Netflix signs Chelsea Handler for talk show, specials

Chelsea Handler is moving to Netflix.

The late-night comedian, who is ending E!'s Chelsea Lately, her late-night comedy talk show, in August after a seven-year run, has signed a deal with the streaming service for several stand-up specials and, in 2016, a new talk show with a format to be decided later.

Handler told Howard Stern in March she was unhappy at E!, where her contract expires in December, and said she'd like to work for Netflix. In April, the New York Post reported she'd signed a deal. And Thursday, Netflix confirmed the plans and provided new details.

"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 says 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. 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 deal begins with a standup comedy special based on her current tour, Uganda Be Kidding Me, which will be taped in Chicago on Friday and is to be released on Netflix Oct. 10. Four new "docu-comedy specials" will be created for Netflix in 2015, "featuring her efforts to gain a better understanding of a variety of subjects ranging from NASCAR to politics and from Silicon Valley to the NBA draft," Netflix says.

Then in 2016, the talk show, with an "updated format," will "encompass Chelsea's unfiltered opinions on topical entertainment and cultural issues, as well as her signature guest interviews," and will be distributed in all of Netflix's global territories. No word on how frequently it will be offered.