The Ellen Show
Encyclopedia
The Ellen Show is a television
sitcom starring Ellen DeGeneres
that aired during the 2001–2002 season on CBS
. It was DeGeneres's second attempt at a sitcom, after Ellen
on ABC
(1994–1998), but it was unable to garner strong ratings and was quickly cancelled.
After coming out of the closet
as a lesbian
on her first sitcom, DeGeneres's character on The Ellen Show, Ellen Richmond, was also a lesbian, although the show did not focus as heavily on the character's sexuality
as did the final season of her first sitcom.
The Ellen Show also starred Cloris Leachman
, Martin Mull
, Kerri Kenney, Jim Gaffigan
and Emily Rutherfurd
.
and Mitchell Hurwitz
, who co-wrote the pilot episode. The original title was Ellen Again.
.
released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 in a 2-disc boxset on July 11, 2006.
Paramount Pictures
Home Entertainment, in partnership with CBS Home Entertainment, owns the international rights, but has not released the series elsewhere yet.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sitcom starring Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen Lee DeGeneres is an American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season....
that aired during the 2001–2002 season on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. It was DeGeneres's second attempt at a sitcom, after Ellen
Ellen (TV series)
Ellen is a U.S. television sitcom that ran on the ABC network from March 29, 1994 to July 22, 1998, producing 109 episodes.The theme song, "So Called Friend" is by Scottish band Texas...
on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
(1994–1998), but it was unable to garner strong ratings and was quickly cancelled.
After coming out of the closet
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
as a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
on her first sitcom, DeGeneres's character on The Ellen Show, Ellen Richmond, was also a lesbian, although the show did not focus as heavily on the character's sexuality
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
as did the final season of her first sitcom.
The Ellen Show also starred Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
, Martin Mull
Martin Mull
Martin Mull is an American actor who has starred in his own television sitcom and acted in prominent films. He is also a comedian, painter, and recording artist...
, Kerri Kenney, Jim Gaffigan
Jim Gaffigan
James Christopher "Jim" Gaffigan is an American stand-up comedian and actor.-Early life:Gaffigan was born in Chesterton, Indiana and attended La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana. He is the youngest of six children and often jokes about growing up in a large family. He attended one year at...
and Emily Rutherfurd
Emily Rutherfurd
Emily Rutherfurd is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Christine "New Christine" Hunter on The New Adventures of Old Christine.-Personal life:...
.
Plot
After her internet company, Homelearn.com, went bankrupt, Ellen Richmond decides to trade the stresses of her fast-track, big-city lifestyle for the slower pace of her quieter hometown, where she is known and loved. It remains to be seen, however, whether or not returning to her hometown, a fishbowl of a place, and her eccentric mother, Dot, and scatter-brained sister, Catherine, is the best course of action. At home, Ellen becomes reacquainted with her senior prom date, Rusty, who thinks they can pick up where they left off (which, since she's a lesbian, 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 at her former school.Cast
- Ellen DeGeneresEllen DeGeneresEllen Lee DeGeneres is an American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season....
- Ellen Richmond - Jim GaffiganJim GaffiganJames Christopher "Jim" Gaffigan is an American stand-up comedian and actor.-Early life:Gaffigan was born in Chesterton, Indiana and attended La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana. He is the youngest of six children and often jokes about growing up in a large family. He attended one year at...
- Rusty Carnouk - Emily RutherfurdEmily RutherfurdEmily Rutherfurd is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Christine "New Christine" Hunter on The New Adventures of Old Christine.-Personal life:...
- Catherine Richmond - Martin MullMartin MullMartin Mull is an American actor who has starred in his own television sitcom and acted in prominent films. He is also a comedian, painter, and recording artist...
- Mr. Munn - Kerri Kenney - Pam
- Cloris LeachmanCloris LeachmanCloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
- Dot Richmond
Production
The show was created by Carol LeiferCarol Leifer
Carol Leifer is an American comedian, writer, producer and actor whose career as a stand-up comedian started in the 1970s when she was in college. David Letterman discovered her performing in a comedy club in the 1980s and she has since been a guest on Late Night With David Letterman over...
and Mitchell Hurwitz
Mitchell Hurwitz
Mitchell D. Hurwitz is an American television writer and producer. He is best known as the creator of the television sitcom Arrested Development as well as the co-creator of The Ellen Show, and a contributor to The John Larroquette Show and The Golden Girls.-Birth and early life:Hurwitz was born...
, who co-wrote the pilot episode. The original title was Ellen Again.
Guest stars
- Betty WhiteBetty WhiteBetty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
- Mrs. Gibson - Mary Tyler MooreMary Tyler MooreMary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
- Aunt Mary - Dakota FanningDakota FanningHannah Dakota Fanning , better known as Dakota Fanning, is an American actress. Fanning's breakthrough performance was in I Am Sam in 2001. As a child actress, she appeared in high-profile films such as Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, and Charlotte's Web...
- Young Ellen - Marissa Jaret WinokurMarissa Jaret WinokurMarissa Jaret Winokur , sometimes credited as Marissa Winokur, is an American actress known for her performance as Tracy Turnblad in the highly successful Broadway musical adaptation of John Waters' film Hairspray, as well as her work on the Pamela Anderson sitcom Stacked...
- John RitterJohn RitterJonathan Southworth "John" Ritter was an American actor, voice over artist and comedian perhaps best known for having played Jack Tripper and Paul Hennessy in the ABC sitcoms Three's Company and 8 Simple Rules, respectively...
- John Francis DaleyJohn Francis DaleyJohn Francis Daley is an American television and film actor, singer, screenwriter, and director, sometimes credited as John Daley or John Francis Daly. He is best known for playing Sam Weir on the NBC comedy-drama Freaks and Geeks and his current role as Lance Sweets on the series Bones...
- Maureen McCormickMaureen McCormickMaureen Denise McCormick is an American actress, celebrity and recording artist. She is most widely known as a child actress who played Marcia Brady in the television series The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974.- Early life and career :...
- Kaley CuocoKaley CuocoKaley Christine Cuoco is an American film and television actress. She first came to attention for her role as Bridget Hennessy on the Emmy Award-winning sitcom 8 Simple Rules. She later starred as Billie Jenkins on the final season of the supernatural drama series Charmed...
- Jeff DunhamJeff DunhamJeff Dunham is an American ventriloquist and stand-up comedian who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central Presents, The Tonight Show and Sonny With a Chance...
, & Walter - Mariska HargitayMariska HargitayMariska Hargitay is an American actress, best known for her role as New York City sex crimes Detective Olivia Benson on the NBC television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a role that has earned her multiple awards and nominations, including an Emmy and Golden Globe.The daughter of actress...
Episodes
The Ellen Show consisted of 18 episodes, it was canceled mid-way through its first season. The final 5 episodes of the series were never aired, but are available on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
- Pilot
- Walden Pond
- Chain Reaction
- Vanity Hair
- The Move
- Muskrat Love
- Joe
- Cathy's Taffy
- Missing the Bus
- Alive and Kicking
- Ellen's First Christmess
- A Bird in the Hand
- Just the Duck
- Shallow Gal
- Gathering Moss
- A Matter of Principal
- Where the Sun Doesn't Shine
- One for the Roadshow
DVD release
Sony Pictures Home EntertainmentSony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. It was established in November 1979 as Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, releasing 20 titles: The Anderson Tapes, Bell, Book and Candle, Born Free, Breakout,...
released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 in a 2-disc boxset on July 11, 2006.
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
Home Entertainment, in partnership with CBS Home Entertainment, owns the international rights, but has not released the series elsewhere yet.