Chelsea Handler will go global with a talk show on Netflix, beginning in 2016.
Handler, whose seven-year, late-night run with Chelsea Lately on E! Entertainment will end with her contract in August, will join together with Netflix for a show that will air simultaneously in the streamer's territories. The new talk show will feature an updated format that will again spotlight her unfiltered opinions on topical entertainment and cultural issues, as well as guest interviews.
Netflix counts some 48 million subscribers in 40 territories around the globe.
Handler's Netflix play marks the latest turn in the late-night 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.”
Handler's business with Netflix, terms of which were not disclosed, also calls for a one hour stand-up comedy performance on Oct. 10, based on her sold-out tour, “Uganda Be Kidding Me” Live. The special will be taped on Friday, June 20 at Chicago's Harris Theater.
Next year, Chelsea will create four new docu-comedy specials exclusively for Netflix featuring her efforts to gain a better understanding on a variety of subjects ranging from NASCAR to politics and from Silicon Valley to the NBA draft. Handler will produce the stand-up special, docu-comedy specials, and new talk show along with her partners in Borderline Amazing, Tom Brunelle and Brad Wollack.
“If I was going to continue working in this industry, I knew I had to do something outside the box to keep myself interested," noted Handler. "I wanted to sit with the cool kids at lunch so I approached Netflix to make sure they were as cool as I thought they were, and when I confirmed my suspicions, like with any other future lover, I made my move. I’m more excited than I’ve been in awhile, and the team at Netflix is the most forward thinking, alert group I’ve sat down with in ages. No offense to the Shahs Of Sunset.” Her allusion is to the Bravo reality show.
“The Internet has disrupted many of the conventions of traditional television and together with Chelsea Handler, Netflix is looking forward to reimagining the late night talk show for the on-demand generation, starting with the late night part,” said Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos. “Chelsea has built a huge following on tour, on nightly TV and through her best-selling books, and we can’t wait to introduce her breathtakingly honest and irreverent voice to our global membership."
