Samantha Bee

Samantha Bee Speaker Biography

Stand-Up Comedian and Host of Full Frontal

Samantha Bee has quickly established herself as having one of the most unique and sharp comedic voices on television with her Emmy-winning late-night show Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.

Full Frontal

In 2016, Bee received global recognition from the success of her very own weekly late-night comedy series, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, which premiered Monday, February 8, 2016 on TBS. Full Frontal offers a unique satirical take on weekly news and explores other important stories in-depth that have been largely overlooked by more traditional media outlets. Full Frontal received rave reviews, and the show was picked up by TBS for a full season within weeks of its premiere, and the show is currently in its third season. In a landscape of male late-night talk show hosts, critics have appreciated Bee’s “fiery and fierce” delivery (The New York Times) and have embraced Full Frontal as a “daring, innovative addition to the late-night slate” (Entertainment Weekly).

Awards

The show’s glowing reception earned Bee and Full Frontal three Primetime Emmy nominations in 2017, including “Outstanding Variety Talk Series” and “Outstanding Writing For A Variety Series,” for which the show also received a nomination in 2016. In 2018, Full Frontal was again nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in the category of “Outstanding Variety Talk Series,” as well as “Outstanding Interactive Program,” “Outstanding Writing,” and “Outstanding Directing” for a Variety Series. Additionally, Bee was nominated for a 2016 Television Critics Association Award in the category of “Individual Achievement in Comedy” for her work on Full Frontal, and the show received its own nomination in both 2016 and 2017 in the category of “Outstanding News and Information.” In 2018, Full Frontal also earned a TCA Award Nomination in the category of “Outstanding Achievement in Sketch/Variety Shows.”

Television

In March of 2018, Full Frontal aired a one-hour special on TBS titled The Great American Puerto Rico, which involved a visit to the American Island by Bee and her field team in the wake of Hurricane Maria. The special was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards in the categories of “Outstanding Variety Special (pre-recorded),” “Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming,” and “Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special.” In 2017, Bee hosted the wildly successful “Not The White House Correspondents Dinner” the same evening of the traditional White House Correspondents Dinner. Her event celebrated a free and open press under the Trump administration, which was presented as a special on TBS. The special program was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards, and won in the category of “Outstanding Variety Special.”

The Detour

Bee and her husband Jason Jones also co-created the half-hour comedy series, The Detour, which is currently going into its fourth season on TBS. The Detour, which stars Jones, is inspired by their personal experiences on family getaways. The show follows Nate (Jones), Robin (Natalie Zea) and their two kids, Delilah and Jared, for what Nate believes will be the adventure of a lifetime on a road trip to Florida, which quickly turns into a disaster. The series was renewed for second season ahead of its April 11, 2016 premiere.

Movies

In 2015, Bee appeared opposite Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in the comedy film Sisters, directed by Jason Moore and written by Paula Pell. Last year, Bee appeared in Learning to Drive, alongside Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley. Additionally, she starred opposite Jason Jones in the 2010 film titled Coopers’ Christmas.

Book

In 2010, Simon and Schuster published Bee’s collection of personal essays, titled I Know I Am, But What Are You? She is currently writing a middle-grade novel for Farrar Straus Giroux.

The Daily Show

In 2003, Bee joined Comedy Central’s The Daily Show’s “Best F#@king News Team.” Bee departed The Daily Show in 2015 and currently holds the title for being the longest-serving regular Daily Show correspondent of all time (12 years). Additionally, during her time at The Daily Show, Bee was the sole female correspondent from 2006 until 2008.

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Bee began her career performing as a member of the all-female sketch comedy troupe The Atomic Fireballs.

Bee currently resides in New York.