As the presidential election comes closer and Jon Stewart of the The Daily Show, left late last year, there has been a political comedy whole left for many of us. A whole that for myself and many has been filled by former Daily Show correspondent Samantha Bee. After leaving The Daily Show, Samantha Bee started her show Full Frontal on TBS. The show premiered back in February 2016 and had quickly taken off. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee is a combination of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and Last Week Tonight.
After working on The Daily Show and along the king of political comedy Jon Stewart for 12 years as a correspondent, during her premiere, she came out swinging and holding back nothing. She was fierce and showed she is the queen of the late night. She owns the fact that she is the only female late night host and the only female host of a political comedy show. She began her show with individuals asking her questions such as, "how can I enjoy your show, as a man?" She ended the segment of questions by showing clips of her as a witch, making fun of the fact that so many question her ability and her work to get where she is today, simply because of her gender. After, she came in full force into her show.
As this political election attempts to find its political comedy voice - Trevor Noah, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, and Larry Wilmore seeming to miss the mark - Samantha Bee seems to have found her way as the voice of reason.
Samantha Bee is a truly refreshing voice, coming at many of the political topics which could be on any other political comedy show from a different perspective - that of a woman. Topics such as how women should dress when testifying in front of a Kansa state senator’s committee or how Secretary Clinton is “likable enough” are not topics that should eventually be addressed but topics that are being addressed, now. As she stands in front of her audience with no desk to hide behind, she delivers quick jabs at both Democrats and Republicans. In her latest episode, she goes after the absurdity that Roger Ailes, former Fox News CEO and Chairman and sexual harasser, is now preparing Donald Trump for his first debate against Hilary Clinton, as Bee put it “he has been polishing turds into presidents since saying 'sock it to me' was cool”. Now, that is one of her more “kinder” lines as she geared up for the rest of her segment.
Samantha Bee is underrated and under appreciated, she has become the voice that we all need during this political times. With averages of 650,000 views during live shows and gathering anywhere from 500,000 to 2.5 million views on YouTube (where the real ratings are) she's well on her way to beating out may of the late night show host. She is already kicking Trevor Noah's ass when you factor in that she has quickly found her voice, is increasing in ratings (while the Daily Show has dropped 30%), has been on air as a host for much less time than he has (Full Frontal is only on once a week) and well she is just a boss.
If her current episodes are any indication, Samantha Bee is her to stay and has entered the “boys clubs” to dominate.
