“I’m a late night television host that doesn’t want to be tied down by time, or television, or even hosting,” comedian, author and, yes, television host Chelsea Handler said by way of introduction, or reintroduction, early Wednesday on the premiere of her new Netflix series, Chelsea.
“I’m finally getting to do the exact kind of show that I’ve always wanted to do ... . What that show is, I have no idea.” An unkind commentator might be tempted to second that thought, given Chelsea’s first-night, new-colt wobbles, but it’s pointless to be too hard on any talk show on its premiere, even when the host has a long track record: Handler’s Chelsea Lately ran for seven years on E!. A change of venue — of set, of format — is always a fresh start. You hit the ground running, yet there may be rocks or potholes where you didn’t expect them. But overall, it was an appealing debut.
Although talk is a new modality for Netflix, structurally speaking, Chelsea isn’t exactly new. Like Larry King Now, which is available via Hulu, Chelsea posts new episodes thrice weekly (Wednesday through Friday), leaving them permanently available afterward for bingeing. Like John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight on HBO and Samantha Bee’s Full Frontal on TBS, which air weekly, it promises to be topical if not same-day timely. (Wednesday’s episode was shot on Monday.)
What is new is that the show will be streamed in 190 countries, translated into 20 languages, though how the host herself will translate is an open question. Talk has always travelled less easily than other forms, even when the countries speak the same language. (In line with this global reach, Handler travelled to Russia, Mexico and Japan, and less abroad, to Florida, to film on-site segments, none of which appeared in Wednesday’s episode.)
Handler is out on her own this time, without a sidekick or bandleader or her former panel of comics, hashing over the pop-cultural latest — though she did bring her dog, who roamed the tastefully appointed, midcentury modern set at will. And although her onstage environment is huge — a big room is the primary sign of upward mobility in the talk show world — the lighting is kept low, to preserve a kind of intimacy.
There is a conceit — possibly more than a conceit — that the show is an exercise in self-education, following along the lines of Chelsea Does, the four-episode participatory documentary series, also on Netflix, in which she explored subjects she needed to understand better and which served as a kind of extended teaser for Chelsea. “I’m treating this show like the college education I never got,” she said, “and Netflix is giving me a full ride.”
Accordingly, US Secretary of Education John B. King was her first guest (not counting Chris Martin, who provided a comical musical opening). They discussed influential teachers they’d known, a theme that carried through to following guests: Pitbull, who has opened a charter school, and Drew Barrymore, who brought wine.
That King appeared on the heels of a sex joke, in a filmed bit purporting to be an ad for a Netflix University, pretty much captures the tonal range of the show; in terms of — you should pardon the expression — gravitas, it seems to be aiming for something akin to Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show in its mix of pop-culture personalities and real-world experts, while preserving Handler’s more familiar down-to-party, up-for-anything persona.
“Think of me as the cool professor you can get high with after class, before class, or during class,” she said.
“I think people are afraid to ask too many questions because they’re afraid of appearing stupid, but I’m OK with appearing stupid; knowing you’re stupid is the first step to becoming smart,” Handler said in her opening monologue — as in her last show, she reads the cards as if she is seeing them for the first time. Contrarily, she later told Barrymore, “I read so much just to make sure people think I know an inkling of what I’m saying, ‘cause I’m so scared of anyone calling me stupid ... You can call me fat — well I don’t like fat, either — but stupid is really the thing. I don’t want anyone ever to say, ‘Oh, she’s an idiot.’”
Curiosity and insecurity — this is not the worst way to begin a talk show.
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Don’t miss it!
Chelsea is now airing on Netflix.
