Ellen DeGeneres’ last-ever comedy special about being cancelled gets a Netflix release date

Ellen DeGeneres’ 2024 comedy special, Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval—set to address being cancelled from showbiz—now has a Netflix release date. 

The former talk show host is returning to the streaming platform for a second and final stand-up show, after being the subject of controversies surrounding staff treatment. 

DeGeneres previously released a statement about the upcoming one-off show: “To answer the questions everyone is asking me – Yes, I’m going to talk about it. Yes, this is my last special. Yes, Portia really is that pretty in real life.”

The official logline for the Ellen DeGeneres 2024 comedy special reads: “For the first time in six years, Ellen DeGeneres returns to the stage in her new comedy special Ellen Degeneres: For Your Approval. 

“The final comedy special of her historic career, Ellen gets personal and reveals what she’s been doing since being ‘kicked out of show business’,” the logline adds.

“From the mundane world of raising chickens and parallel parking to the harsh reality of becoming a brand-name celebrity, she goes deep into her stand-up roots and brings the laughs through life’s most real and absurd realities,” the logline concludes.

It won’t be the first time the talk show host has spoken out about her long-running series ending. In April, the comedian joked about being “kicked out of show business” during the opening night of her stand-up tour in Los Angeles. 

The Ellen DeGeneres Show was the subject of controversy in 2020 when former employees told BuzzFeed News of alleged racist comments and a “toxic” environment on set. 

Several former and current staff members claimed that DeGeneres’ optimistic and happy personality was “bulls**t” that “only happens when the cameras are on”. There were also allegations of racism, bullying and harassment being rampant behind the scenes of the daytime talk show. 

There were also claims of sexual misconduct. After an internal investigation, three producers were fired, and DeGeneres apologised to staff.

She then voluntarily pulled the plug on the show in May 2021, saying at the time that she is a “creative person” who constantly needs to “be challenged”, and the show was “not a challenge any more”.

Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval arrives on Netflix on 24 September.