When Jon Stewart announced he was stepping down from “The Daily Show,” many prospective successor names were thrown around — one of the most obvious being Samantha Bee, the show’s most senior correspondent. Turns out, despite various rumors at the time, nobody actually asked if she was interested in taking over the job. Her husband, Jason Jones, summed up this unbelievable revelation: “The fact that she wasn’t approached was a little shocking, to say the least,” he told the New York Times.
But maybe this is all for the best. As the debut of her show “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” approaches — it debuts Monday, February 8th at 10:30 on TBS — Bee will get a fresh shot at making her name in the late-night world, and it will be free of all the baggage that would have come with trying to follow in Stewart’s footsteps. She can start anew with her own hand-picked writing staff (more on that in a minute) and her own vision.
Given promos like this one, I’m optimistic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVcsg74OQBw
And yes, I know that technically “Chelsea Lately” was in the mix with the rest of them for a while — but what I want is a female-hosted show that’s ready to do real social media battle with the likes of Kimmel, Fallon and even my beloved John Oliver. I want someone who’s savvy enough about media-stickiness that she can generate show content that will regularly get everyone talking. And I want a female host who’s going to do slightly more substantive things than play beer pong with celebrities.
Judging from the clips being released online ramping up to the show, that seems highly likely. In one take on the Iowa caucuses, she calls Ted Cruz a “whiny little turd” with a “screechy weasel voice.” In another, she goes after the candidates’ pandering to the anti-abortion evangelical demographic in Iowa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSmwzj8X3F8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmHbNNyrcgk
