Samantha Bee’s ‘Full Frontal’ Canceled by Warner Bros. Discovery at TBS
Warner Bros. Discovery has canceled “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee,” a signature TBS late night talk show, after seven seasons.
Per an official press statement, “Full Frontal” will “not return to the network in the fall” as the late night landscape is forced into a reshuffling.
“As we continue to shape our new programming strategy, we’ve made some difficult, business-based decisions,” a representative from TBS said in a statement, via Variety. “We are proud to have been the home to ‘Full Frontal with Samantha Bee’ and thank Sam, and the rest of the Emmy-nominated team for their groundbreaking work. We celebrate this extraordinarily talented cast and crew and look forward to exploring new opportunities to work with them in the future.”
Warner Bros. Discovery previously closed out its contract with “Conan” also on TBS, as NBC canceled Lilly Singh’s talk show and CBS is looking to replace James Corden after he leaves “The Late Late Show” early next year.
Bee previously told IndieWire that the talk show’s pivot to a remote location during the 2020 quarantine lockdown actually made the show a “little easier than it normally is” when booking politicians as guests.
“They normally have such packed schedules that if you can even pin them down for 20 minutes you’re very, very lucky,” Bee explained. “They still have packed schedules, they’re still doing a lot, but it’s a lot easier to capture someone from their home computer. Everyone’s just got a little bit more time because there’s no getting from place to place in a car and getting out of the car and coming into the building — there’s a little more flexibility. And people really want to talk.”
She continued, “Everybody’s working from home, but everybody is really mired in what’s happening. Everybody has their own personal family life that they’re working through, whatever their circumstances are, and just a general level of high anxiety. We are trying to introduce elements to the show in a different way — that just are joyful for us because we need that. We’re trying to take a lighter approach from moment to moment.”
The TBS Director of Original Programming Ashley Golden said during a 2019 Emmys FYC event that “Full Frontal” is a “platform for advocacy.”
Bee said at the time, “It’s impossible to tell what’s really going to light a fire for people. And if that will impact anything, we really don’t know. We’re always hoping. It’s not every day that you get to have a show, so it’s nice to use the platform for something, if you can. … Does it mean anything, ultimately in the world? I always hope it means something, we’ll try.”