“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” is not just another satirical late-night show. The show’s fresh take stems from its host Samantha Bee, who originally got her start as a correspondent on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”
Bee is not only the longest serving correspondent on “The Daily Show” for twelve years, but was also the first Canadian and female correspondent on the show. After her departure from “The Daily Show” in 2015, Bee started her own show on TBS in February 2016 and became the first woman to host a late-night satirical show.
“Full Frontal” first aired on TBS right as the presidential election was in full swing. Each show begins with either a sketch starring Bee or the show’s theme song “Boys Wanna Be Her” by the band Peaches. Unlike the other late-night shows, Bee does not have a desk to hide behind. Instead, she stands in front of large screens and delivers witty commentary on the news stories of the past week. Bee then covers a topic that correlates with the news from earlier that week.
Throughout the show, Bee adds humor to the main topic using music, sketches, pop culture references and funny graphics that appear on large screens behind her.
“Full Frontal”, much like “The Daily Show,” has correspondents who go out and do spec pieces that include humorous interviews with people ranging from an average person on the street to people who hold political offices. These pieces then relate back to the main segment and Bee often goes out and does a few pieces herself. Some of the main segments even feature fundraising T-shirts with catch phrases such as “Mujer Desagradable,” “Bad Dude,” “Deep State,” “Frontal Entero con Samantha Bee” and “Be Nice Today.” Each t-shirt purchased supports either the Hispanic Federation, The KARAM Federation, The Committee to Protect Journalist and The Giving Kitchen.
Aside from the main show, “Full Frontal” also does web exclusives on their YouTube channel. These exclusives cover information that did not make it to the main show or they are short sketches or musical sketches that feature Bee and her correspondents.
“Full Frontal” is no stranger to covering pressing issues such the Syrian refugee crisis and climate change. One of their most notable coverages was a special they did on Puerto Rico earlier this year. The special covered how Puerto Rico has been struggling to get back on its feet due to the lack of response to last year’s hurricane season. Being that Bee is a female host, “Full Frontal” covers many female issues such as the Me Too movement, abortion, birth control and the Harvey Weinstein scandal. “Full Frontal’s” most successful special was in 2017: the “Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.” The special included celebrity guests Allison Janney, Will Ferrell and Jake Tapper. The special also received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special.
“Full Frontal” is up for the Prime-Time Emmy for Outstanding Variety Talk Series and is up against powerhouses like “The Daily Show,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and two-time Emmy award winning show “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.” “Full Frontal” is currently in its third season and returns to TBS on Sept. 12.
