Chelsea Handler's Rise Continues with New E! Show

"After Lately" to look at backstage antics

Chelsea Handler titled one of her best-selling books "My Horizontal Life," but her career tends to rocket vertically, straight through the roof.

The latest break for the salty-tongued late-night talk show host is a so-called "semi-scripted" series for E!, the same network that already airs her gab fest, "Chelsea Lately."

For the new series, Handler will have the easiest of commutes: it will focus on the backstage hilarity involved with producing her current show. The new one, "After Lately,"  is a half-hour comedy. The network has asked for eight initial episodes though it's still uncertain when it will debut.

"The show is a behind-the-scenes look at what happens at our office when the cameras are off," Handler told Variety. "A perfect platform for people who have no business being on camera."

Surely Handler is not referring to herself there. In addition to "Chelsea Lately, " the bawdy, booze-loving comedian hosted this year's MTV Video Music Awards. And she appears on the covers of all her books -- another big seller is "Are You there, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea" -- which no doubt helps account for their popularity.

If she can now transition into scripted TV territory -- with a program that conjures thoughts of critical faves past and present, such as "The Larry Sanders Show," and "30 Rock" -- Handler will have found yet another platform on which to propel her ascent.

Selected Reading: Variety, TV Squad, My Horizontal Life.

 


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