The comedy is unscripted, filmed in front of a live studio audience, and will feature Burnett, along with other celebrity guests, chatting with kids ranging from age 4 to 8 about real-life issues. As we can expect, the conversations are bound to be both funny and honest. Each episode will run for 30 minutes, and Netflix has ordered a total of 12.
Burnett says she feels like a kid inside, “so it’s going to be a lot of fun playing with kids my age,” she joked.
In a hilarious video “interview” released by Netflix to announce the series, Burnett pitches her idea to an executive, i.e. a young child, in hopes of a pickup, reciting her resume, and agreeing to meet the criteria for the job, like slouching when she sits, not using her phone to make phone calls, and getting an Instagram account.
Bela Bajaria, vice president of content acquisition for Netflix, calls Burnett a “true legend” in the entertainment business. “We are both honored and excited to work with her.”
While it has been a while since 84-year-old Burnett has starred in her own series, she has been busy over the last few years with guest roles on popular shows like Hawaii Five-0, Hot in Cleveland, and GLEE. She toplined a scripted comedy pilot for ABC this past season called Household Name, but it was not picked up.
The icon is, of course, best known for her long-running ‘60s and ‘70s variety series The Carol Burnett Show, as well as her success on Broadway and in several movies. Her last major, long-running role was on daytime soap opera All My Children, where she played Verla Grubbs from 1983 through to 2011.
This will mark the latest in a series of talk show formats for Netflix. The first was Chelsea Handler’s Chelsea, followed by Bill Nye Saves the World. The concept of a talk show featuring kids isn’t new, but it is enjoying a bit of a resurgence: Burnett’s series will join others of the same ilk, most notably Steve Harvey’s Litle Big Shots, which airs on NBC and welcomes kids with special talents who first sit down and talk with Harvey about their abilities before performing. Bill Cosby helped popularize the genre with ‘90s series Kids Say the Darndest Things.
A Little Help With Carol Burnett will debut some time in 2018.
