Ever since David Letterman announced his retirement a few weeks ago, Chelsea Handler has been in full-blown hustle mode. It would be amusing except for the fact that Chelsea is, in my view, delusional about her career prospects and where she “belongs.” She is a cable personality – she’s built herself a nice home at E!, and the only thing keeping her from being happy with her powerbase is the fact that Chelsea thinks she’s a network talent. Chelsea thinks she’s top-tier and that she should be – no, she IS – in line for all the top jobs. In Chelsea’s mind, she could be a news anchor. Or at the very least, Bill Maher.

So, the past few weeks have been funny, just because her hustle keeps getting sh-t on by reality. She wanted people to think she was in the running for The Late Show. Not so much. She wanted people to think that she was replacing Craig Ferguson. Not so much. She wanted people to believe that she was in discussions for her own daytime syndicated talk show. Not so much. So where else could she go? How about Netflix, eh?

Chelsea Handler could be headed to Neflix. The host of E!’s Chelsea Lately is in talks with the subscription-video service for a new show, sources told The Hollywood Reporter, emphasizing that a deal is nowhere close to being finalized. Netflix declined comment. THR broke the news last month that Handler plans to leave the E! channel when her contract expires at the end of the year. She’s been with the network for eight years.

“Chelsea intends to leave when her contract expires,” her manager, Irving Azoff, told THR. “She hired me to figure out her life after E! We have at least seven suitors and many ideas.”

At the time, he said that plans for Handler could include a radio presence and a possible nightly or weekly late-night show on another network or digital service.

Handler has long been vocal about her dissatisfaction with E!, accusing the network of incompetent programming and blaming weak lead-ins for ratings declines.

Earlier this month, she posted a photo on Instagram that showed her holding papers with the CBS logo and a caption that read, in part, “Business meeting.” But the network shot down speculation that she was being eyed to take over the 12:30 a.m. time period from Craig Ferguson.

“There are no discussions with Chelsea Handler regarding the network’s 12:30 late-night broadcast,” a CBS spokesperson said. “Her meeting with CBS yesterday was a general meeting with our syndication group.”

The New York Post was the first to report the news of Handler’s talks with Netflix.

[From THR]

Netflix has gotten way more prestigious over the past few years, with in-house production of House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. Plus, Netflix is doing a cable channel now, or they will be soon (sort of). So, what would this deal mean for Chelsea? I think it means that people would have to consciously seek her out, that it would no longer be a matter of “let’s see what’s on TV, oh there’s Chelsea Lately, let’s fall asleep watching that.” While Netflix does have some prestige and they’re growing by leaps and bounds these days, I don’t really see this as a step up for Chelsea. It feels like a step sideways, a parallel track. Which is still better than she deserves, but hey, at least it’s not network TV.

PS… Craig Ferguson announced last night that he was leaving The Late Late Show in December. But Chelsea isn’t up for that gig, right?

Photos courtesy of WENN.