NBC just canceled this Ellen DeGeneres show

Ellen Degeneres with contestants performing physical activities in the background

(Image credit: NBC)

Now, the other Ellen DeGeneres show is joining the list of canceled TV shows. This time, NBC is pulling the plug on the primetime series hosted by DeGeneres: the competition show Ellen's Game of Games (which spun out of her regular talk show).

Yes, former daytime TV queen DeGeneres' Game of Games aired in evenings for four seasons, but it won't get a fifth (at least on NBC). Deadline broke the news. The show last broadcast on May 2021, and during that year the series' audience shrunk by a considerable amount.

Ellen's Game of Games, where she was both creator and executive producer, evolved from the games that Degeneres played with her celebrity guests on her talk show. Challenges included Aw Snap! and Name Dropper, and then two regular final rounds began with Know or Go, where contestants answered trivia questions while standing on a trap door. This was followed by Hot Hands (also called Hotter Hands), which was adapted into a mobile game.

Why are Ellen's shows getting canceled?

Ellen DeGeneres in her chair, hosting The Ellen DeGeneres Show — (Image credit: Warner Bros.)

The Ellen Degeneres Show (which also broadcasts on NBC-owned affiliates), her talk show of 19 years, is also ending, and will air its final episodes later this year.

The adjacent cancelation of both Ellen shows could be tied together. In 2020, reports of accusations that Degeneres enabled and fostered a toxic work environment hit the press. Executive producers were accused of "rampant sexual harassment," as reported by BuzzFeed News.

It was only after those reports that news broke that Degeneres was ending The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

DeGeneres challenged anyone looking to link the news together, telling The Hollywood Reporter that "When you’re a creative person, you constantly need to be challenged — and as great as this show is, and as fun as it is, it’s just not a challenge anymore." And while we're not here to say who's wrong and who's right, 19 years of doing the same job sounds pretty repetitive.

There is no announced series finale date for the syndicated The Ellen Degeneres show.

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Henry is a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.