#Ellen Sets Season Premiere Date, Will Address Controversy on Returning Episode

After months of controversy, The Ellen DeGeneres Show returns to NBC this month when the new season premieres on Monday, Sept. 21. Over the summer, during the show’s hiatus between seasons, reports of a “toxic” workplace behind the scenes of Ellen went viral, resulting in widespread calls for big changes to be made. Although DeGeneres has addressed the problem internally with staffers, word is she will address the controversy directly with viewers in the upcoming new season.

“I can’t wait to get back to work and back to our studio. And, yes, we’re gonna talk about it,” Ellen DeGeneres said of the public backlash.

Also revealed is the celebrity guest list for Ellen’s first week back in the studio. The season premiere episode will bring in The Last O.G. star Tiffany Haddish for an in-studio appearance. Other guests on the schedule for the show’s first week back include Kerry Washington, Alec Baldwin, and Chrissy Teigen. Some of the other names confirmed for the new season are Chris Rock, Amy Schumer, Adam Sandler, and Orlando Bloom. Co-executive producer and house DJ Stephen “tWitch” Boss will also serve as a guest host at some point this season.

While most daytime talk shows are returning to television a bit sooner than The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the NBC series was delayed so producers would have more time to prepare for the new season. This isn’t surprising, given how there have already been some big changes at Ellen in response to the controversy. After an internal investigation from WarnerMedia, it was announced last month that executive producers Kevin Leman and Ed Glavin had been fired along with co-executive producer Jonathan Norman, stemming from accusations of sexual misconduct among other unethical practices.

In the immediate aftermath of the Ellen reports going live, there was concern that the show would be yanked off the air completely. It was also rumored that DeGeneres was personally considering pulling the plug herself. Although Leman, Glavin, and Norman have all been fired, there are some who still believe DeGeneres was aware of what was happening and should also have to face the consequences. Meanwhile, there are many others who continue to defend DeGeneres. That includes a variety of her celebrity pals, from Kevin Hart to Katy Perry, who came out to publicly support DeGeneres.

Meanwhile, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star poured a little more gasoline on the fire when she tweeted, “Just wanna say that I have both worked behind the scenes of TV shows and been the celebrity guest on them and the two experiences are very different.” Other stars like Brad Garrett and Lea Thompson would also tweet that the alleged behavior of DeGeneres and her staff was “common knowledge” to those in the industry.

In any case, NBC is standing by DeGeneres, and it will be interesting to see if the “toxic workplace scandal” will affect the show’s overall viewership when it returns. The network also remains committed to the spin-off series, Ellen’s Game of Games. You can watch the season premiere of The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Monday, Sept. 21. This news comes to us from Deadline.