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LGBTQ+ on TV: ELLEN
By: Kaitlin Milligan Jun. 01, 2020
Today is June 1st, which means it's the start of Pride Month! During the month of June, BroadwayWorld will be bringing you a look back on LGBTQ+ representation in television. We will delve into some of the shows and episodes that broke barriers for the LGBTQ+ community on television! The first show is Ellen, which featured the famous episode where the first ever main character on a television series came out.
Ellen Degeneres played Ellen Morgan on the TV series Ellen, which aired on the ABC network from 1994, to 1998. At the time, Ellen wasn't known as an activist for LGBTQ+ rights, because she had yet to come out publicly.
In 1997, Ellen came out publicly as lesbian with an episode on The Oprah Winfrey Show and in Time. Shortly after she made that announcement to the world, the show followed shortly after by airing "The Puppy Episode." The episode, which aired during the fourth season of the series, featured Ellen's character on the series coming out.
The coming out scene featured Ellen at an airport turning and telling Laura Dern's character "I'm gay!" - only to realize that she had turned right into the public address microphone, announcing her sexuality to the entire terminal.
With this episode, the series became the first in the US with a main character to come out as gay. The episode was a massive success in the ratings with 42 million viewers. it also received an enormous amount of publicity. The series was renewed for another season following the episode, but it ended up being cancelled for being "too gay". Ellen's career suffered because she came out, and it wasn't until the early 2000s that her career rebounded.
In 2001, DeGeneres returned to television with the CBS sitcom, The Ellen Show, which was cancelled after 13 episodes.
In 2003, DeGeneres launched her daytime television talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Her talk show was nominated for 11 Daytime Emmy Awards in its first season, winning four, including Best Talk Show. The show went on to win 25 Emmy Awards for its first three seasons. THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW catapulted Ellen to superstardom, and now she is one of the highest paid entertainers in the world.
Ellen is testament to living your truth, no matter what the consequences. She chose to be honest and share her truth with the world, and it although it did cause her many setbacks, she ultimately was able to persevere and become an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
Ellen is now an active member of PFLAG and spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign's Coming Out Project. In addition, Ellen's massive success shows the world that a member of the LGBTQ+ community can achieve anything, and even though there are still many barriers to overcome, she serves as a reminder that it is possible.
Check back every Monday and Wednesday in June for new editions in the series!
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