# Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
**Full Frontal with Samantha Bee** is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by the Canadian comedian and former Daily Show correspondent [Samantha Bee](https://www.edgepedia.org/samantha-bee)[1](https://deadline.com/2022/07/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-axed-tbs-seven-seasons-1235076712/) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/full-frontal-samantha-bee). It premiered on TBS on February 8, 2016 and was canceled in July 2022[1](https://deadline.com/2022/07/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-axed-tbs-seven-seasons-1235076712/) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/full-frontal-samantha-bee). Over seven seasons and roughly 200 episodes, it covered the Trump presidency and the pandemic era in a weekly satirical news format that deliberately omitted the desk and celebrity guests of a conventional late-night talk show[1](https://deadline.com/2022/07/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-axed-tbs-seven-seasons-1235076712/) • [3](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee). TBS canceled it on July 25, 2022 as part of the post-merger [Warner Bros. Discovery](https://www.edgepedia.org/warner-bros-discovery) programming strategy[4](https://apnews.com/article/samantha-bee-amber-ruffin-discovery-inc-4e99b7d12f658333487ec3db4ef77b0d).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Run | Premiered February 8, 2016 on TBS; canceled July 2022 after seven seasons and about 200 episodes[1](https://deadline.com/2022/07/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-axed-tbs-seven-seasons-1235076712/) |
| Format | Weekly satirical news show, shot before a live studio audience, with no desk and no celebrity guests[3](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee) • [5](https://www.bellmedia.ca/the-lede/tv/ctv-comedy/full-frontal-samantha-bee/) |
| Focus | Weekly news satire plus stories largely overlooked by traditional media, from Beltway politics to abortion and sexual harassment[5](https://www.bellmedia.ca/the-lede/tv/ctv-comedy/full-frontal-samantha-bee/) • [1](https://deadline.com/2022/07/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-axed-tbs-seven-seasons-1235076712/) |
| Ratings claim | TBS said the show was #1 in late night with young adults in 2017, beating The Tonight Show by 47% in the demo[6](https://press.wbd.com/us/property/full-frontal-samantha-bee/media-releases) |
| Emmy record | Nominated for Outstanding Variety Talk Series four years straight; won a 2022 Creative Arts Emmy for its farewell short-form series[1](https://deadline.com/2022/07/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-axed-tbs-seven-seasons-1235076712/) • [7](https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-emmy-win-canceled-1235359602/) |
| Critical reception | Season one scored 84/100 on Metacritic from 16 critics, "universal acclaim"[8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee/) |
| End | Canceled by TBS on July 25, 2022, citing "difficult, business-based decisions" after the Warner Bros. Discovery merger[4](https://apnews.com/article/samantha-bee-amber-ruffin-discovery-inc-4e99b7d12f658333487ec3db4ef77b0d) |
## Format and production
Bee made a deliberate decision not to have a desk or celebrity guests, which distinguished Full Frontal from the standard late-night arrangement of monologue, desk interview, and musical booking[3](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee). Instead, each episode offered what [Bell Media](https://www.edgepedia.org/bell-media)'s CTV Comedy, the show's Canadian broadcaster, described as "a unique satirical take on weekly news" that explored "other important stories largely overlooked by traditional media outlets," shot in front of a live studio audience[5](https://www.bellmedia.ca/the-lede/tv/ctv-comedy/full-frontal-samantha-bee/). New episodes aired Wednesdays at 10:30pm ET/PT during the run, before a move to Thursdays in January 2022[6](https://press.wbd.com/us/property/full-frontal-samantha-bee/media-releases).
The show was produced by Jax Media, with Bee, her husband Jason Jones, Tony Hernandez of Jax Media, Miles Kahn, Alison Camillo, Kristen Bartlett, and Mike Drucker as executive producers[1](https://deadline.com/2022/07/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-axed-tbs-seven-seasons-1235076712/) • [8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee/). Bee has described negotiating the line between satire and activism, and between comedy and journalism, noting that the pressure to get facts right increased over the show's life[3](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee).
## History and development
Bee joined [The Daily Show](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-daily-show) with [Jon Stewart](https://www.edgepedia.org/jon-stewart)'s "Best F#@king News Team" on [Comedy Central](https://www.edgepedia.org/comedy-central) in 2003 and spent 12 years there as a correspondent[9](https://www.samanthabee.com/about) • [3](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee). She left to pursue projects with Jason Jones, and that departure led directly to her own late-night show[3](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee).
The show premiered on February 8, 2016, months before Donald Trump became president, and ran through his entire term and the global pandemic[1](https://deadline.com/2022/07/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-axed-tbs-seven-seasons-1235076712/). On September 23, 2021, TBS renewed the Emmy-winning show for a seventh season, moving it to Thursday nights beginning January 2022[6](https://press.wbd.com/us/property/full-frontal-samantha-bee/media-releases).
## Coverage and notable content
The show's subject matter ranged from stories inside the Beltway to sexual harassment, and Bee was one of the few late-night hosts who would dive deep into subjects such as abortion[1](https://deadline.com/2022/07/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-axed-tbs-seven-seasons-1235076712/). Regular international field pieces took the program to Rwanda, Jordan, Germany, Russia, Scotland, Mexico, and Iraq[1](https://deadline.com/2022/07/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-axed-tbs-seven-seasons-1235076712/). Correspondents on the show included Allana Harkin and Mike Rubens[8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee/).
