(@TheEllenShow) Ellen DeGeneres: The Princess In Waiting.

With the arrival of 2011 something else has arrived upon us as well, and that is the much anticipated Oprah Winfrey Network, a.k.a. OWN.  Yes it has finally launched, and although “The Oprah Winfrey Show” will come to an end on September 9th, 2011, we all know that Ms. O is far from retiring her career as she has this new baby to tend to.

However, what will Oprah’s estimated 42 million viewers a week do without her popular syndicated TV talk show?  Oprah is undoubtedly the queen of daytime television and she is also one of the most influential and powerful people of our time, so what in the world or who in the world could possibly help to fill this void?

I here now declare that the princess in waiting is of course Ellen DeGeneres, and that it is she who is the soon-to-be queen of daytime television.

Now recently, someone argued with me that Ellen could not possibly be the new queen of daytime television, not because she wasn’t talented enough, or because she didn’t have the charisma or power to do so, but simply because she is gay.  That person said that “Middle America” is not ready to give her this title.

However, I don’t believe this to be entirely true.  I know that there are still ignorant people in this world; I’m not blind to this unfortunate fact.  However, when Oprah Winfrey’s show was nationally syndication in 1986, it was only 20 years after the Civil Rights Movement.  People could have easily argued that “Middle America” was not ready to accept an African-American WOMAN into their living rooms as well.  Especially since in the mid 1980s, day-time television was ruled by a Caucasian-Male TV talk show host Phil Donahue.

However, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” quickly surpassed “The Phil Donahue Show” and shot up to the #1 spot and then continued to be the highest-rated TV talk show for 23 consecutive seasons!  So is it really that difficult to believe that “Middle America” is ready to accept Ellen DeGeneres?

“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” which is in its seventh season has some pretty impressive stats in my opinion.  The nationally syndicated TV talk show has already won 29 Daytime Emmy Awards. DeGeneres has also won five People’s Choice Awards for Favorite Daytime Talk Show Host and Favorite Funny Female Star four years in a row!  Ellen was also recently included in Forbes’ top five “Most Influential Women in Media” and the accolades do go on and on.  Moreover, Ellen estimates over 3 million viewers a day!

So let’s face it Ellen DeGeneres’ popularity is on the incline.  She is an extremely talented and hilarious TV talk show host, Executive Producer, and comedian who happens to also have a big heart.  Her anti-bullying campaign, countless charity contributions, and warm, infectious personality is only going to continue to win her over more viewers and fans alike.

So therefore, once again I do declare that Ellen DeGeneres will be the new reigning Queen of Daytime Television.  However, there might be one person who has a serious problem with this title, and that’s humble Ellen herself.  She was quoted on her show as saying, “I got a call from Oprah, and she told me that she is announcing that next year will be her last year.  It will be her 25th year, and she feels like it’s time for her to stop.  I don’t think I could be here without her.  I think she has blazed a trail. … She is an amazing woman. She will always be the queen of daytime television…”