Ellen DeGeneres is currently promoting her upcoming Netflix stand-up special, Relatable. In the trailer, the current queen of daytime talk TV comments upon how she can’t do something even mildly rude, like honk her car horn, because of her ultra-nice reputation. Indeed, there’s rarely any negativity on The Ellen Show (unless she’s talking about a natural disaster, such as the California fires), where sunniness and dancing prevail. In a New York Times profile, dancing comes up immediately while DeGeneres details how fans expect her to shake it with them on the street, and then she reveals that she almost didn’t re-up her show’s contract until 2020.
It quickly becomes evident that Ellen’s seriously considering leaving the building — sixteen years of positivity is a long time — by cancelling her show within a few years. She’d like to play “someone unappealing” or pursue projects that explore more of her own personality, and the Netflix special is part of that goal. “I wanted to show all of me,” she admitted. “The talk show is me, but I’m also playing a character of a talk-show host. There’s a tiny, tiny bit of difference.”
From there, DeGeneres discusses how her brother, Vance, and wife, Portia De Rossi, hold different opinions on whether The Ellen Show should continue. Whereas Vance believes that his sister should remain a beacon of positivity and hope throughout the Trump era, Portia’s ready for her spouse to move onto other outlets. “I just think she’s such a brilliant actress and standup that it doesn’t have to be this talk show for her creativity,” De Rossi explains. “There are other things she could tackle.” Although De Rossi also argues that her wife doesn’t reinvent her image in this Netflix special (she wanted Ellen to go further), there’s definitely a “spikier” vibe at hand. Who knows what else could spring from that same well? We’re here for it, whenever it happens.
Here’s the trailer for Netflix’s Relatable, which streams on December 18.
(Via New York Times)
