We’re T-minus four days from the debut of the much-anticipated Full Frontal With Samantha Bee. But while much of the pre-show buzz has reasonably centered upon the Bee’s gender—she’ll be the only female host currently on late night, and the first woman ever to helm a late-night satire program—Full Frontal promises to stand out for reasons other than how Bee isn’t a man. Yesterday, TBS dropped a new teaser for the show. One thing we can definitely anticipate: some of the more graphic Donald Trump jokes to date, delivered with Bee’s razor-sharp blend of cheerful incredulity and simmering rage.
Based on what we know so far, Full Frontal also plans to make some tweaks to the standard late-night formula. For one thing, there won’t be a desk. “As a viewer, I am sort of sick of seeing someone sit behind a desk,” Bee told the Guardian. “I actually like using my body a little bit more. I find if I’m really stationary, sometimes all the comedy goes into my face and then it’s a really weird performance of me just pulling crazy faces.” Splitsider’s pictures of the set confirm that the space is indeed starkly deskless, instead featuring a large empty space and a wall of enormous TV screens.
Rather than focusing on interviews with guests—the show won’t have any (and where would they sit?)—Bee will anchor Full Frontal around field segments. Surreal field segments were the bread and butter of Bee’s days at The Daily Show, and the weekly (rather than daily) schedule will allow her to spend more time outside the studio. So far, we can anticipate a piece filmed on location in Jordan about the experiences of Syrian refugees, and a segment investigating how the VA is preparing (or not) for the needs of female combat veterans.
In general, new late night shows take a while—often a long while—to hit their stride, so whatever premieres on Feb. 8 will necessarily be a work in progress. But if the trailers are any indication, Bee’s already well-honed comedic voice is coming through loud and clear, and Full Frontal looks like it’s going to be a lot more than an overdue addition to the late-night landscape.
Besides, Bee already corrected that back in September:
