With Chelsea Lately winding down its final season at E!, the big question has been, what will host Chelsea Handler do next? The answer: She's going to Netflix! Chelsea Handler has secured herself a multi-tiered deal with the streaming video service, which includes a stand up comedy special, coming this fall, and four docu-comedy specials, which Netflix has lined up for 2015. Oh yeah, and she'll also have the first ever talk show for the "global on-demand generation."
Netflix made the announcement today, stating that Chelsea Handler will join with Netflix to create a brand new talk show, which will begin in early 2016 and will debut simultaneously in all Netflix territories. Though Netflix doesn't outright compare this new talk show with Handler's popular E! series Chelsea Lately, they do note that the new show will feature "an updated format that still encompasses Chelsea's unfiltered opinions on topical entertainment and cultural issues," along with guest interviews.
2016 is a long way off, but as we mentioned, the deal Handler made with Netflix includes a number of other projects, including a one-hour stand-up comedy performance based on her sold-out tour, "Uganda Be Kidding Me" Live. Handler will tape the special June 20th at the Harris Theater. And then next year, Handler will make the four new docu-comedy specials, which will be available exclusively through Netflix and will focus on everything from NASCAR to politics to Silicon Valley and the NBA draft.
We learned earlier this year that Chelsea Handler's contract at E! was expiring, and that she was planning to leave Chelsea Lately once the clock ran out. So we've been waiting to see what the comedian would do next. With her focus on current events and pop culture, not to mention comedy, it sounds like she's sticking to her strengths here, and Netflix will reap the benefits.
So fans of Handler will have to wait a couple years to the comedian back in the talk show business in full force, once her E! show wraps up later this summer. But it sounds like she has enough going on at Netflix over the next couple of years to build a pretty big presence at the streaming video service while she and her partners in Borderline Amazing, Tom Brunelle and Brad Wollack develop the new talk show.
In the meantime, while they're less known for talk shows, Netflix continues to build its stand-up comedy slate. Between exclusives and distribution of previously aired specials, Netflix has no shortage of laugh-worthy stand-up programming. The subscription service played host to Aziz Ansari's comedy special and has also distributed stand-up specials featuring Craig Ferguson, John Hodgman, Rob Schneider, John Caparulo, Marc Maron and Moshe Kasher.
Just to lay all this out in simpler terms. Here's what Handler has going on at Netflix:
Uganda Be Kidding Me stand-up comedy special - taping this month, premiering on Netflix October 10.
Four docu-comedy specials - Coming to Netflix in 2015.
New talk show - Coming to Netflix 2016.
