurwitz Mitchell Donald "Mitch" Hurwitz (born May 29, 1963) is an American television writer, producer, and actor. He is best known as the creator of the television sitcom '' Arrested Development'' as well as the co-creator of '' The Ellen Show''. He is ...

, who co-wrote the

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in television in the United States, United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a te ...

. The original title was ''Ellen Again''.

Episodes

''The Ellen Show'' produced 18 episodes, but was canceled mid-way through its season. The final 5 episodes were never broadcast, but are available on DVD.

Home media and Streaming

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures l ...

released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 in a 2-disc box set on July 11, 2006. In 2014, Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the rights to the series and subsequently re-released the complete series on February 4, 2014.

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

Home Entertainment, in partnership with CBS Home Entertainment, owns the international rights. The complete series was released in Region 4 (Australia) as a 2 DVD set on February 1, 2017 by Umbrella Entertainment. All episodes can be seen for free on

Crackle Crackle or crackling may refer to: Foods * Cracklings, the tissue remaining after lard and tallow have been extracted from animal fats ** Pork rinds in American English, pork scratchings in British English when served in small pieces as a snac ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellen Show 2001 American television series debuts 2002 American television series endings 2000s American sitcoms CBS original programming Television series by CBS Studios Television series by Sony Pictures Television 2000s American LGBT-related comedy television series English-language television shows Television shows set in Los Angeles Television series created by Mitchell Hurwitz Television series created by Ellen DeGeneres American LGBT-related sitcoms