Carol Burnett is making her return to television thanks to Netflix. The streaming service announced Monday that the comedy icon will be starring in a new unscripted series called “A Little Help with Carol Burnett,” which is set to premiere in 2018.
The show depicts Burnett — who is 84 — and a number of guest stars bringing their problems to a panel of children, aged four to eight. The kids will then dish out life advice in front of a live studio audience.
“Someone once asked me how old I am inside,” Burnett said in a statement. “I thought about it, and came up with, ‘I’m about eight.’ So it’s going to be a lot of fun playing with kids my age.”
In a series announcement video, Burnett is seen in a job interview of sorts with a young Netflix executive who doesn’t know who she is, but gives her a shot anyway.
He offers some advice to the comedy veteran: Slouch, get an Instagram and “stay woke.”
The series is a partnership between Netflix and dick clark productions. “A Little Help” will be the company’s first foray into Netflix streaming.
“We’re thrilled Carol is bringing her unique sensibilities to Netflix,” Bela Bajaria, Vice President of Content Acquisition for Netflix, said. “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.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to be working on our first series with Netflix, and to be working with a comedy legend like Carol Burnett is truly a dream come true,” Mark Bracco, Executive Vice President of Programming & Development for dick clark productions added.
Burnett hasn’t appeared on screen much in the past decade besides a few guest starring roles in shows such as “Glee,” “Hawaii Five-0” and “Hot in Cleveland.” Her last recurring role on TV was in the sitcom “Mad About You” in the late 1990s.
She did, however, star in a new multi-camera comedy pilot ordered at NBC called “Household Name,” in which she plays an aging Hollywood star. The pilot was executive produced by Michael Saltzman and Amy Poehler.