The Ellen Show

The Ellen Show
Created by	Ellen DeGeneres Mitchell Hurwitz (co-creator) Carol Leifer (co-creator)
Starring	Ellen DeGeneres Jim Gaffigan Emily Rutherfurd Martin Mull Kerri Kenney Cloris Leachman
Theme music composer	Jude Christodal
Composer(s)	David Schwartz
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	18 (5 unaired)
Production
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	The Hurwitz Company CBS Productions Columbia TriStar Television
Distributor	Sony Pictures Television
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	September 24, 2001 (2001-09-24) – January 11, 2002 (2002-01-11)

The Ellen Show is a television sitcom created by and starring Ellen DeGeneres that was broadcast during the 2001–02 season on CBS. It was DeGeneres's second attempt at a sitcom, following Ellen on ABC (1994–98), but it was unable to attract strong ratings and was quickly cancelled after 13 episodes, leaving 5 episodes unaired.

After coming out as a lesbian on her first sitcom, DeGeneres's character on The Ellen Show, Ellen Richmond, was also a lesbian, although the show did not focus as heavily on the character's sexuality as did the final season of her first sitcom.

The Ellen Show also starred Cloris Leachman, Martin Mull, Kerri Kenney, Jim Gaffigan and Emily Rutherfurd.

Plot

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 a lesbian, 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 counselor at her former high school.

Cast

• 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

Guest stars

• Regan Burns as Officer "B" Arthur (Walden Pond) (Joe)
• John Francis Daley as Erik (Walden Pond)
• Susan Yeagley as Waitress (Chain Reaction)
• Marissa Jaret Winokur as Tina (Vanity Hair)
• Tom Poston as Joe (Joe)
• Betty White as Mrs. Gibson (Missing the Bus)
• Dakota Fanning as Young Ellen (Missing the Bus)
• Mary Tyler Moore as Aunt Mary (Ellen's First Christmess)
• Ed Asner as Santa Claus (Ellen's First Christmess)
• Maureen McCormick as Rita Carter (Shallow Gal)
• Kaley Cuoco as Vanessa Carter (Shallow Gal)
• John Ritter as Percy Moss (Gathering Moss)

Production

The show was created by Carol Leifer and Mitchell Hurwitz, who co-wrote the pilot episode. The original title was Ellen Again.^[1]

Episodes

The Ellen Show consisted of 18 episodes; canceled mid-way through the season, the final 5 episodes were never broadcast, but are available on DVD. The entire series is also available on Netflix in Canada.

Ratings

2001–02: #97—4.4%—6.5 million viewers

DVD releases

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1, for the very first time, in a 2-disc box set on July 11, 2006.^[2] As of 2013, this release has been discontinued and is out of print.

In 2014, Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the rights to the series and subsequently re-released the complete series on February 4, 2014.^[3]

Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, in partnership with CBS Home Entertainment, owns the international rights, but has not released the series elsewhere.

References

External links

• The Ellen Show at the Internet Movie Database