Tiffany Haddish reportedly is set to take over from Ellen DeGeneres on daytime TV.
The Girls Trip star has filled in for the chat show host a number of times, and bosses at NBCUniversal are keen to get her on board after DeGeneres, 63, announced the upcoming 19th series of her titular program will be her last.
An insider told the New York Post‘s “Page Six”: “Tiffany is a favorite, she has humor and empathy in spades.
“She’s top of the list to get a daytime show – she’s a fresh voice.”
Haddish, 40, stepped in for DeGeneres in October 2020 and just last month, while she has also hosted “Kids Say The Darndest Things.”
This week, DeGeneres revealed she is “forever grateful” to her fans for “changing her life” by watching the program.
In a pre-recorded video from her show, shared on her Twitter account, she told her virtual audience: “I am announcing that next season, season 19, is going to be my last season.
“So, the past 18 years, you have to know have changed my life. You have all changed my life.
“I’m forever grateful to all of you for watching, for laughing and dancing, sometimes crying.
“This show has been the greatest experience of my life, and I owe it all to you. So, thank you.”
Today is a big day. Next season is a big season. pic.twitter.com/Ii4m9IDuYv
— Ellen DeGeneres (@EllenDeGeneres) May 13, 2021
DeGeneres — who is married to Portia de Rossi — pondered the decision “for a while” but also admitted that when she penned a three-season extension two years ago she knew then the 19th series would be her last.
She added: “I’ve thought a lot about this decision, I sat with it for a while. I meditated on it, I talked to Portia, I talked to myself.
“Two years ago, I signed a deal for three more years, and I always knew in my heart that season 19 would be my last.
“Nineteen is a great number. The 19th amendment gave women the right to vote, and I believe women should be allowed to vote.
“You may wonder why I’ve decided to end after 19 seasons and the truth is I always trust my instincts.
“My instinct told me it’s time. I truly have felt like next season was the right time to end this amazing chapter.
“I promise you that we are going to have a fantastic final season. It will be a season where I truly get to say, thank you. Every day will be a celebration.”
