Stand-up special Chelsea Handler: Evolution premieres on HBO Max Oct. 22. The hour-long special sees Handler talking about family, friendships and therapy. She filmed the special this summer in her home state of New Jersey. It was filmed in front of a live audience following social distancing protocols. 

“Handler has always been a trusted voice and has provided much needed perspective for the world,” said HBO Max. “Now, she turns the attention on herself, reflecting on her personal journey toward self-awareness, assisted by her reliable companion – cannabis.  Never one to hold back, Handler bravely takes the stage to face herself in front of everyone. It’s a powerful performance and the most evolved work of her career.”

Chelsea Handler: Evolution is produced by Troy Miller and Dakota Pictures, with Handler, Irving Azoff and Allison Statter the executive producers.

Chelsea Handler will go global with a talk show on Netflix, beginning in 2016.

Handler, whose seven-year, late-night run with Chelsea Lately on E! Entertainment will end with her contract in August, will join together with Netflix for a show that will air simultaneously in the streamer's territories. The new talk show will feature an updated format that will again spotlight her unfiltered opinions on topical entertainment and cultural issues, as well as guest interviews.

Netflix counts some 48 million subscribers in 40 territories around the globe.

Handler's Netflix play marks the latest turn in the late-night daypart. Jimmy Fallon replaced Jay Leno on NBC's TonightShow in February.  Then came David Letterman's April announcement that he will retire from CBS’s Late Show next year. In turn, CBS declared that Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, will succeed Letterman, inciting rumors about the future of CBS’ 12:30 a.m. host, Craig Ferguson. During that period, Handler posted a photo on Instagram of herself holding paperwork bearing the CBS logo, and captioned the photo, “Business meeting.” 

Handler's business with Netflix, terms of which were not disclosed, also calls for a one hour stand-up comedy performance on Oct. 10, based on her sold-out tour, “Uganda Be Kidding Me” Live. The special will be taped on Friday, June 20 at Chicago's Harris Theater.

Next year, Chelsea will create four new docu-comedy specials exclusively for Netflix featuring her efforts to gain a better understanding on a variety of subjects ranging from NASCAR to politics and from Silicon Valley to the NBA draft. Handler will produce the stand-up special, docu-comedy specials, and new talk show along with her partners in Borderline Amazing, Tom Brunelle and Brad Wollack.  

“If I was going to continue working in this industry, I knew I had to do something outside the box to keep myself interested," noted Handler. "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.” Her allusion is to the Bravo reality show.

“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,” said Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos. “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."

Chelsea Handle will end her seven-year, late-night run on E! in late August.

The NBCUniversal service will bid adieu to Chelsea Lately on Aug. 26 at 11 p.m. (ET/PT) with a one-hour show. It will be feted by a month-long, lead-in farewell of special episodes and guests. Chelsea Lately, produced by Borderline Amazing Productions, will continue to air new episodes weeknights until the series' send-off.

The impending exit of Handler, whose contract is up this year, marks the latest turn in the daypart. Jimmy Fallon replaced Jay Leno on NBC's TonightShow in February.  Then came David Letterman's April announcement that he will retire from CBS’s Late Show next year. In turn, CBS declared that Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, will succeed Letterman, inciting rumors about the future of CBS’ 12:30 a.m. host, Craig Ferguson. During that period, Handler posted a photo on Instagram of herself holding paperwork bearing the CBS logo, and captioned the photo, “Business meeting.” 

Meanwhile, Comedy Central has tapped Daily Show correspondent Larry Wilmore to step into the Colbert slot as The Minority Report With Larry Wilmore will follow The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, beginning in January 2015.

For its part, TBS brought some measure of stability to the daypart, with its recent renewal with Conan O'Brien.

“We are very proud of ’Chelsea Lately’s’ long-running success and the unique space that the series carved out in late-night television,” said E! president Suzanne Kolb.  "Chelsea brought a distinct voice to late night with her acerbic wit and fearless commentary and we look forward to providing fans with a memorable send-off that lives up to that tradition.  Most of all, we are grateful to the ‘Chelsea Lately’ team for making this show so special for seven years.”

Noted Handler: “I myself am more surprised than anyone that I was able to hold down a job for seven years, and it was a fantastic seven years. I will always look back at my time on E! as most people look back at their time in college.  I'm glad I went.”

E! has entered the TV Everywhere arena with new features on its website and the debut of the authenticated app.

Part of NBCUniversal’s expanding TVE initiative, E! Now is available for Apple’s iOS devices, and is scheduled to make its way to the Android platform in mid-June.

E!’s TVE gambit provides verified viewers with access to live-streaming of the network’s portfolio that includes The Soup, Chelsea Lately, Fashion Police, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Total Divas, Hello Ross, Eric & Jessie: GameOn, and coverage from many of its "Live from the Red Carpet” events. In addition E! Now also proffers signature programming on VOD.

The network's TVE fare is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating distributors, including AT&T U-verse, Bright House Networks, Cablevision's Optimum TV, Charter, Comcast's Xfinity TV, Cox Communications, DirecTV, Dish, Mediacom, Suddenlink, Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS.

Noted John Najarian, executive vice president and general manager of digital media” “In a world where time shifted viewing behavior informs how viewers consume their content, it’s critical that we make our hit shows more accessible and on multiple devices and screens. We believe this will continue to drive growth for E! and its core pop culture programming.”

Added Alison Moore, executive vice president and general manager of TV Everywhere at NBCU: “The E! Now iOS app is the latest example of NBCUniversal’s commitment to creating robust TV Everywhere experiences for our consumers. E!’s dynamic new app will ensure that their passionate fans can have a dose of pop culture anywhere, anytime.”