“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” has set its Season 18 premiere date. “Ellen” will return to the Warner Bros. lot sans in-studio audience on Monday, Sept. 21.
“I can’t wait to get back to work and back to our studio,” host Ellen DeGeneres said in a statement on Tuesday. “And, yes, we’re gonna talk about it.”
Tiffany Haddish will be Ellen’s first in-studio guest this season. Also joining DeGeneres for Season 18’s premiere week will be Kerry Washington, Alec Baldwin and Chrissy Teigen.
Chris Rock, Amy Schumer, Adam Sandler and Orlando Bloom are also on the early end of DeGeneres’ schedule for her new batch of episodes.
Additionally, this season, the talk show’s newest co-executive producer, Stephen “tWitch” Boss will guest host some episodes.
In case you’ve been self-quarantining under a rock, DeGeneres’ vow in her quote refers to the controversy that has surrounded her in recent months, after dozens of current and former staffers spoke out about their time working on “Ellen” in a pair of bombshell Buzzfeed News reports.
WarnerMedia’s subsequent investigation into multiple accusations of workplace and sexual misconduct resulted in “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” removing three of its top producers: Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman and Jonathan Norman.
In a memo to staff back in July, DeGeneres said she was “disappointed” to learn that employees felt mistreated while working on her show and committed herself to “ensuring this does not happen again.”
“On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ would be a place of happiness — no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect,” DeGeneres wrote. “Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case. And for that, I am sorry. Anyone who knows me knows it’s the opposite of what I believe and what I hoped for our show.”