Netflix wants to launch 20 scripted series a year, is psyched about Chelsea Handler

Netflix has decided to follow that old piece of showbiz wisdom: spread yourself as thin as possible by making as much crap as you can. Rather than follow dumb old AMC or HBO by focusing on a limited amount of great product, Variety reports that the streaming service is planning to launch as many as 20 scripted series a year in an effort to appeal to a diverse range of tastes.

That number was quoted by Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos earlier today in a Q&A with Vince Gilligan and Mitch Hurwitz at the National Associates of Television Program Executives conference in Miami. “We really are not trying to define the brand by any one show,” Sarandos said, leaving unspoken the fact that this plan would instead likely define his brand as a wildly unreliable source of sometimes quality programming.

Speaking of unreliable sources of quality, Sarandos also discussed Chelsea Handler’s new show for Netflix, saying it would be markedly different than her E! show. Claiming that Chelsea Lately was “something [Handler] was not happy with,” he explained that the new program would focus on interviews, filmed segments, and Handler’s comedy. In practice, that probably means a plethora of new puns based on African countries, as is the humor gold standard.