About
"Doing sketch comedy with no realistic expectation of ever getting paid for it, but just doing it truly because I loved doing it just unlocked all of these doors. It seems so improbable, but really, if you find the kernel of something that you love so much, it opens doors in very unexpected ways."
In her two-hour interview, Samatha Bee talks about growing up in Canada, how she came to study theater in college, and leaving early to pursue a professional acting career. She discusses getting into sketch comedy in Toronto, and how that led to her audition for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. For The Daily Show, she talks about her first impression of Jon Stewart, her first assignment on the show, how she developed her persona, and on her favorite interviews and segments. Bee talks about her decision to leave The Daily Show, along with her husband, Jason Jones, and how that led to her getting her own late-night satirical comedy show, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. She goes into detail about how she set the tone of Full Frontal and her initial hopes for the show. She shares the thought process behind not having celebrity guests or a desk on Full Frontal, the hiring process and staff, the writing process, and on finding humor in serious subjects. Bee also touches on being one of the few female hosts in late night, her commitment to fact checking on Full Frontal, her proudest career achievement, and the advice she gives her children about how to approach going out into the world. Jenni Matz conducted the interview on October 3, 2019 in New York, NY.
Highlights
Samantha Bee on auditioning for and being hired as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Samantha Bee on being one of the few female hosts in late night, on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Samantha Bee on how she approached developing Full Frontal with Samantha Bee: "let's kick the barn doors in"
Samantha Bee on one of her favorite Daily Show interviews, with Florida State Representative candidate Ed Heeney
Samantha Bee on when she realized she could make people laugh
Samantha Bee on the decision to not have a desk or celebrity guests on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On her childhood and early influences; on taking a wide variety of classes in college, and on how she got into theater and acting; on transferring to an acting conservatory, and on leaving the program to pursue a professional acting career
On when she realized she could make people laugh, and on how she came to get into sketch comedy in Toronto; on how she became a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
On her first impressions of Jon Stewart, and on getting the call that she got the job on The Daily Show; on her first assignment on The Daily Show, and on developing a persona on the show; on conducting interviews as a Daily Show correspondent
On one of her favorite Daily Show interviews, with Florida State Representative candidate Ed Heeney; on other favorite segments from the show, and on when she felt the tone and her style clicked for The Daily Show
On leaving The Daily Show to pursue other projects with her husband, Jason Jones, and on how she came to host her own late night show, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee; on what she learned from Jon Stewart during her time on The Daily Show
Chapter 2
On developing and setting the tone of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee; on the decision to have no desk and no celebrity guests on the show; on the many cultural and historical references she makes on Full Frontal; on being a female host in late night
On mostly not reading reviews of Full Frontal; on the staff of Full Frontal, and on the show's blind hiring process; on the writing process on Full Frontal, and on finding the humor in serious subjects
On the line between satire and activism, and comedy and journalism, and on fact checking on Full Frontal; on stories that have had a real-world impact; on the pace of news during the Trump administration; on the topics and segments that have been most important to her, including the #MeToo movement
On what Full Frontal has added to the late night landscape; on what she has learned from her husband, Jason Jones' work ethic; on the advice she gives her children about how to approach the world; on her proudest career achievement
Shows
Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The
Samantha Bee on auditioning for and being hired as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Samantha Bee on her first assignment on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and on the challenge of conducting an interview as a correspondent for the show
Samantha Bee on developing her persona as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Samantha Bee on conducting interviews as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and how it was similar to being a journalist, though not exactly the same
Samantha Bee on one of her favorite Daily Show interviews, with Florida State Representative candidate Ed Heeney
Samantha Bee on some favorite Daily Show segments and on when she felt she really became comfortable with the style and her abilities on the show
Samantha Bee on leaving The Daily Show with Jon Stewart after 12 years to pursue other projects with her husband, Jason Jones, and how that led to her own late night show, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Samantha Bee on what she learned from Jon Stewart during her time on The Daily Show, and on the topics she was interested in covering on The Daily Show and beyond
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Samantha Bee on leaving The Daily Show with Jon Stewart after 12 years to pursue other projects with her husband, Jason Jones, and how that led to her own late night show, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Samantha Bee on how she approached developing Full Frontal with Samantha Bee: "let's kick the barn doors in"
Samantha Bee on the theme song of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, written and performed by Peaches
Samantha Bee on the decision to not have a desk or celebrity guests on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Samantha Bee on the fast pace of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and on the many cultural and historical references she makes on the show
Samantha Bee on being a female host of a late night show on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and on being left off a Vanity Fair cover featuring late night hosts
Samantha Bee on pressure she may have felt being one of the only female hosts in late night, on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Samantha Bee on mostly not reading reviews of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Samantha Bee on the staff of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and on the show's blind hiring process
Samantha Bee on the writing process on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and on finding humor in serious subjects
Samantha Bee on where she sees the line between satire and activism, and comedy and journalism on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and on how the pressure to get facts right has increased over time
Samantha Bee on whether Full Frontal with Samantha Bee acts as a call to action or as catharsis, and on impactful stories on the show
Samantha Bee on the pace of the news cycle during the Trump presidency, and how it has impacted Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Samantha Bee on the topics or segments that have been most important to her on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, including the #MeToo movement
Samantha Bee on what Full Frontal with Samantha Bee has added to the late night landscape
Topics
Advice
Samantha Bee on the advice she gives her children about entering the world professionally and beyond
Creative Influences and Inspiration
Samantha Bee on taking a theater class in college, and how that led to her interest in performing
Donald J. Trump
Samantha Bee on the pace of the news cycle during the Trump presidency, and how it has impacted Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
First Big Break
Samantha Bee on auditioning for and being hired as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Historic Events and Social Change
Samantha Bee on being one of the few female hosts in late night, on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Samantha Bee on #MeToo series on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and on her thoughts on the movement in general
MeToo Movement
Samantha Bee on #MeToo series on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and on her thoughts on the movement in general
Pivotal Career Moments
Samantha Bee on taking a theater class in college, and how that led to her interest in performing
Samantha Bee on how she got into sketch comedy
Samantha Bee on auditioning for and being hired as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Pop Culture
Samantha Bee on the theme song of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, written and performed by Peaches
Representation on Television
Samantha Bee on being one of the few female hosts in late night, on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Samantha Bee on #MeToo series on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and on her thoughts on the movement in general
Television and the Presidency
Samantha Bee on the pace of the news cycle during the Trump presidency, and how it has impacted Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Television Industry
Samantha Bee on the blind hiring process on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Samantha Bee on the advice she gives her children about entering the world professionally and beyond
TV Theme Songs
Samantha Bee on the theme song of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, written and performed by Peaches
Women
Samantha Bee on being one of the few female hosts in late night, on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Samantha Bee on #MeToo series on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and on her thoughts on the movement in general
Professions
Hosts
Samantha Bee on the challenge of conducting interviews for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Interviewer
Samantha Bee on the challenge of conducting interviews for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Show Creators
Samantha Bee on the blind hiring process on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Genres
Comedy Series
Samantha Bee on her time as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Samantha Bee on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Late Night
Samantha Bee on her time as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Samantha Bee on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
People
Jon Stewart
Samantha Bee on her initial impression of Jon Stewart, when she was auditioning for The Daily Show
Samantha Bee on what she learned from Jon Stewart during her time on The Daily Show