## Reception and awards
Season one scored 84 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 16 critics, which the aggregator classifies as "universal acclaim"[8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee/).
The show was a fixture in the main late-night Emmy category. At the 71st [Emmy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/emmy-awards) it was nominated for Outstanding Variety Talk Series alongside [Jimmy Kimmel Live!](https://www.edgepedia.org/jimmy-kimmel-live), Last Week Tonight with [John Oliver](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-oliver), The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, The Late Late Show with James Corden, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/full-frontal-samantha-bee). It was nominated in that category four years straight, and in one year earned seven nominations, including Outstanding Variety Talk Series, Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series, Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series, and Outstanding Interactive Program[1](https://deadline.com/2022/07/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-axed-tbs-seven-seasons-1235076712/) • [6](https://press.wbd.com/us/property/full-frontal-samantha-bee/media-releases). The Television Academy also recognized the show with a Television Academy Honors award[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/full-frontal-samantha-bee).
The final Emmy came after cancellation: at the 2022 Creative Arts Emmys, *Full Frontal With Samantha Bee Presents: Once Upon A Time In Late Night* won for outstanding short form nonfiction or reality series, the show's 19th nomination in that category's lineage, accepted on stage by executive producer Allana Harkin and producer Caroline Dunphy[7](https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-emmy-win-canceled-1235359602/) • [1](https://deadline.com/2022/07/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-axed-tbs-seven-seasons-1235076712/).
## Ratings and audience
The main comparative figure on record is a network claim: TBS said the show was #1 in late night with young adults in 2017, beating [Last Week Tonight with John Oliver](https://www.edgepedia.org/last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver) and [The Tonight Show](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-tonight-show) starring [Jimmy Fallon](https://www.edgepedia.org/jimmy-fallon), the latter by 47% in the demo, with what the network called tremendous demo growth in its first year[6](https://press.wbd.com/us/property/full-frontal-samantha-bee/media-releases).
## Comparison with other late-night satire
The 71st Emmy nominee field shows where Full Frontal sat among its peers: it was nominated alongside the two other major satirical-news programs, The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight, and three traditional desk shows hosted by Kimmel, Corden, and Colbert[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/full-frontal-samantha-bee). Within that field it was structurally distinct, a guest-free weekly satire rather than a nightly interview program[3](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee). In the 2017 young-adult demo claim, it outperformed both Last Week Tonight and The Tonight Show by TBS's accounting[6](https://press.wbd.com/us/property/full-frontal-samantha-bee/media-releases).
## Cancellation and legacy
TBS announced the cancellation on Monday, July 25, 2022, after seven seasons. In a statement, the network said it had made "some difficult, business-based decisions" as part of its new programming strategy following the Warner Bros. Discovery merger[4](https://apnews.com/article/samantha-bee-amber-ruffin-discovery-inc-4e99b7d12f658333487ec3db4ef77b0d) • [1](https://deadline.com/2022/07/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-axed-tbs-seven-seasons-1235076712/). The cancellation came days after Desus & Mero exited their Showtime late-night series[1](https://deadline.com/2022/07/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-axed-tbs-seven-seasons-1235076712/).
Both wire and trade coverage framed the loss in terms of representation. The Associated Press wrote that the cancellation removed "a rare female voice from late-night TV"[4](https://apnews.com/article/samantha-bee-amber-ruffin-discovery-inc-4e99b7d12f658333487ec3db4ef77b0d), and Deadline called it a blow to diversity in the late-night space, describing Bee as the most high-profile female talk show host[1](https://deadline.com/2022/07/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-axed-tbs-seven-seasons-1235076712/).
The show's afterlife is limited. Bee's own site states that Full Frontal "premiered in 2016 and ran for seven seasons on TBS, but no longer exists"[9](https://www.samanthabee.com/about), while Warner Bros.' official page lists the show, with its original broadcast date of February 8, 2016 and genres of comedy and talk/variety, as "now available on digital"[10](https://www.warnerbros.com/tv/full-frontal-samantha-bee). The farewell short-form series won its Creative Arts Emmy after the cancellation, a posthumous cap to the show's awards record[7](https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-emmy-win-canceled-1235359602/).
## References
1. ['Full Frontal With Samantha Bee' Axed At TBS After Seven Seasons, Deadline](https://deadline.com/2022/07/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-axed-tbs-seven-seasons-1235076712/)
2. [Full Frontal With Samantha Bee, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/full-frontal-samantha-bee)
3. [Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Television Academy Interviews](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee)
4. [TBS cancels Samantha Bee's 'Full Frontal' after 7 seasons, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/samantha-bee-amber-ruffin-discovery-inc-4e99b7d12f658333487ec3db4ef77b0d)
5. [Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Bell Media](https://www.bellmedia.ca/the-lede/tv/ctv-comedy/full-frontal-samantha-bee/)
6. [Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Pressroom, Warner Bros. Discovery](https://press.wbd.com/us/property/full-frontal-samantha-bee/media-releases)
7. ['Full Frontal With Samantha Bee' Team on Emmy Win After Cancelation, Variety](https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee-emmy-win-canceled-1235359602/)
8. [Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee/)
9. [About, Samantha Bee official site](https://www.samanthabee.com/about)
10. [Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, WarnerBros.com](https://www.warnerbros.com/tv/full-frontal-samantha-bee)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Television talk, interview, and variety programs › Late-night talk shows*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license