As Ellen DeGeneres brings what’s believed to be her remaining Hollywood chapter to an in depth, a brand new documentary is looking again on the trailblazing tv sequence that put her on the cultural map.
HuffPost caught a sneak peek at Sunday’s episode of CNN’s “TV on the Edge,” which options an on-camera reunion of the inventive group behind DeGeneres’ Emmy-winning comedy, “Ellen,” which ran from 1994 to 1998.
Today, “Ellen” is greatest remembered for “The Puppy Episode,” which aired throughout the present’s fourth season in 1997. The episode depicted DeGeneres’ character, Ellen Morgan, popping out as a lesbian. It additionally coincided with DeGeneres’ public acknowledgement of her real-life sexuality on the quilt of Time journal.
By 2024 requirements, “The Puppy Episode” is extremely tame. However, as a few of the “Ellen” group recalled within the under clip from “TV on the Edge,” that wasn’t the case 26 years in the past. Not solely was the general public backlash to the episode vital, however the present’s set was hit with a bomb risk. As for DeGeneres herself, she handled an alleged stalker.
Watch a clip from the Oct. 6 episode of “TV on the Edge” under.
“Ellen had a fear that somebody might come after her,” casting director Tammy Billik explains within the clip. “There was a bomb threat when we were filming the show.”
Dava Savel, one of many present’s government producers and writers, chalked a lot of the pushback to “The Puppy Episode” as much as an total lack of knowledge relating to LGBTQ+ points on the time.
“People didn’t understand, and when people don’t understand, they get scared,” Savel says. “And when they get scared, they get angry. And that’s what we were getting a lot of.”
The “Ellen” episode of “TV on the Edge” comes just a little greater than every week after DeGeneres herself unveiled “Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval.” The comedy particular, which dropped on Netflix Sept. 24, has been billed as DeGeneres’ final. The particular’s launch has not been with out controversy, because it follows the explosive allegations of office misconduct that left an indelible mark on her repute.
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“This is the last time you’re going to see me,” she reportedly advised viewers members at a July present in Santa Rosa, California, and likewise dominated out the prospect of future performing tasks.
“TV on the Edge,” which debuted Sept. 22, examines a few of the most groundbreaking moments in TV historical past and the way every has continued to form popular culture within the current day.
The present’s premiere episode took a take a look at “Murphy Brown,” and the controversy that ensued when the present’s title character (Candace Bergen), who was a tv journalist, consciously determined to lift a child on her personal. The plot line sparked the ire of former Vice President Dan Quayle, who publicly blasted the present for “mocking the importance of fathers.”
“TV on the Edge” airs Sundays at 9 p.m. EST on CNN.
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