The Ellen DeGeneres Show scheduled to return Sept. 9: Why ending the show isn't easy

USA Today

Producer Telepictures confirmed to the Today Show that Ellen DeGeneres will kick off Season 18 of her daytime talk show on Sept. 9. Ellen's staff already returned to work on Monday after a summer hiatus. As USA Today's Gary Levin points out, "ending the show would not be so easy. With well over 2 million viewers, Ellen is the No. 3 talk show in syndication, behind Dr. Phil and Live! with Kelly and Ryan. And unlike The View, a network series that airs on nearly all of ABC's stations, mostly at the same time, Ellen is syndicated, and airs in a variety of time slots and on stations affiliated with different networks across the country.  Those stations signed contracts and pay separate license fees to air the show. DeGeneres's A Very Good Production is also behind several current Warner Bros. shows, from NBC's Ellen's Game of Games and Little Big Shots to Netflix's Green Eggs and Ham, complicating a separation. And even if DeGeneres were to bail when her contract expires in May 2022, Warner Bros. couldn't simply plug in a new host. The studio would effectively be launching an entirely new show, and would have to sell it to those stations all over again." ALSO: Katy Perry expresses support for Ellen in late-night tweets, saying she's only had "positive takeaways" from her time on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.