Before Full Frontal with Samantha Bee premieres on Monday Feb. 8, TBS gave the press a first look at the set as well as a sneak preview of what can be expected from the hilariously smart new talk show.
While Bee nabbed her many of her senior producers from the show where she first got her start, she noted that Full Frontal will have many differences from The Daily Show, as well as the other talk shows of late night.
Two of the most visually apparent differences are the set and the air time. Bee’s purple set did not include the typical desk that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing so many of our late night hosts behind. The comedienne stated that she’s tired of looking at desks and usually expresses herself through body movement so sitting just wouldn’t work. Her reasoning behind the show’s weekly air time as opposed to daily airtime stems from Bee’s love of field pieces. “Field pieces are important to me and they require more time and thought to execute, once a week is just more manageable,” Bee pointed out.
Another aspect that makes Full Frontal stand out from the lineup of late night is their hiring process. “I came to comedy really late in life,” she stated. “Based on my own background, it’s important for me to help find people’s voices.” Full Frontal uses a blind submission process that not only hides one's race and gender, it also shields the applicant’s experience level. “We just want good writers,” Bee said. “I don’t want people to get held back just because they don't know the style of how we write scripts.” Bee says that she and her team reach out to communities that late night shows wouldn’t usually go to and look for good writers.
While there are many differences that Full Frontal has, the most important of all may be the host herself. Bee is currently the only lady of late night and she says her identity as a woman will be important when covering certain topics. She used the zika virus as an example, stating that while many late night shows have covered the issue in funny ways, she would be able to cover the issue (that affects women who are or are wanting to get pregnant) with a different perspective. “People would look to see what I would have to say,” she said. When asked about the show’s comical tag line “If you’re not watching, you’re sexist,” Bee laughed and said, “I don’t think you’re sexist. If you don't watch, I think you’re a fool.”
Catch the first episode of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee on TBS, TNT, Adult Swim, TruTV and HLN Feb. 8 at 10:30 p.m. ET.