If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. That seems to be Samantha Bee and Soledad O’Brien’s take on the dumpster fire that is U.S. women’s healthcare. Bee and O’Brien are partnering on a comedic docuseries covering everything “from abortion rights and birth control to the wellness industry which has preyed on the lack of information and care available to women,” Deadline reports.
Bee and O’Brien had been working together on a docuseries about women’s health via their respective Swimsuit Competition and SOB Productions banners, with the plan that the project would be led on-screen by another party. When Roe v. Wade fell, they decided to host it themselves.
A mix of journalism and comedy, the untitled project will be introduced to buyers soon. Sasha Stewart (“The Nightly Show”) and Keisha Zollar (“Astronomy Club”) have been tapped as writer-producers.
The docuseries will see its hosts “go out into the world to investigate, point out hypocrisies, and force people to consider valuable solutions,” the source details. Bee and O’Brien will “look at why U.S. women are sicker, more stressed, and die younger compared to women in other high-income countries, why women in the U.S are more likely to have issues paying their medical bills, have higher rates of chronic illness, and are among the least likely to report having a doctor they see regularly, such as a primary care physician, and why American women also have the highest rates of death from avoidable causes as well as a particular focus on why Black women are especially vulnerable to deadly pregnancy complications.”
The docuseries marks Bee’s first project since her long-running late night show, “Full Frontal,” became one of the many casualties of the Warner Bros.-Discovery merger. “This show is for anyone who’s ever casually mentioned endometriosis at a brunch, and then needed twelve more hours of mimosas to handle the ensuing show-and-tell of ailments,” said Bee, who counts “The Daily Show” and “Bob’s Burgers” among her other credits.
“To put it bluntly, women’s health is a shit show and it’s far past time to shine a light on how 51% of our country is neglected, overlooked, and misled when it comes to healthcare,” O’Brien added. “In the wake of Roe being overturned, this show is not just relevant, it is absolutely necessary because women’s lives are on the line.” The journalist and anchor’s previous doc work includes “Black and Missing” and “Black in America.”
