Despite seven successful seasons with her late-night talk show Chelsea Lately, Chelsea Handler who gladly departed E! – the network that hosted her revolving playground back in August 2014, can’t seem to resist the opportunity to throw her former employers under the bus.
While being interviewed for the May issue of Fast Company, the comedian who found a home with Netflix after securing a rather lucrative deal with the streaming giant – doesn’t hold back when describing her tedious period with E!
“It was incredibly frustrating. You’re a reflection of the company you keep, and I wasn’t impressed with anybody. The people I was working with on the network side, they never could think big. I just wanted to leave, to be somewhere else.”
Ouch! Of course this isn’t the first time Handler has been vocal about the challenges that plagued her ability to be organically creative. It was precisely the reason why she was immediately drawn to the unfiltered landscape of Netflix.
“When we were on the network, I can’t tell you how many times we had to take jokes out because of advertisers. It was constant bickering back and forth. You can’t do this, you can’t do that. There was no creative license.”
Well, it looks like her worst days are behind her, as Handler is happily entangled with Netflix – and is currently promoting her new upcoming talk show – Chelsea, which will be the first of it’s kind for the world’s most popular streamer. There is also a stand-up comedy special and her hilariously politically correct docu-series, Chelsea Does.
Handler does admit to the validity of the rumors that swirled around the possibility that she might take over David Letterman’s Late Show or Craig Ferguson’s The Late Late Show.
Handler acknowledges she was “offered several jobs” that included “syndication late-night shows.” But nothing ever came out of those meetings because ultimately there was no interest in “stepping into someone else’s shoes. I didn’t want to on some other late-night show doing the same s—again.”
Looks like she may be on something. Time will tell as they say. But, so far it looks like Handler has found the best way to utilize what’s been afforded her.
Chelsea is set to premiere on May 11 – and after its debut – the show will ease into half-hour episodes airing on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.