Ellen DeGeneres recently announced she would be ending her show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, after 19 seasons, and now it has been revealed that Kelly Clarkson‘s show will be taking over her time slot. Clarkson was given her own show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, after she became a huge hit as a coach on The Voice in 2018. Since then, she’s become one of the most beloved talkshow hosts on daytime television.
DeGeneres announced earlier this month on a recent episode that as wonderful of a ride as it’s been, she’s ready to tap out and move on to other projects. Her 19th and final season will air in 2022. Onlookers have speculated about whether she really wanted to end her show now or whether she was pushed out as a result of her scandal after former employees stepped forward in 2020 and accused the comedian of creating a “toxic” work environment. However, according to DeGeneres, she chose to make this decision as she was already coming up on the end of her three-year contract deal, and she’s ready to be “challenged” again.
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“I’m a creative person, and when you’re a creative person you constantly need to be challenged, which is why I decided to host the Oscars or why I decided to go back to stand-up when I didn’t think I would,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “I just needed something to challenge me. And as great as this show is, and as fun as it is, it’s just not a challenge anymore. I need something new to challenge me.” While the 63-year-old is ready to start a new venture, it doesn’t mean her show coming to an end won’t be emotional.
“This has been a very tough week for her,” and insider told Us Weekly at the time of her announcement. “It’s a super emotional time right now. Just the emotion she had in having to break the news to her team. Her team is her priority. She wanted to make sure that she was telling everybody way in advance, so they can have another year to celebrate and make it the best possible year they can.” The insider did reveal the they don’t plan on waiting until the final episode to go out with a bang either, instead, they’ll celebrate the entire season.
“The entire next season is going to be a celebration of the past 18 years,” they revealed before noting that they’re taking some time to put thought into who they’ll feature as different guests. “They’re working on figuring out which A-listers and popular guests they’re going to book. It’s not going to be just the last show that’s a huge hooray, it’s going to be every show that season.”
