May 6, 2022
No Emmy Love for Ellen's Final Season in Shocking Snub
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Each year for 18 years, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Talk Show category. Not this time, according to the Wrap.
The Emmy shutout is all the more surprising given that the show is coming to an end. "The snub was revealed before the show comes to an end later this month after 19 seasons on the air," ET Canada recounted.
"Outstanding Talk Show was previously presented as a single category, with DeGeneres nabbing it for four years straight in 2004-2007 after her show began in 2003," the ET article detailed.
"When the category split into Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show and Outstanding Informative Talk Show, DeGeneres was nominated every year in 2008-2021 and went on to win a further eight times," the report added.
This year's Emmy nominees in that category are "Today Show with Hoda and Jenna," "The Drew Barrymore Show," "Live with Kelly and Ryan," "Hot Ones," and "The Kelly Clarkson Show," the last of those being the show that took the statuette for 2021.
"DeGeneres made the decision to end her talk show in 2021, following multiple complaints of a toxic workplace," The Wrap recalled. "A WarnerMedia investigation into the allegations of harassment and racist comments and microaggressions led to the firing of executive producers Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman."
Ellen subsequently apologized and sought to own responsibility for the situation, but the show's ratings took a nosedive.
After announcing that Season 19 would be the show's last, DeGeneres announced plans to revisit veteran guests and increase the show's philanthropic giving. "This is going to be a 'thank you' to everybody, because the show doesn't happen without the support of fans," Ellen said as the final season got underway.
"I want people just to really remember what the show has been," Ellen went on to add. "It's been a happy place and it continues to be a happy place. And I hate that it would be remembered in any other way."
While the show didn't find itself in contention for Outstanding Talk Show, neither was it left completely in the cold. "The syndicated show did score nominations for writing and set design," The Wrap pointed out.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
