She's conquered cable TV and Netflix . She's had a bestselling memoir. Now Chelsea Handler is heading back to standup, with a new special on the upcoming HBO Max . It'll be her first standup special in six years.
"I didn't want to return to stand-up until I had something important to say. I do now" Handler said in a press release. "I'm absolutely delighted to be doing this with HBO Max and always excited to be reunited with Bob Greenblatt. One of the only executives I can never have sex with."
Yes, you read that right. That's Chelsea Handler.
HBO has a long legacy of comedy specials — particularly in the time before direct-to-consumer video — including the legendary Comic Relief series. HBO Max hasn't given a date for the Handler special, but it's already announced a number of other comedy specials, including from Tracy Morgan, John Early, Rose Matafeo and Ahir Shah, plus five specials from Conan O'Brien's Team Coco.
"No one makes me laugh like Chelsea and we are thrilled to partner with her on this long awaited return to standup," said Suzanna Makkos, executive vice president of original comedy and animation for HBO Max. "We feel lucky to be able to share with our audience her evolution and personal growth that she relays so beautifully in this hour special."
The special will be executive produced by Handler, Irving Azoff, and Allison Statter, the press release said.
HBO Max launches on May 27. It's all but a replacement for the existing HBO service (they both cost $14.99 a month), and WarnerMedia (which owns HBO) is making no bones about shifting folks over to the new service. In addition to the legacy HBO content, HBO Max also will include shows from other WarnerMedia properties, including TBS, TNT, truTV, CNN, TCM, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and more.
