Handler’s deep dive into therapy fuels work
Comedian, host of weekly podcast drops new special
Chelsea Handler recently wrapped up her 40-plus city stand-up tour, which she launched in late 2021, pandemic be darned.
Since then, the enterprising comedian has also been hosting a weekly hourlong advice podcast, “Dear Chelsea,” as well as writing another book, shopping around a scripted series based on her 2019 bestseller “Life Will Be the Death of Me ... and You Too!” and entering talks about a potential return to late night eight years after E!’s “Chelsea Lately” bowed.
At the end of December, she released her second comedy special in two years, Netflix’s “Chelsea Handler: Revolution.” It comes on the heels of her
2020 HBO Max special “Chelsea
Handler: Evolution,” which was shot in the midst of pandemicrelated closures.
“I left all the politics and all the stuff that is divisive out of (this one) because we’ve all been through so much in the last three years,” she said during a recent interview. “It’s just about reminding people about togetherness and hilarity. Sitting next to a stranger and laughing hysterically is one of the greatest gifts ever. And to be the arbiter of that is also a huge responsibility and honor.”
None of this would be possible without Handler’s recent deep dive into therapy, which she credits with fueling the work she’s putting out now.
“You get all this information about yourself and then you’re like, ‘OK, what do I do with it?’ ” she said. “You absorb it and then you have to apply it to your life, so it’s a three-stage process.”
This interview with Handler has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: You returned to stand-up after a six-year break. Was it hard getting back into the flow of things? A:
It was scary in the beginning because I didn’t want to go back to stand-up until I had something meaningful to say. I wanted to do something I hadn’t done before to let people know I was in a different place. With my last book, I had done a tour where I had different authors and celebrities interview me onstage. And halfway through, I (realized), “You’re doing this so you don’t have to do stand-up,” because normally it would just be me up there. I was workshopping (my material), but I wasn’t willing to admit that to myself because I was scared. So after doing 30 or 40 shows with people interviewing me, I’m like, “All right, I’ve got all the stories, I’ve got all my punchlines” and so I added 30 more dates (to) do as a stand-up show. And at the end of that, I sold my special to HBO Max.
Q: What exactly were you scared of? A:
Just like, “Do people still take me seriously as a comic? Do I have it?” But that fear goes away pretty quickly. The minute you walk through the door of fear, it disappears. If I feel really scared about something, I know I have to take that step and disarm the fear. In a way, it’s like therapy brought me all the way around to return to myself.
Q: You’ll be stepping in as a guest host for “The Daily Show” in February following Trevor Noah’s exit. And you also stepped in for Jimmy Kimmel last summer. Do you approach the responsibility differently depending on the show and what the audience might expect? A:
I just think (about) bringing my best foot forward. I bring something that nobody else has, and I also have a ton of experience in this medium, so I just rely on that skill set, which is in my back pocket. When I did “Kimmel,” it was a huge reminder for me that this is my flow state, this is my thing, this is what I thrive at. It really gave me the interest and appetite to get back in there and actually do it (full-time). I didn’t realize how much I missed being able to have a platform where I could comment daily on what’s happening in the world.
Q: You also have a podcast, “Dear Chelsea.” How did that come about? A:
My podcast came off of my book “Life Will Be the Death of Me,” which was about my experience in therapy. Because I’d absorbed so much from my therapy experience, I treated it like I was getting a master’s in psychology. I read every book, and I’d take notes about everything I learned. And (with) the response I got from that last book, it was just a natural progression to do a podcast that’s not just a vanity project but actually something that helps people. … We try and have different professionals or celebrities on, but the crux of the show is us giving advice to (people) that call and write in for each episode. What I love about “Dear Chelsea” is I get to talk to real people about real problems, which is a nice break from talking to celebrities all the time.
Q: How would you describe your comedy at this point in your career? A:
I think there’s a clarity of mind that comes with my work that maybe was not as much at the forefront when I was performing my last special or really a lot of my work earlier in my career. It just wasn’t as thought-provoking as I like to think (it is) now. What I’m commenting on is the social situation we’re in now: We’re kind of post-#metoo, we’re hopefully moving into post-cancel culture, but it’s giving everybody an idea of why this period of time was so important. There’s a lot of people that are like, “It’s impossible to be funny today.” The only requirements are to not be sexist and not be racist. That’s not a tall order.
Q: What was your relationship with your creative comedic process like during the pandemic? A:
I filmed my HBO Max special “Evolution” during the pandemic, so I was touring, but very sporadically, only around places in the country that were open. I was very intent on getting it out. Even though things were shutting down, the East Coast had some opportunities, and I didn’t care how many people were in the audience or if there were only going to be 200 seats and people had to be 6 feet apart. I just really needed, as an artist, to get that off of me and out of me so that I could focus on going back to my OG persona and really making fun of all the things I love to make fun of, mostly starting with myself.
Q: How has it felt touring now that COVID-1 9 restrictions have eased up? A:
Oh, it’s been the greatest gift ever. I mean, that’s exactly why you become a comedian, to be the reason that people are gathering in huge audiences. It feels so good to be the reason that people are coming together again for the first time.