Ellen

Ellen (originally titled These Friends of Mine for season one) is a U.S. television sitcom that ran on the ABC network from March 29, 1994 to July 22, 1998, producing 109 episodes.

The theme song, "So-Called Friend" is by Scottish band Texas. An ongoing gag was that each episode had a distinct opening credits sequence, resulting from Ellen's ongoing search for the perfect opening credits.

The title role of Ellen Morgan, played by stand-up comedian Ellen DeGeneres, was a neurotic bookstore owner in her thirties. The series centered around Ellen dealing with her quirky friends, her family and the problems of daily life.

The show was not connected to The Ellen Show, DeGeneres' second sitcom which ran from 2001-2002.

In 1997, Ellen made television history when the title character came out as a lesbian in the famous "Puppy Episode." (DeGeneres herself had come out earlier that year on The Oprah Winfrey Show and in TIME.) To ensure a memorable moment, the coming out scene was made into a gag where, at an airport, Ellen turns and tells Laura Dern "I'm gay!" - only to realize that she had turned right into the intercom microphone, announcing her sexuality to the entire terminal. Ellen DeGeneres' mother Betty can briefly be seen as one of the people in the terminal with a shocked reaction to the announcement. The revelation ignited a storm of controversy, prompting ABC to place a parental advisory at the beginning of each episode.

Starring

Ellen DeGeneres

Joely Fisher

Jeremy Piven

David Anthony Higgins

Clea Lewis

Arye Gross

Holly Fulger

Maggie Wheeler

Opening theme So Called Friend

Country of origin United States

No. of seasons 5

No. of episodes 109

Production

Camera setup Multi-camera

Running time Approximately 22 minutes

Broadcast

Original channel ABC

Original run March 29, 1994 – July 22, 1998

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