Since the February debut of her weekly show “Full Frontal” on TBS (Mondays, 10:30 p.m.), Samantha Bee has brought a fresh perspective to the male-dominated world of late-night comedy inspired by the news.
The show is marked by the same brand of fearlessness that defined Bee’s 12 years as a correspondent on “The Daily Show,” where she filed hilarious reports on often grim subjects.
At 46, she and her husband, Jason Jones (a “Daily Show” veteran as well), are also creators of the TBS sitcom “The Detour,” whose first 10-episode season ran April 11-May 12. The show will return for a second season.
During an interview in her midtown Manhattan office — a space dominated by a nearly life-size painting of a bare-chested Vladimir Putin — Bee discusses the roles she sees for herself and “Full Frontal” in the crowded late-night landscape:
Q You’re featuring a lot of pieces from the field in “Full Frontal.” What is it that you like about these segments?
A (It’s) fun to actually go out and talk to people. I always learn something, even if it’s a weird, horrible conversation where people get mad at me. When your gears are really — I know so little about gears that I don’t even know how to describe when they’re working — humming? spinning? — when everything’s kind of coming together, it’s just a fun experience.
Q Is it difficult to put on your comedy hat when you’re doing a report on a heavy topic, like child labor?
A No, because we’re not forcing people (to participate). They know that we’re a comedy show. They just want their story to be told, so it’s not out of left field that we’re going to do a joke with them. But it’s probably a really surreal experience for them. I went to Jordan and went to a cultural orientation session for refugees who are being resettled (in the U.S.). In that case in particular, I was very cautious about the words … coming out of my mouth, because they’ve been through things that are unimaginable. I wanted to be very cautious not to make really glib jokes with them. I think they all walked away having had a great time and probably wondering what America is all about, because this weird lady came out of nowhere on their last day in Jordan.
Q How can you be so fearless in these situations?
A There’s a weird Catholic schoolgirl in me who just wants to do a good job. Half the time, I’ll suggest something, then later on I go, “I can’t believe I suggested this. I so don’t want to do it.” Then I just do it. You have to get the story, so you just press the gas pedal and just take a deep breath and go, “Ugh.” If you can feel it down here (points to stomach), … you know that you have to ask the question. It does feel terrible, but then everyone’s alive at the end.
Q There’s a lot of topical comedy on television now. How do you make the show stand out?
A I’m not really thinking too much about what other people are doing, because I think that we inherently have a unique voice. The people I have around me have unique voices. We have stories we want to tell in our own way.
Q Presumably the fact that you’re a woman automatically helps distinguish “Full Frontal.”
A I think that’s just natural. Not to say that the show is just wall-to-wall women’s issues, but in general I do tend to go down that path.
Q Why do you think you were able to last for so long at “The Daily Show”?
A When I first arrived there, I was very scared and had that feeling of “I’m a fraud. I shouldn’t be here.” I had that for a long time. So I really made my mind up to be indispensable. That was the word that I kept saying to myself. I was like, “Do what other people won’t. Say what other people won’t say. Be indispensable.”
Q You and your husband have three kids and two TV shows between you. How do you juggle all that?
A When you have three, you just pay less attention to them. We are always working. Jason had an appendectomy, and he was full-on parenting (three days later). I spend all my spare moments making spaghetti and meatballs, making sure we have enough muffins for the week. My life would sound so boring if you described it to anyone. When I have stuff in the freezer, I’m completely happy. Like if I know that I have dinner for the whole week, I’m so excited.
Q Are your kids aware that their parents are on TV?
A A little bit, but it doesn’t impress them. I’m still the lady they yell at to bring them more orange juice.
Q Was there any part of you that would have stayed at “The Daily Show” as a host?
A (With) the difficulty of putting a show on once a week, I’m really not envious of having to do it four days a week. There’s no mistaking the fact that Jon (Stewart) did it incredibly, but by the end, he was exhausted. There’s no part of me that wants to do it four days a week and never was.
Q You’ve made diversity a priority in your staffing. How did that work?
A Our writer submissions were done blind, so we didn’t know gender or age or ethnic background. We didn’t know anything about the people. Jo (Miller), our showrunner, did such a huge outreach into women writers and people of color. She was very engaged with the process of getting people who wouldn’t normally see themselves in a writer’s room. The efforts paid off. I think we have a really interesting, diverse crowd here.
Q People still seem uncomfortable with women in the role of late-night comedy host.
A People say horrible things about me. I completely stay out of it. At first I found it funny, and then I found it soul-destroying by, like, minute two. I don’t read anything that anybody says about me. I just can’t. Then I looked at what people say about the other late-night guys, and they say horrible things about them, too. So I don’t even know that there’s a special type of vitriol reserved for women.
Q Are you excited about the election?
A I’m excited about it personally because I’m voting for the first time. I got my citizenship in 2014. (Bee was born in Toronto, Canada.) It’s exciting for me on a very dorky level.
Q What are your memories of the elections you covered while at “The Daily Show”?
A I didn’t enjoy being at the conventions, but I enjoyed the stuff that we got at conventions. It’s physically uncomfortable. You’re just there for so long. There’s no food. Everyone’s tired. People are running around with aborted fetuses on their jackets. It’s a lot to take in. It’s actually just physically challenging more than anything. And you definitely get a sense of the separation … — the voters on the floor versus the upper echelons of the management of parties, who are four floors up having delicious food. It’s pretty disgusting, but that’s what it is.
