The Ellen Show began its broadcast in the 21st century.
Ellen is an American television sitcom that aired on the ABC network from March 29 , 1994 , to July 22 , 1998 , consisting of 109 episodes . The series is notable for being one of the first with a main character to come out as gay , which DeGeneres ' character did in the 1997 episode `` The Puppy Episode '' , which aired shortly after DeGeneres publicly revealed that she was gay in real life . The Ellen Show is a television sitcom created by and starring Ellen DeGeneres that was broadcast during the 2001 -- 02 season on CBS .