TV

Chelsea Handler is Leaving Her Netflix Show to Focus on Activism

The late-night landscape just got a little less interesting.
By  · Published on October 19th, 2017

The late-night landscape just got a little less interesting.

Netflix’s first foray into a talk-show format will officially come to an end after two seasons. Chelsea Handler is walking away from her show, Chelsea, and will pursue other endeavors including adapting her best-selling book I Hate the Internet as a potential drama series at TNT and she will focus on personal projects, including writing a book and a Netflix documentary. Hollywood Reporter has the scoop behind why Chelsea is ending right now.

Chelsea wrote many of her reasons for leaving the program behind on her social media profiles. It reads as follows:

“Like so many across the country, the past presidential election and the countless events that have unfolded since have galvanized me. From the national level down to the grassroots, it’s clear our decisions at the ballot box next year will mark a defining moment for our nation. For these reasons, I’ve decided not to return for another season of Chelsea, and instead devote as much time as I can to becoming a more knowledgeable and engaged citizen and to focus on projects that have significance to me. My goal is to be better informed, raise my voice, and participate in a more meaningful way. I want to travel the country and visit areas and people I don’t know enough about, speak at colleges and listen to students, and gain a better understanding of our political divide. I have joined forces with EMILY’s List to elect more women to public office, register people to vote, and campaign for candidates who are fighting for women’s rights.”

Even though her talk-show will be over, Netflix will continue their relationship with Chelsea Handler on a new documentary that will focus on Handler’s viewpoint on the current political landscape.

Netflix launched Chelsea in May 2016 to less than stellar reviews and even though the program aired three times a week it never really strived as a must-watch show. With so much competition in this space including Samantha Bee, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Kimmel, Chelsea never really stood out. Especially considering many late-night hosts are making massive waves in their opposition to politics and drawing attention that Chelsea never managed to get.

Unfortunately, that leaves one less female host in the late-night space as TBS’ Samantha Bee, Hulu’s Sarah Silverman and BET’s Robin Thede are the others that remain. Netflix doesn’t plan on getting out of the talk-show host format since they have a Bill Nye talk show and a David Letterman-fronted docuseries in the works. Also with them promising 80 new movies next year, Netflix isn’t in any trouble.

Related Topics:

News Writer/Columnist for Film School Rejects. It’s the Pictures Co-host. Bylines Playboy, ZAM, Paste Magazine and more.