Late-night talk show host and comedian Chelsea Handler could be the next high-profile name to ink a deal for a new show on Netflix.
The New York Post first reported that Handler is “close to a deal” with Netflix for a new show–the format of which is currently unknown. Variety quotes a source who says that the whole thing is a “done deal,” but not yet official.
Currently, Handler hosts the Chelsea Lately show on the E! network–but she’s in the final year of her contract. Handler had already confirmed that she would be ending her eight-year run with Chelsea Lately when that contract expired, and most people assumed that she would land a new gig somewhere (Handler is still very popular, although her viewership numbers have fallen slightly over the past few years).
In just the past month, Handler went on the record on the Howard Stern show, saying that Netflix is a place where she could wind up, and that it would probably be a better place for her humor than E!.
Do you guys think I'm ok to drive? pic.twitter.com/eA5Mg9akxP
— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) April 26, 2014
There aren’t any reports on what a Chelsea Handler Netflix show would look like, but it would be surprising if it kept a talk show format, similar to Chelsea Lately. Netflix’s strategy (so far) has been to release all the episodes of their original series at once, and a talk show isn’t really conducive to that structure. But hey, you never know. Netflix could try to mix things up with Handler–but a comedy series sounds like a much stronger bet here.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
