The Ellen Show

After her internet company Homelearn.com goes bankrupt, Ellen Richmond decides to move back to her hometown to live with her eccentric mother, Dot, and scatter-brained sister, Catherine. At home, Ellen becomes reacquainted with her senior prom date, Rusty, who thinks they can pick up where they left off (which, since she is gay, 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 as a guidance counselor at her former high school.

• Ellen DeGeneres as Ellen Richmond
• Jim Gaffigan as Rusty Carnouk
• Emily Rutherfurd as Catherine Richmond
• Martin Mull as Ed Munn
• Kerri Kenney as Pam
• Cloris Leachman as Dot Richmond
• Diane Delano as Bunny Hoppstetter (recurring)

• Jennifer Irwin as Meg (episode: "Pilot" - the character became Pam played by Kerri Kenney instead)
• Regan Burns as Officer "B" Arthur (episodes: "Walden Pond", "Joe"")
• John Francis Daley as Erik (episode: "Walden Pond")
• Susan Yeagley as Waitress (episode: "Chain Reaction")
• James Patrick Stuart as Guy, the Vanity Fur pet groomer/stylist (episode: "Vanity Hair")
• Marissa Jaret Winokur as Tina (episode: "Vanity Hair")
• Tom Poston as Joe (episode: "Joe")
• Betty White as Mrs. Gibson (episode: "Missing the Bus")
• Dakota Fanning as Young Ellen (episode: "Missing the Bus")
• Mary Tyler Moore as Aunt Mary (episode: "Ellen's First Christmess")
• Ed Asner as Santa Claus (episode: "Ellen's First Christmess")
• John Ritter as Percy Moss (episode: "Gathering Moss")
• Maureen McCormick as Rita Carter (episode: "Shallow Gal")
• Seán Cullen as two different characters (episodes: Guitarist in "Just the Duck" and Christian Snee in "One for the Roadshow")
• Kaley Cuoco as Vanessa Carter (episode: "Shallow Gal")
• Ellen's real-life mother Betty DeGeneres and her brother Vance DeGeneres appeared in an episode (episode: "Just the Duck")

The show was created by Carol Leifer and Mitchell Hurwitz, who co-wrote the pilot episode. The original title was Ellen Again.{{Cite news | title = Ellen's Return | newspaper = The Advocate | page = 24 | date = June 5, 2001}} DeGeneres came out as a lesbian in the later seasons of her sitcom Ellen. Her character on The Ellen Show, Ellen Richmond, was also a lesbian, although it was more of an aside, the show not focusing much on the character's sexuality.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

Four cast members from The Mary Tyler Moore Show featured in the sitcom - regular Cloris Leachman, plus guest stars Betty White, Ed Asner, and Mary Tyler Moore herself,{{Cite web |last=January 25 |first=Shirley Li |last2=EST |first2=2017 at 04:24 PM |title=Ellen DeGeneres Remembers Mary Tyler Moore: She 'Changed the World for All Women' |url=https://ew.com/tv/2017/01/25/ellen-degeneres-remembers-mary-tyler-moore/ |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=EW.com |language=en}} the latter two reuniting in the same episode alongside Leachman (White appeared in a separate episode).{{Cite web |title=THE ELLEN SHOW (CBS 2001-02) |url=https://www.rewatchclassictv.com/products/the-ellen-show-cbs-2001-02 |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=Rewatch Classic TV |language=en}} Moore had also appeared in two episodes of DeGeneres's previous sitcom, Ellen, and would also later appear as a guest on her talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

The Ellen Show produced 18 episodes, but was canceled 2/3 of the way through its season. The final 5 episodes were never broadcast, but are available on DVD.

{{Episode table |background= |overall= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |episodes=

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=1

|Title=Pilot

|DirectedBy=Andy Ackerman

|WrittenBy=Carol Leifer & Mitchell Hurwitz

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2001|9|24}}

|ShortSummary= An Internet entrepreneur returns to live in her hometown after her new business venture suddenly collapses.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=2

|Title=Walden Pond

|DirectedBy=Andrew D. Weyman

|WrittenBy=Carol Leifer

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2001|9|28}}

|ShortSummary= Ellen decides to make some decisions about her future, hoping to find inspiration by sitting by a pond and reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=3

|Title=Chain Reaction

|DirectedBy=Andrew D. Weyman

|WrittenBy=Carol Leifer & Chuck Martin

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2001|10|05}}

|ShortSummary= Ellen tries to rally the town against a new restaurant that features scantily clad waitresses.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=4

|Title=Vanity Hair

|DirectedBy=Andrew D. Weyman

|WrittenBy=Ric Swartzlander

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2001|10|12}}

|ShortSummary= A profile in Vanity Fair gets Ellen thinking about a new hairdo.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=5

|Title=The Move

|DirectedBy=Andrew D. Weyman

|WrittenBy=Rob LaZebnik & Mitchell Hurwitz

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2001|10|19}}

|ShortSummary= Ellen's moving home causes friction, leading to her sister Catherine moving out to live with a new boyfriend.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=6

|Title=Muskrat Love

|DirectedBy=Andrew D. Weyman

|WrittenBy=Carol Leifer & Chuck Martin

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2001|10|26}}

|ShortSummary= As she looks to rid the yard of a pesky raccoon, Ellen is asked to help a lovesick high school student.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=7

|Title=Joe

|DirectedBy=Andrew D. Weyman

|WrittenBy=Mitchell Hurwitz & Rob LaZebnik

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2001|11|02}}

|ShortSummary= Ellen's search for the perfect cup of coffee reveals some disturbing news about her mother Dot's new boyfriend.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=8

