Chelsea Handler wants to return to late-night

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https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/che...ow-1235307810/

This week, Chelsea Handler stepped in as guest host on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

The comedian brought her A-game, and as the news cycle would have it, Handler was tasked with handling the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the sentencing of both Ghislaine Maxwell and R. Kelly, plus the Jan. 6 hearings.

When announcing her week-long gig, Handler commented she was hosting Kimmel’s show “just in the nick of time to comment on all of our rights being taken away,” offering a preview of her no-holds-barred take and strong point of view when tackling the topics of the day.

Now, in conversation with Variety to discuss her week hosting “Kimmel,” Handler says she is ready to make her permanent return to late night.

“I have, obviously, very strong and loud opinions and I like to share them. Especially during a time like this, it’s nice for a lot of people to have a female voice out there,” Handler tells Variety. “And it’s really got me got me thinking. These conversations happen every couple of years about whether or not I want to return to late night or I want to return to a talk show, and I just always think of some reason why I don’t want to do it.”

“I feel like this is a time,” Handler continues, “Where it’s so important to be represented and to be representing women and to remind people why it’s so important to be loud and to be strong and to be indefatigable about it and to get up and say something. It gives a lot of people comfort when they have somebody speaking for them — you know, not just a white guy, who I’m sure is on our side, but it’s just different. There’s really nobody that can experience what it’s like to be a woman other than one of us. So having anybody else comment on that, white men’s opinions are pretty irrelevant.”

The late-night space has always lacked women. Samantha Bee has her long-running series on TBS, and Amber Ruffin hosts her show on Peacock. Lilly Singh had the extremely late-night slot on NBC for two seasons, but with that show now cancelled, there are no female hosts on network late-night TV.

Handler says she has not had any discussions with CBS, with the recent announcement that James Corden is leaving his “Late Late Show” after next year. But she is open to the possibility, should it present itself.

“I personally have not had any conversations with anyone other than my agents, and they were just testing the waters to see how interested I was, so I haven’t talked to anyone directly about a specific slot,” Handler says. “But yes, I am interested in getting back out there. So, I will be talking to all these people about what those opportunities look like and if that is the right spot for me. I will consider it when the conversation matches my interest level.”

Handler is also bubbling on the idea of rebooting her E! series, “Chelsea Lately,” in an elevated, revamped version that she reveals she would call, “Chelsea Later.”

Handler hosted “Chelsea Lately” on E! from 2007 to 2014. She then had a documentary series on Netflix, followed by a talk show with the streamer, titled “Chelsea,” which ran from 2016 to 2017. Her latest comedy special, “Evolution,” was on HBO Max, and she is currently shopping around a new televised standup special from her “Vaccinated & Horny” tour, which she recently shot at the Ryman in Nashville. But now, she is ready to make her comeback to a regular late-night seat.

“It’s the same white man problem. There are too many white men doing the same job,” Handler says.

“I can’t explain why there aren’t more women hosting shows — maybe it’s a lack of interest, but I doubt it. I think that people think it’s a man’s job,” she adds. “I thought I made a real dent by doing my show and proving to people that you can be a woman and host a late night show, but it seems like people need to be reminded one more time. And I might be that person to remind them.”