People We Love 2016: Chelsea Handler

When handler dared leave behind her hit talk show Chelsea Lately, we applauded her willingness to create something fresh.

It turned out we got two new experiments from her this year. First came Chelsea Does…, in which she set aside the talk show format to plumb the depths of topics she found funny or fascinating. That was followed by Chelsea, which took some of the best aspects of Chelsea Does… (such as celebrity dinner parties designed to encourage debate over hot-button issues) with an in-studio format that’s both familiar to fans of late night gabfests, yet features an intriguing array of guests from various walks of life. Driven by a desire to help herself (and her audiences) become better-informed, Handler has referred to the show as the “college education” she never had. But since she also uses the show to advocate for LGBT-rights and subvert traditional expectations for women, it’s also the soapbox she deserves.