Just five years ago, comedian Samantha Bee left her post at The Daily Show to headline her own late-night talk series, an experiment in feminist-minded satire and sketch-comedy that disrupted the boys’ club grandfathered in by the Lettermans and Carsons and Lenos of the old days. Full Frontal With Samantha Bee borrowed the parody and sharp commentary of its host’s roots and put a fresh spin on both, framing coverage of politics and news from an unconcernedly female gaze with the kind of bold comedy other network offerings balked at.
Half a decade of Full Frontal has given late-night comedy plenty of gifts – mostly in the form of inventive Ted Cruz digs – but we’ve done the hard work of curating 10 of the most hilarious takedowns by Bee and her crew. These segments and skits uncovered corruption, mocked political power players, marveled at peoples’ stupidity, and gave us colorful options for insulting a megalomaniac in chief but they’re all funny and informative … and worth another watch.
A Jeb In Winter (2016)
Most critics would point to the show’s excellent deep dive into rape kit backlogs as its defining moment but this gem, airing fairly early in the series’ tenure, feels like the kind boundary-pushing political commentary Full Frontal should do more of. It asked a simple question: How can we use comedy to make the flaccid presidential campaign of Jeb Bush seem even more humiliating and sad? The answer: Hire a Warner Herzog impersonator to narrate Bush’s meagerly-attended New Hampshire rally like it’s a low-budget sequel to Cave of Forgotten Dreams. The best part? Bush’s own constituents deliver the skit’s harshest burns.
Crisis Pregnancy Centers (2016)
Another masterclass in crafting a political parody that packs a punch — so much alliteration, aren’t we fancy? — this sketch sported a surprise guest, Patton Oswalt. Doing his best Orson Welles impersonation, Oswalt walks fans through the gynecological grift of these fake abortion clinics that manipulate and gaslight women into carrying pregnancies to term, even when they don’t want to. Bee plays a Bible-thumping OBGYN in the skit that pulls inspiration from Welles’ early 70s docudrama, F is for Fake, and it’s so cinematically crafted, we can’t imagine the iconic director would find fault with it.
A Full Frontal Investigation: Trump Can’t Read (2016)
Sometimes Bee would merely comment on the news and sometimes, she created it. Case in point: this ridiculous segment that raised a harrowing question no respectable news agency was willing to confront. Not only did Bee manage to make the link between Trump’s alleged illiteracy and 90s TV heartthrob Jordan Catalano, but she also launched a conspiracy theory that had legs. After all, no one just naturally hates teleprompters enough to launch a full-scale war on them in the middle of a presidential campaign. There’s more to it than that. Pete Davidson knows what we’re talking about.
The NRA Is A Cult (2018)
Revisiting this metaphorical flogging feels a bit sweeter now that America’s number one gun cult has been forced to file for bankruptcy. We’re not saying Bee’s late-night segment heralded the NRA’s demise, but we’re not not saying that either. Not only did this investigative bit of journalism uncover evidence of Mike Huckabee’s musical career — video footage probably best left unseen — it also managed to draw the dots between Scientology and the NRA and sneak in a Tom Cruise short joke for good measure.
Sam Sits Down With Trump Supporters By The Sea Shore (2016)
This segment makes our list for the sole fact that Bee was able to keep her cool, and even crack a few jokes, while interviewing a group of college-aged Trump supporters who, at one point, accused her of “trickle-down media whoredom.” Also, the fact-checker hyperventilating in a corner while these tool bags had their white supremacist cocktail hour was a nice touch.
Sexism In Country Music (2020)
This segment opens with a vintage video clip of Reba McEntire explaining how she snacked on bull testicles as a child and just gets better from there. Correspondents Sasheer Zamata and Amy Hoggart have a good rapport and manage to recruit even non-country fans into this fight against blatant sexism within the industry. If only they could agree on a slogan.
We Need To Talk About Stephen Miller (2018)
Look, Stephen Miller’s ever-receding hairline is terrifying but you know what’s even more nightmarish than his clear desire to look like some kind of racist Voldemort in a Brooks Brothers suit? His ability to convince the president of the United States to co-op his nationalist agenda. Well that, and his strange crusade against janitors.
Abortion Texas-Style (2016)
Full Frontal has a way of making women’s health interesting and relatable, even to those who don’t have a uterus (gasp, isn’t that a swear word?). In this deep dive into the ridiculously strict rules placed on medical providers who offer abortion services within the state, Bee borrowed a bit of what she learned from her stint on The Daily Show to let Republicans (and ill-equipped Democrats) metaphorically hang themselves with their own idiocy rope. Also, she put a shark head on an RBG impersonator and let them dance while she did it.
Using Deep Fakes For Good (2019)
During her “Not The White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” Bee introduced the very real threat of deep fakes, the tech that can impose images and is being used for everything — but mostly, ya know, porn. As terrifying as this digital mutation is, it’s nothing compared with the visual of Nick Cage’s face plastered onto Sam Bee’s body.
Rape Kit Backlog (2016)
This is probably Full Frontal’s most recognizable skit and for good reason. Not only does Bee appropriately skewer the bureaucracy that allows states to discard backlogged rape kits like they’re some kind of justice-smothering Marie Kondo, but she also slams a female senator from Georgia who’s consistently killed bills trying to fix the problem. Oh, and she explains what actually constitutes rape incase you’re some bumf*ck sheriff in Idaho who’s having problems understanding the nuances of consent.
