Chelsea Handler has found a new home.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix announced Thursday that Handler has signed a deal to launch a talk show with the online streaming service, which will premiere in 2016. Along with the show, the 39-year-old comedian will host a standup special and "four docu-comedy specials."
"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 in a statement. "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."
Handler added: "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."
The new deal comes after months of negotiations and speculation, and follows the New York Post's report that Handler signed a deal with the online company.
Handler's new talk show will be the "first-ever talk show for the global on-demand generation," Netflix officials stated. The show will include Handler's opinions on topics such as entertainment and cultural issues, as well as guest interviews.
Handler's standup comedy special is based on her current comedy tour, "Uganda Be Kidding Me". The show will be taped on June 20 in Chicago and is set to premiere on Netflix on October 10. Her four Netflix docu-comedy specials will debut in 2015 and will feature Handler's "efforts to gain a better understanding of a variety of subjects ranging from NASCAR to politics and from Silicon Valley to the NBA draft."
"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," Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content officer, said. "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."
The outspoken comic will end her late-night comedy talk show, "Chelsea Lately," on August 26 - four months earlier than her contract's expiration date - after a seven-year run. During an interview with radio personality Howard Stern in March, Handler said she was unhappy at the E! Network and would jump at the opportunity to work for Netflix.
"They don't know what they're doing [at E!]. They have no ideas. It's a failure," she told Stern.