|Title=Cathy's Taffy

|DirectedBy=Andrew D. Weyman

|WrittenBy= {{StoryTeleplay|s=Sue Kolinsky|t=Carol Leifer & Chuck Martin}}

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2001|11|09}}

|ShortSummary= Ellen launches a new business to sell her sister Catherine's delicious homemade taffy.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=9

|Title=Missing the Bus

|DirectedBy=Andrew D. Weyman

|WrittenBy= {{StoryTeleplay|s=Jim Gerkin & Ric Swartzlander|t=Ric Swartzlander}}

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2001|11|16}}

|ShortSummary= Ellen's efforts to honor a longtime district employee ends up costing the aging school bus driver (special guest star Betty White) her job.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=10

|Title=Alive and Kicking

|DirectedBy=Andrew D. Weyman

|WrittenBy=Carol Leifer & Chuck Martin

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2001|12|10}}

|ShortSummary= Ellen tries to counsel the school's troubled kicker on the eve of a championship football game.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=11

|Title=Ellen's First Christmess

|DirectedBy=Andrew D. Weyman

|WrittenBy=Darin Henry

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2001|12|17}}

|ShortSummary= Ellen's plan for her Aunt Mary's (special guest star Mary Tyler Moore) surprise Christmas appearance exposes some ill will between Dot and her famous sister. (Also features a special appearance by Ed Asner in a nod to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which starred Moore, The Ellen Show regular Cloris Leachman, and Asner.)

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=12

|Title=A Bird in the Hand

|DirectedBy=Andrew D. Weyman

|WrittenBy=Sue Kolinsky

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2002|1|04}}

|ShortSummary= When Dot gives Ellen an heirloom brooch, Catherine is jealous and Ellen is less than excited. Matters only get worse when she loses the brooch and has to fess up.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=13

|Title=Just the Duck

|DirectedBy= Andrew D. Weyman

|WrittenBy= Jim Gerkin

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2002|1|11}}

|ShortSummary= Ellen discovers Catherine on a secret date with Rusty and is invited to join them; with an imminent breakup, a surprise rebound may be in the works.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=14

|Title=Shallow Gal

|DirectedBy= Andrew D. Weyman

|WrittenBy= Harold Kimmel

|OriginalAirDate=Unaired

|ShortSummary= When Ellen realizes she was the unpopular geek in school, she gets desperate and befriends the ex-head cheerleader. Is Ellen now the snob? (Guest star Kaley Cuoco also played a young Ellen in her previous sitcom Ellen.)

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=15

|Title=Gathering Moss

|DirectedBy= Andrew D. Weyman

|WrittenBy= Bill Kelley

|OriginalAirDate=Unaired

|ShortSummary= Catherine and Ellen attend a self-actualization session where they learn to "see it, want it, take it." They instead discover they can't take each other! Special guest star: John Ritter.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=16

|Title=A Matter of Principal

|DirectedBy= Andrew D. Weyman

|WrittenBy= Darin Henry

|OriginalAirDate=Unaired

|ShortSummary= After Ellen is left in charge of the school, her alternative approach leads to chaos. With a student body in complete anarchy, Ellen finds out a secret.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=17

|Title=Where the Sun Doesn't Shine

|DirectedBy= Andrew D. Weyman

|WrittenBy= Chuck Martin

|OriginalAirDate=Unaired

|ShortSummary= When Ellen lobbies for her mother Dot to receive the annual town Sunshine Prize, Ellen discovers that she's also up for the prize, and is the favorite to win.

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=18

|Title=One for the Roadshow

|DirectedBy= Andrew D. Weyman

|WrittenBy= {{StoryTeleplay|s=Mitchell Hurwitz & Rob LaZebnik|t=Darin Henry & Bill Kelley}}

|OriginalAirDate=Unaired

|ShortSummary= Ellen discovers that the board game her Aunt Mary gave her years ago that has never been opened is worth thousands of dollars, enough for Ellen to move out.

|LineColor=

}}

}}

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 in a 2-disc box set on July 11, 2006.{{cite web|url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Ellen/5578|title=The Ellen Show DVD news: Front & Back art for 2001 sitcom |website=TVShowsOnDVD.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219012804/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Ellen/5578|archive-date=2013-12-19}}

In 2014, Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the rights to the series and subsequently re-released the complete series on February 4, 2014.{{cite web|url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Ellen-The-Complete-Series/19349|title=The Ellen Show DVD news: Re-Release for The Ellen Show - The Complete Series|website=TVShowsOnDVD.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322062739/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Ellen-The-Complete-Series/19349|archive-date=2014-03-22}}

Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, in partnership with CBS Home Entertainment, owns the international rights. The complete series was released in Region 4 (Australia) as a 2 DVD set on February 1, 2017 by Umbrella Entertainment.

As of 2023, all episodes can be seen for free on Crackle and Fubo in the US and on CTV in Canada.{{Cite web |title=The Ellen Show - streaming tv show online (US) |url=https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-ellen-show |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=JustWatch |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=The Ellen Show - streaming tv show online (Canada) |url=https://www.justwatch.com/ca/tv-show/the-ellen-show |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=JustWatch |language=en}} The show is also available for purchase on Apple TV and Amazon in the US.

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|0285358}}

{{Ellen DeGeneres}}

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Category:2001 American television series debuts

Category:2002 American television series endings

Category:2000s American LGBTQ-related sitcoms

Category:2000s American multi-camera sitcoms

Category:Television series by CBS Studios

Category:Television series by Sony Pictures Television

Category:American English-language television shows

Category:Television shows set in Los Angeles

Category:Television series created by Mitchell Hurwitz

Category:Television series created by Ellen DeGeneres

Category:Television shows presented by Ellen DeGeneres

Category:CBS sitcoms