Chelsea Handler is very outspoken and never shy about speaking her mind. And she’ll continue doing so after leaving E! when she begins a new chapter in her career with Netflix.
The comedienne has signed a deal with the online streaming service that includes both a talk show and comedy specials. The talks how will not debut until 2016, but will include an “updated format.” Handler is always brutally honest on Chelsea Lately, which is why we love her, and that will continue with this new project.
But if the show isn’t premiering until 2016, what will fans do until then? That’s where the specials come in. The first one-hour stand-up special will be available starting on October 10 — the material is based on her Uganda Be Kidding Me Live Tour.
Handler is heading to Chicago to tape the first special on June 20 at the Harris Theater. She posted a picture on Facebook, which you can see here, with the message, “Off to Chicago. 2 shows tomorrow night for my 1 hour stand-up NETFLIX special. Get your tix on chelseahandler.com.”
Then Netflix will produce four docu-comedy specials in 2015 that feature “her efforts to gain a better understsanding on a variety of subjects ranging from NASCAR to politics and from Silicon Valley to the NBA draft,” according to a press release.
“If I was going to continue working in this industry, I knew I had to do something outside the box to keep myself interested. 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,” Handler said in a statement. “I’m more excited than I’ve been in a while, 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.” Of course she couldn’t finish without getting in a dig at a reality show.
Handler is currently host of E!’s Chelsea Lately. But she announced back in May that she is ending the late night show, which has been on the air for seven years, on August 26. And the host hasn’t held back in saying why she’s leaving, telling The Daily Mail, “To be quite honesty, I don’t really care about Justin Bieber and I don’t want to talk about him anymore. In order to make that happen, I had to just stop doing my show, straight away.” She also said this sentiment applied to other celebrities like the Kardashians. This was made especially hard considering the Kardashians’ reality shows air on E!
Once the announcement was made, rumors swirled over what her next project would be. There was talk that she would replace Craig Ferguson as host of CBS’ Late Late Show, and even that she would work with Netflix. Now we know that the latter is true, and Chelsea Handler fans have many things to be excited for over the next serveral months and years.
(Image courtesy of WENN)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
Jeff Dodge, a graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena.
