The Ellen DeGeneres Show has announced the premiere date for its latest season is Sept. 21.
Season 18 of the daytime talk show is set to resume filming from the Ellen stage on the Warner Bros. lot but without its in-studio audience. The show, which left the studio in March amidst the COVID-19 crisis, was recently caught up in a controversy involving allegations of a toxic workplace environment, which was investigated by WarnerMedia.
Following the investigation, Deadline confirmed in August that Ellen executive producers Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman, and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman had been ousted.
In addition to naming the show’s house DJ Stephen “tWitch” Boss as the new co-executive producer and guest host for the season, the studio is also implementing other changes in how the talk show will be run.
The season premiere of the show will feature Tiffany Haddish with a star-studded guest line-up throughout premiere week like Kerry Washington, Alec Baldwin, and Chrissy Teigen. Chris Rock, Amy Schumer, Adam Sandler, and Orlando Bloom are the other guests slated to appear during the month.
DeGeneres has also promised to address the controversy in the new season, saying,” “I can’t wait to get back to work and back to our studio. And, yes, we’re gonna talk about it.”
While most daytime talk shows are returning with new seasons on Sept. 14, The Ellen DeGeneres Show’s premiere has been pushed by a week due to DeGeneres’ and fellow executive producers’ commitment to NBC‘s game show Ellen’s Game of Games, which based on the signature game segments of the talk show.
The 20-episode reality series offshoot of the Ellen show has just successfully finished its shoot following COVID-19 safety protocols.
The delay in season 18’s premiere not only gives DeGeneres and her team more time to prepare for their return, but it also avoids clashing with the U.S. Open golf championship airing on NBC between September 17thand 20th.
