Ellen is Coming to Philly! (Kind Of…)

Beloved comedienne, actress, and TV host Ellen DeGeneres will be bringing her fan-favorite afternoon talk show to Philadelphia tomorrow, Wednesday, March 22nd. And, best of all, you can be part of the excitement! Just one small caveat, however… Ellen herself won’t actually be in town (sad face).

“Ellen” will be coming to Philly, although Ellen herself will not.

Yesterday the host took to Twitter to announce that she was “going to shut down a couple of blocks of Walnut Street in #Philly,” and promised that it was “gonna be fun.” Further details soon emerged – the Walnut Street closure will be part of a live group shot that is going to air on her Wednesday show. Ellen exhorted Philadelphia fans to come out for the adventure, adding that “Y’all are gonna look great on my show.” Rumors say that DeGeneres’ people reached out to several UPenn sororities to invite them to come on the show.

Billy Penn confirmed that Walnut will be closed between between Broad Street and the 1700 block from 2 p.m.-7 p.m. Details weren’t available about what would be going on specifically during the filming, but if you want a shot to get on TV, you should put on something attention-grabbing (maybe make a sign?) and mosey on down to Walnut!

Alas, Ellen herself won’t be in attendance. This was confirmed by Greater Philadelphia Film Office executive director Sharon Pinkenson in an interview with Philly.com. She will, however, interact with Philly fans via satellite. Still pretty cool, right?

“The Ellen Show” is only the latest Hollywood venture to come knocking on the door of the City of Brotherly Love. “Jeopardy” was here last year, with hosts Pat Sajak and Vanna White eating cheesesteaks and taking in the sights. Furthermore, as per Penn Live, “The movie “Untouchable,” starring Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston and Nicole Kidman has been filming around the city. M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film, “Split,” was also filmed in Philadelphia. It was released in January.”