The Ellen DeGeneres Show Has Been Renewed For 3 More Years: "You're Stuck With Me"

Viewers of The Ellen DeGeneres Show can rest easy, because the talk show will continue on for at least three more years. Despite earlier mumblings that it was approaching its end, the comedian and host announced on air that the show had been officially been renewed to continue through 2022.

DeGeneres shared the exciting news with her audience on May 21, yet her serious tone made it seem as though she was about to announce that the show had in fact been cancelled. She said, "From the beginning I said this show was gonna be like a relationship. We have been through the good, the bad, the Fifty Shades of Grey phase. It's been a lot of fun, and 16 years is a pretty good run." Thankfully, she added, "Sometimes in a relationship, you need to take a break — but I don't. You're stuck with me because I just signed for three more years."

DeGeneres went on to explain how the show came at a critical moment in her career shortly after her eponymous sitcom had been cancelled. "I had gone through a tough time, I lost my career for a little while," she said. "This show was my second chance, and it turns out it also helped other people go through a tough time."

It came as a surprise to many when DeGeneres revealed to The New York Times late last year that she had previously debated signing a contract that would extend through 2020. Her wife, Portia de Rossi, said at the time, "I just think she's such a brilliant actress and stand-up that it doesn't have to be this talk show for her creativity. There are other things she could tackle."

DeGeneres, meanwhile, told the publication, "The talk show is me, but I'm also playing a character of a talk-show host." As opposed to ending her show, however, it seems those feelings ultimately inspired DeGeneres to return to stand-up, which materialized in her Netflix special Relatable.