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Ellen

Ellen’s Ellen (before the short-lived Ellen Show and currently-airing The Ellen DeGeneres Show, you see) was a ringer in the mid-90s and sent shockwaves around the nation when its main character (Ellen, of course) came out on national TV. In response to the pioneering move, ABC placed a parental advisory note before every aired episodes — so parents knew to shield their children from the shifty, TV lesbians, maybe? In spite of that, Ellen-the-comedian’s tremendous wit got the show another renewal, before ratings eventually slid and it was cancelled in 1998. DeGeneres struggled to get gigs as an outed comedienne, but finally found a place for herself on her hilarious talk show. And, boy, are we glad she’s still around.