‘Ellen’ Lead To Come Out Of Closet

Tue., March 4, 1997

Brian Lowry Los Angeles Times

“Ellen” will film a long-anticipated episode this week in which the title character of the ABC comedy comes out as a lesbian, ending a six-month guessing game that has left many pondering whether such a turn represents a breakthrough or, at this point, much ado about nothing.

Production is expected to take place Friday on an episode that would air April 30, the first day of the May ratings sweeps. Ellen Morgan (played by series star Ellen DeGeneres) falls in love with another woman, then discloses her sexual orientation to her friends and therapist, played in a cameo by Oprah Winfrey.

In doing so, the series will become prime time’s first to feature an openly homosexual lead character.

As for the decision itself - said to have been approved at the highest levels of ABC’s parent, the Walt Disney Co. - the suspense surrounding it has taken on a life of its own that has all but overshadowed the story line’s cultural significance.

Although reports that the move was being considered surfaced in September, ABC brass didn’t meet with DeGeneres and the producers to discuss specifics until December. ABC offered some notes, then waited to see a draft of the script, which network officials didn’t receive until last week.

“Whatever interest this generates will be over in a week,” said one TV executive. “The real question is where the show goes after that.”

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