Step aside boys, late night has a new queen with ‘Full Frontal’
Late night is no longer strictly a boys’ club after the debut of TBS’s new talk show “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” Monday night.
Bee dedicated a small sketch to address the only topic surrounding her show the media was apparently interested in: her sex. The sketch had her answering the media’s questions at a news conference where she was bombarded with inquiries about her ability to do this job as a woman.
“How can I watch your show as a man?” asked one reporter. “What did you have to do differently to make this show a reality as a woman?” asked another. Questions regarding her ovaries and her being the only female in late night were the only things on the reporters’ minds.
Bee simply said it took “hard work, a great team and maybe just a little bit of magic” before cutting to a scene of Bee within a circle of candles undergoing a horror movie themed ritual. The reporters stared in shock as she laughed and claimed she and her staff were witches.
Mocking the absurd fascination the public had with her being a female allowed her to address the elephant in the room and get on with her satirical lineup. Bee dove headfirst into the joke that is our elected politicians by criticizing Republican Sen. Mitch Holmes of Kansas.
Holmes recently created a dress code for appearing before the state committee that was only directed at women, claiming men “already know how to look professional.” In fact, he went so far as to claim he was doing this not only for his fellow male coworkers, but also for their wives at home, and thus being in no way misogynistic.
She then went on to point out the many flaws in Holmes’ career, including having to shut schools down early last year due to a lack of funds even though he made sure the state allowed him and other senators to spend time congratulating the Wichita State University basketball team.
She also began to tackle the presidential candidates by firing shots at Hillary Clinton losing the women millennial vote and at Bernie Sanders’ distracting debate gestures. The Republicans, however, received the blunt of her criticism due to the fascination with Donald Trump, and Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz’s insistence to drag religion into every conversation they have on stage.
Bee was a correspondent for “The Daily Show” for 12 years, and after Monday’s witty success, many say she could easily become the next Jon Stewart. Whether she takes on his frank assessment of hot topics or not, Bee is sure to be a valuable addition to late night programming.
The vulgar, eyebrow-raising talk show has already made waves on social media with thousands of viewers tweeting their support of the hilarious program. There was a lot of skepticism prior to the premiere of “Full Frontal,” but it appears Bee is more than capable of handling the job.
Yes, Bee is the only woman late night host. Who cares? Her debut was an indication that we are once again going to have a host who refuses to pull any punches and isn’t afraid to address the many absurdities within our society. Be sure to catch her Mondays at 10:30 p.m.