Octogenarian Carol Burnett is already a TV legend, but has stayed on the small screen fairly regularly in recent years, with guest-starring spots in Hawaii Five-0, Hot In Cleveland, and as Sue Sylvester’s mother on Glee. Now Burnett follows her contemporaries Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda over to Netflix, where her new half-hour series will see her talking to children, examining the differences between her generation and theirs.
The Hollywood Reporter announces today that Burnett’s new show, A Little Help With Carol Burnett, “will see the comedy legend chat with kids… a handful of straight-talking 4- to 8-year-olds that will discuss how a different generation solves life’s biggest dilemmas.” The trailer that came along with the announcement kicks off charmingly with Burnett trying to justify her existence in a Netflix job interview with a child, who encourages her to slouch and get an Instagram. Also, no phone calls, only texts.
Naturally, everyone at Netflix is thrilled to be working with a comedian of Burnett’s caliber, like Netflix VP Bela Bajaria: “Carol is truly a legend in the entertainment industry with unprecedented success and fandom across TV, film and the stage, and we are both honored and excited to work with her.” Burnett herself explains the show like this: “Someone once asked me how old I am inside. I thought about it, and came up with, ‘I’m about 8.’ So it’s going to be a lot of fun playing with kids my age.” A Little Help is set to premiere a 12-episode season next year.