Lately, Chelsea has been a hit
By Rick Bentley
McClatchy Newspapers
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 01.13.2009
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — There aren't many television talk-show hosts who would allow a guest to spank them, let alone encourage it.
There aren't many talk-show hosts like Chelsea Handler.
As ringmaster for the organized comedy chaos of her E! Network chat show "Chelsea Lately," Handler has become the talk sensation of cable. She has one of the highest-rated shows on the cable network in a late-night time slot. E! execs have already extended the run of the show through 2009.
Through a laser-quick wit and a gut-kicking candor, Handler's doing for pop culture what Jon Stewart has done for politics with his "The Daily Show."
Here's how that is done. The show is an amalgam of different formats. There are the typical talk-show elements: special guests, a desk and even a jovial sidekick in Chuy Bravo. Handler, whose background is stand-up comedy, also gets to deliver an opening monologue that more often than not skewers the rich and infamous.
There's also a round-table discussion. Imagine "Meet the Press" mixed with a Comedy Central roast. On one recent visit to the show, Handler was carrying on a discussion of topics from "Days of Our Lives" to the anniversary of the Bloody Mary with Tanika Ray, Andrew Daly and Jo Koy.
"I think this show is a good medley of things to do," says Handler in an interview after the taping of the show. "I like all the elements of it. I come from stand-up. So obviously I like that the best. But this is much easier. With stand-up, you can only rely on yourself. Here, there are a lot of other people involved. So it kind of takes the burden off my shoulders."
There is some feedback, just as with stand-up comedy, from a studio audience. The average age of those who have shown up for an afternoon taping is so young they probably had to skip a chemistry class at community college just to see the show.
The set is located in the building that once was the home for the cable channel G4. Now the offices are filled with a variety of different companies. Although the set is reasonably large, there is still an intimate feel. During a round-table discussion of Deidre Hall's days on the Saturday morning show "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl," Handler chats with one of the few people (me) in the audience mature enough to have voted for the senior George Bush.
"Sir, I have to tell you that you are the oldest person we have ever had in our audience," Handler says to the audience member. It is like being zinged by Don Rickles if Rickles was 33, blond, blue-eyed and looked like a model.
Handler took on the job in July 2007 without a talk-show background. Her credits include "Girls Behaving Badly," "The Bernie Mac Show" and "The Practice." She wasn't worried about whether she could do the interview part of the show.
"I am a pretty nosy person," Handler says. She accents the comment with a small laugh. "I never thought it was going to be a difficult part of the job until people started saying, 'Oh my God, interviewing is so hard.'
"I think it is just being a person. Listening. And being interested in what people have to say, albeit some people are much more interesting than others."
The taping goes like clockwork. Just after 3 p.m., Handler, dressed in a black top, skin-tight blue jeans and red shoes with 4-inch heels, completes the monologue with no problem. The panel discussion and interview with guest Ethan Suplee of "My Name Is Earl" goes just as smoothly. The show is done before 4 p.m.
But there is more to the show than just the taping. Handler and the staff have spent the day turning the day's biggest pop-culture news into comedy material.
Handler says she writes best under deadline. That was the case with both of her books: "My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands" and "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea."
And she's not afraid to do anything in the name of the show. The spanking incident occurs during an additional bit of taping to be used in a future episode. The crew sets up to film an interview session with rapper Akon. The chat topics go from music to dance to her backside so fluidly, Handler's bent over and being slapped before the audience realizes what has happened.
There aren't many talk show hosts who would be so quick to end up in that position.
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