American culture’s long nightmare has ended. Breath can release from empurpling faces across this mighty land: we now know Chelsea Handler’s next move. This morning, Variety broke the story: “Netflix Announces Chelsea Handler Talk Show to Debut in 2016: Comedienne to create new talk-show format and specials for streamer, after seven-year run on E!”
How will it work? Can Chelsea Handler retain an audience in an on-demand video environment?
Handler has forged a witty and wicked brand for herself as talk show host, comedian and author, but “Chelsea Lately” isn’t appointment viewing— it’s just always on, in continuous rotation, and reliably snarky and gossipy about the days celebrity news. Her books are the same: I’d never order one on Amazon, but I’m happy to look one over when I’m bored at the airport.
Most engagements with Netflix are in the long tail, with a short fat head of original content like “Orange is the New Black” and “House of Cards,” and Netflix famously releases an entire season at once to promote binge watching.
Binge watching takes takes advantage of our human love of story and endless desire to see what happens next. That dynamic doesn’t operate in talk shows.
Or does this mean that Netflix is getting into the business of timely watching? Do they want to own 11:00pm Monday through Friday (the current slot for “Chelsea Lately”) with new and original content that will get stale as the hours tick on?
If so, then why? Is this merely to drive subscriptions with experiences viewers can’t get elsewhere? Are they going to dip a cautious toe into advertising-supported programs… which the talk show format supports perfectly?
Note: This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this idea surface: back in 2010 when Conan O’Brien was fired from “The Tonight Show” he flirted with bringing a new talk show to Xbox Live before landing on TBS.
[Cross-posted on Medium.]
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