It's no secret that TV's late-night talk show landscape is dominated by males. With her new TBS series Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, the former Daily Show correspondent is setting out to change that, and with his gift to Full Frontal's cast the week of the show's premiere, the host of Late Night with Seth Meyers has shown his support.
Earlier today, the team at Full Frontal posted a photo on Instagram of its crew noshing on several boxes of sandwiches from New York's well-known Parm restaurant, alongside a sign saying "From your friends at Late Night." The caption confirmed that the feast was, in fact, a gift from Late Night host Seth Meyers.
The gift is a small but significant gesture of support for an important venture in late night TV. Following the end of Chelsea Handler's series in 2014, the 46-year-old Bee will now be the only female host in late night according to Entertainment Weekly.
Bringing women to late night has been a long time coming, with Americans indicating their support. When Jon Stewart announced that he was leaving The Daily Show back in 2015, a Qunnipiac University poll showed that by far the most popular replacement - male or female - was actress, producer, and Saturday Night Live Weekend Update alum Tina Fey.
Last month, Bee told Variety that while she couldn't explain the lack of women in late night, her show is "happy to take up the mantle." She continued, describing the content of the new series, "We want to take stories that don’t receive enough attention and stab them with a red hot poker of comedy.”
Full Frontal debuts on Feb. 8.