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
