Hey, if you've been watching this show,
and I trust that you have, you know that a few weeks ago we
celebrated our 3,000th show--
3,000 shows!
So that means as of today, we've done 3,000 shows, plus 14,
which is--
carry the two--
3,000 plus 14 shows.
And I know, it's a lot.
And today I have an announcement to make.
Today I am announcing that next season, season 19,
is going to be my last season.
So the past 18 years, you have to know has changed my life.
You all have changed my life, and I am forever
grateful to all of you for watching, for laughing,
for dancing, sometimes crying.
This show has been the greatest experience of my life,
and I owe it all to you, so thank you, thank you, thank
you, thank you.
I want you to know that I 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.
A few times I was talking to myself and Portia
thought I was talking to her.
And one time I was talking to Portia,
but she thought I was talking to myself, because
of the other times when I was talking to myself
and she thought I was talking to her.
And one time I was talking to Alexa and Siri answered.
And then another time I was talking to the TV,
and I accidentally texted my eye doctor.
The point is, I need to take a break from talking.
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.
19 is a great number.
First of all, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote.
And this may be controversial, but I
believe that women should be allowed to vote.
I've said it.
There, I've said it.
Yep.
Also, on the periodic table, 19 is the atomic number
for potassium.
You may wonder why I've decided to end after 19 seasons.
The truth is, I always trust my instincts.
My instinct told me it's time.
As a comedian, I have always understood
the importance of timing.
And in all seriousness, I truly have
felt like next season was the right time
to end this amazing chapter.
In 1997, I knew it was time to come out on my sitcom
and live my truth.
Back then I had a vivid dream that a bird flew out of a cage
and set itself free because it needed to get out of that cage.
And recently I had a dream that a bird, a beautiful bird
with bright red feathers, came to my window
and whispered "you can still do stuff on Netflix,"
and that was the sign I was looking for.
18 years ago on the very first show,
I said this was going to be a relationship.
And we are going to continue that relationship even
when the show ends-- but not in this house, because you
know I love to move.
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, thank you all,
and every day will be a celebration.
There will be a lot of surprises.
There will be trips down memory lane, a few detours
through why did I wear that, [? Alli? ?]
Of course, we still have a lot of celebrating
to do this season, so let's bring out
one of my favorite people in the entire world, tWitch.
Hi, I'm Andy.
Ellen asked me to remind you to subscribe to her channel
so you can see more awesome videos, like videos
of me getting scared, or saying embarrassing things,
like "ball peen hammer."
And also some videos of Ellen and other celebrities,
if you're into that sort of thing.
Ah!
[SCREAMS]
[BLEEP]
God [BLEEP]!