Chelsea Handle will end her seven-year, late-night run on E! in late August.
The NBCUniversal service will bid adieu to Chelsea Lately on Aug. 26 at 11 p.m. (ET/PT) with a one-hour show. It will be feted by a month-long, lead-in farewell of special episodes and guests. Chelsea Lately, produced by Borderline Amazing Productions, will continue to air new episodes weeknights until the series' send-off.
The impending exit of Handler, whose contract is up this year, marks the latest turn in the daypart. Jimmy Fallon replaced Jay Leno on NBC's TonightShow in February. Then came David Letterman's April announcement that he will retire from CBS’s Late Show next year. In turn, CBS declared that Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, will succeed Letterman, inciting rumors about the future of CBS’ 12:30 a.m. host, Craig Ferguson. During that period, Handler posted a photo on Instagram of herself holding paperwork bearing the CBS logo, and captioned the photo, “Business meeting.”
Meanwhile, Comedy Central has tapped Daily Show correspondent Larry Wilmore to step into the Colbert slot as The Minority Report With Larry Wilmore will follow The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, beginning in January 2015.
For its part, TBS brought some measure of stability to the daypart, with its recent renewal with Conan O'Brien.
“We are very proud of ’Chelsea Lately’s’ long-running success and the unique space that the series carved out in late-night television,” said E! president Suzanne Kolb. "Chelsea brought a distinct voice to late night with her acerbic wit and fearless commentary and we look forward to providing fans with a memorable send-off that lives up to that tradition. Most of all, we are grateful to the ‘Chelsea Lately’ team for making this show so special for seven years.”
Noted Handler: “I myself am more surprised than anyone that I was able to hold down a job for seven years, and it was a fantastic seven years. I will always look back at my time on E! as most people look back at their time in college. I'm glad I went.”
