Chelsea Handler Won't Be Replacing Craig Ferguson

Right before CBS announced that Stephen Colbert would succeed David Letterman as host of Late Show, there were rumors that Chelsea Handler was in talks with the network join its late-night schedule. While Handler obviously was ruled out of hosting Late Show, there was still talk that CBS could bump Craig Ferguson and replace him with Handler as host of The Late Late Show.

Those rumors were fueled further when Handler tweeted a picture of herself holding a booklet conveniently opened to a CBS logo on Monday. If Handler was trying to drum up buzz that CBS was actually interested in her, the network shot that rumor down pretty quickly.

"There are no discussions with Chelsea Handler regarding the network's 12:30 late-night broadcast," a CBS rep said. "Her meeting with CBS yesterday was a general meeting with our syndication."

I get the feeling that Handler bailing on her E! Network show may have been a hasty move, and now Handler is trying to make up for that by seedings rumors that she's in demand. As I said earlier this month, she was never going to host Late Show. She's not going to host The Late Late Show either.

When would a syndication show even air? After Ferguson is on? That's the Carson Daly hour. Those syndicated late-night shows get pre-empted for Two and a Half Men repeats.