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CHELSEA HANDLER’S contract with E! Network is up at the end of 2012 . . . and she’s hinting that she may walk away from “Chelsea Lately”…Chelsea wants to do something more intellectual.  She tells the “Hollywood Reporter”, quote, “I want to do something that’s going to utilize my brain a little more than this show.  If ‘Lately’ is the show that I’m going to do, it’s going to change.  But it may turn out that I’m done with it altogether. “I can’t keep doing the same thing . . . my brain is bleeding.  I want to do something that’s more mindful and isn’t celebrity-centered.  I’m not looking to totally bail on E!  They’ve done a lot for me, and I like it here . . . if you take away the Kardashians.”

 (Chelsea also stars on the E! sitcom “After Lately”, which is loosely-based on “Chelsea Lately’s” behind-the-scenes shenanigans . . .)

 (And she’s appearing on the upcoming NBC sitcom based on her book, “Are You There, Vodka?  It’s Me, Chelsea”.  Laura Prepon from “That ’70s Show” plays Chelsea, and Chelsea has a recurring role as her own sister.)