So that’s where she’s going! Chelsea Handler will move on to greener pastures after her final Chelsea Lately show airs on E! this year. Netflix announced Thursday, June 19, that the comedian has signed a deal with the online streaming site.
“If I was going to continue working in this industry, I knew I had to do something outside the box to keep myself interested,” said Handler, 39, in the statement. “I wanted to sit with the cool kids at lunch,” she continued, “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’s new deal will include an “unfiltered” talk show, beginning in early 2016, that will encompass entertainment and cultural issues, as well as guest interviews. Before her online talk show kicks off, Netflix will air an hour-long stand-up comedy performance from Handler’s Uganda Be Kidding Me tour. The special will be taped in Chicago, Friday, June 20, and will air in October.
Handler shared a snapshot via Instagram Thursday, boarding a plane en route to the Windy City. “Off to Chicago,” she wrote. “2 shows tomorrow night for my 1 hour stand-up NETFLIX special.”
The deal also includes four new docu-comedy specials, which will feature the Are You There Vodka? author learning more about topics like NASCAR, politics, Silicon Valley, and the NBA draft. She will produce each of her projects.
“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,” she said in the statement. “No offense to the Shahs Of Sunset,” Handler added, making a jab at NBC Universal, which owns the E! Network and Bravo.
Handler vented her frustrations about her current employer while speaking with Howard Stern, calling the E! network “a sad, sad place to live.” Handler, who was with the network for seven years, added: “They don’t know what they’re doing. They have no ideas. It’s a failure.” Her final episode on the cable network will air August 26.
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