Netflix is close to a deal with wisecracking author and E! talk-show host Chelsea Handler for a new show, The Post has learned.
“Handler has a deal with Netflix, but the format is to be decided,” said one source close to the talks.
Handler raised a ruckus a few weeks ago when she went on Howard Stern’s satellite-radio show and criticized her current employer.
During the interview, she also mentioned that she thought Netflix would be a good place to land a new gig.
The streaming video giant, which doesn’t have any live programming along the lines of a talk show, denied it was in talks with Handler at the time.
But Netflix, run by CEO Reed Hastings, is making a name for itself with edgy, original shows such as “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black.” Last week it announced that it is expanding into Spanish-language programming.
Meanwhile, Handler has said she will leave NBCUniversal’s E! cable network as host of “Chelsea Lately” when her current contract expires at the end of the year. She described the network as a “sad, sad, place to live.”
“They don’t know what they’re doing [at E!]. They have no ideas. It’s a failure,” she told Stern before hinting she might head to Netflix.
Reps for Handler and Netflix declined to comment.