Tiffany Haddish has recently emerged as the frontrunner to replace Ellen DeGeneres on daytime television.
A senior NBCUniversal source told Page Six, “Tiffany is a favorite, she has humor and empathy in spades.” They said, “She’s top of the list to get a daytime show – she’s a fresh voice.”
If Haddish does take up the mantle, it appears that she will do so in a unique way.
Page Six wrote in their report: “As we revealed in February, DeGeneres owns the rights to her show, which is syndicated and produced by Warner Bros so it’s impossible to replace her without launching a fresh format with a new host.”
After allegations of a hostile working climate led to the firing of executive producers Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman, as well as co-executive producer Jonathan Norman, Haddish was a guest host on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in October. Former and current workers accused the three men of sexual assault and abuse, as well as inciting bigotry, terror, and intimidation.
When DeGeneres returned to her show in September, she discussed the accusations for the first time. On the same show, Haddish appeared and expressed her support for Ellen. Last month, the comedian and actress filled in as a guest host for the third time.
Haddish recently has been practicing her hosting skills on the CBS show, Kids Say The Darndest Things.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, DeGeneres announced that her syndicated daytime talk show’s 19th season would be her last. “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,” she said.
During Wednesday’s episode, DeGeneres told the audience that she let her intuition guide her when it came to deciding when it was time to leave.
“You may wonder why I’ve decided to end after 19 seasons. The truth is, I always trust my instincts,” she explained. “My instinct told me it’s time. As a comedian, I’ve always understood the importance of…timing. In all seriousness, I truly have felt like next season was the right time to end this amazing chapter.”
Ellen said she told her coworkers about her decision on Tuesday. According to a January article from Page Six, executives at Telepictures, the production company behind Ellen, were aware that DeGeneres, who had one year remaining on her contract, decided to quit, but they preferred if she was replaced so they could keep her current time slot.
