Samantha Bee’s “Full Frontal”Warner Bros. gets a kick in their rear. Discovery.
This show became a staple program on the cable network TBS. “will not return to the network in the fall,” according to a statement from Bee’s representatives.
“As we continue to shape our new programming strategy, we’ve made some difficult, business-based decisions,”TBS stated in a statement. “We are proud to have been the home to “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee”Thank Sam and the Emmy-nominated Team for their amazing work. We celebrate this extraordinarily talented cast and crew and look forward to exploring new opportunities to work with them in the future.”
Over the course of seven seasons, Bee’s “Full Frontal” brought an aggressive and saucy voice to TV’s late-night arena, and one of the few programs led by a female point of view. Bee was a standout with her outrageous humor and monologues. The cable network, which is usually amiable, had to embrace profanity and deal with political issues that are often polarizing. In 2018, the show became part of the news cycle when Bee used a charged epithet that refers to a part of the female anatomy to insult President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka. For a while, commercial support was cut off by advertisers.
“We do a show to please ourselves,”Bee told VarietyDuring an interview in 2016. “This gives us an opportunity to say the things we want in the exact way we want to say them.”Her viewers have a lot of fun and can also get some relief from their frustrations about modern politics and culture. Bee says that she watches TV when she is bored. “I like a firm hand to take me somewhere. I think that’s what we do with the show — provide a firm hand. You might not like where it takes you, and that’s OK, too.”She hopes viewers will follow her lead. “walk away with comedy first, and then the catharsis after.”
Her show will end as TV continues to reduce its late-night antics. WarnerMedia announced the end of its long-running program. “Conan” late-night program on TBS with Conan O’Brien in June of last year..NBC and the late-night host Lilly Singh, a digital entertainment influencer who had launched a new show on the network in the wee hours of the morning, decided to part ways last year. Comedy Central used to have three late-night programs, but now it has just one. “The Daily Show,”On regularly during weeknights. Showtime’s “Desus & Mero,” a weekly humor showcase, isn’t returning to Showtime thanks to a fallout between its hosts. CBS is considering cheaper replacements for James Corden as a last resort. “The Late Late Show”In the early 2023.
The end of “Full Frontal”Warner Bros. Discovery has cut back its content spend on major cable networks, such as TBS or TNT. The channels continue to show movies and added sports nights thanks to a recent rights arrangement between Warner Bros. Discovery and NHL. TBS has been decreasing its scripted programming, however shows like “Chad”And “The Last O.G.”In recent weeks, the project was scrapped. In May, TBS, TNT, TruTV’s general manager, Brett Weitz, quit the company. The cable networks had been consolidated under Warner Bros. Kathleen Finch is a Discovery executive. Weitz was a strong supporter of “Full Frontal.”
“Full Frontal”A new wave of late-night comedy shows targeted at smaller audiences was born. Once Bee’s program gained traction, BET tried a similar showcase for Robin Thede — produced by the same company behind Bee. Comedy Central is currently running a weekly program hosted by Charlamagne Tha God.
There are more to come.