Chelsea Handler and Netflix Sign Deal to Start 'Reimagining the Late Night Talk Show'

Chelsea Handler will host a talk show on Netflix beginning in 2016, Netflix announced Thursday, in an attempt to "revolutionize the talk show."

Chelsea Handler will host a talk show on Netflix beginning in 2016, Netflix announced Thursday, in an attempt to "revolutionize the talk show."

The late night talk show is part of a larger deal between Handler and Netflix that includes a stand-up special based on her comedy tour "Uganda Be Kidding Me Live" set for release on October 10, and "four new docu-comedy specials" in which Handler explores such foreign-to-her subjects like Silicon Valley and the NBA draft.

Chelsea Lately, Handler's current late night show on E!, will air its finale on August 26 after seven years on the network. Handler's name was a common go-to for speculation on who would fill late night holes at CBS, first with David Letterman's announced departure and then with Craig Ferguson's, even though both CBS and Handler denied they were ever in talks.

"I would never be on a regular network," Handler said when denying the CBS rumors, so her move to Netflix makes sense. "If I was going to continue working in this industry, I knew I had to do something outside the box to keep myself interested," Handler said of her Netflix deal. "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."

It's not entirely clear yet how exactly Handler's talk show format will work on Netflix, considering the site's TV strategy thus far has followed a "watch what you want, as many episodes as you want, when you want" philosophy, which sort of defeats the purpose of a nightly talk show.

Although, maybe it won't have much "late night" in it at all. "Netflix is looking forward to reimagining the late night talk show for the on-demand generation, starting with the late night part," Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said in the official press release.