Netflix signs Chelsea Handler to talk-show deal in 2016, and specials starting now

Perhaps there will be no such thing as a late-night talk show in 2016.

Perhaps there isn’t even now, when you consider how much of the content produced by Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, David Letterman and Conan O’Brien is passed around online the following day.

So why not Netflix?!

Chelsea Handler and Netflix announced the deal this morning that’ll see her debut a new talk show for the online streaming network in early 2016, “simultaneously in all Netflix territories for members to enjoy however and whenever they like. The new talk show will feature an updated format that still encompasses Chelsea’s unfiltered opinions on topical entertainment and cultural issues, as well as her signature guest interviews.”

In this year of 2014, meanwhile, Handler also record her current stand-up tour, Uganda Be Kidding Me Live, this Friday night in Chicago for Netflix to debut on Oct. 10, 2014.

Moreover, Handler will produce four specials for Netflix in 2015 — each of them considered a “docu-comedy” following the comedian as she learns more about the world around her, “on a variety of subjects ranging from NASCAR to politics and from Silicon Valley to the NBA draft.”

“Handler’s quote:

“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. 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. No offense to the Shahs Of Sunset.”

Handler will produce the stand-up special, docu-comedy specials and new talk show along with her partners in Borderline Amazing, Tom Brunelle and Brad Wollack.

For his part, Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said: ““The Internet has disrupted many of the conventions of traditional television and together with Chelsea Handler, Netflix is looking forward to reimagining the late night talk show for the on-demand generation, starting with the late night part…. “Chelsea has built a huge following on tour, on nightly TV and through her best-selling books, and we can’t wait to introduce her breathtakingly honest and irreverent voice to our global membership.”

Handler’s last night as host of E!’s Chelsea Lately will be Aug. 26, 2014.

No word on how many episodes or how often Handler’s Netflix talk show will upload them, but they do have a year-and-a-half before it’s actually 2016 to decide — or even bank them, should they go the “traditional” Netflix way of dropping entire seasons at once!