Beverly Hills – Incredibly, Samantha Bee’s “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” has amassed eight Emmy nominations and one win in its first two seasons. That win, however, was for their variety special “Not the White House Correspondents Dinner,” last year. The critically acclaimed TBS series is still waiting for the main show to land an Emmy win. On Thursday night the network hosted an hour-long Q&A with none other than Molly Ringwald putting Bee, who had flown in from New York for an under 24 hour visit, in the unfamiliar role of interview subject. Bee’s history in comedy and the process putting together the weekly program were discussed, but often the discussion kept circling back to the ongoing ramifications of the #MeToo movement.
It started off with Bee asked Ringwald if she would have suspected Harvey Weinstein, who is expected to turn himself into the NYPD today, was the monster he’s been depicted as with one revelation after another for the past eight months. Ringwald says, “I had an inkling.” Which prompted Bee, a former “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” correspondence to add, “I would have suspected, but it’s not knowledge I would have possessed.”
Ringwald, who penned an impressive essay in the New Yorker about the sexual harassment she saw in the industry over her career had some frank thoughts on what is coming to light.
“Personally, having grown up in the business I feel like I knew, but I didn’t know,” Ringwald says. “I wrote a little bit about that in the piece I wrote for the New Yorker, that these things happen all of the time, but it was just the way it was. And you weren’t going to talk about it because no one wants to hear that. You don’t want to be that person who is complaining or whining or whatever. So, you just go, ‘That’s the way it is.'”
Bee responds noting, “That’s the way it is in the entire world. That’s the way it is in every other profession. That’s the way it is in the restaurant industry and every other industry I ever worked in. But, I read about Morgan Freeman and I read about those allegations today and I’m like, ‘That’s the voice of God!'” (Laughs.) Come on! If you have those predilections it’s just kinky to be the voice of God. It’s really disheartening. It really wears you down, but on the other hand, at least we’re talking about it. And that’s a very exciting development.”
She says what she’s seeing happening does give her hope, however.
“I think what Times Up is doing is the right place to put your energy in a way,” Bee says. “Creating a legal defense fund that other people in other industries can tap into? And just having a place to go if you are in the acting industry or not? To ask, ‘What do I do next?’ People need a plan. We need to have some structure around what is happening around you.”
A host, writer, and producer, Bee finally got her own program after being on “The Daily Show” for 12 years. She says she would pitch shows all over town and the reaction was always the same.
“I do remember pitching a show which was a topical type of theme show and the feedback was, ‘Why would we do that? We already have one of those?’ That was the honest feedback from everyone,” Bee says. “‘We already have one. We don’t need another one. We got this.’ That idea has just been smashed to smithereens. There are so many opportunities and so many different points of view and so many opportunities to reveal yourself [now].”
Ringwald asks Bee what she thinks of people who believe a #MeToo backlash is in the works and her reaction was immediate.
“Oh, fuck off. I mean, I don’t know what to say,” Bee actually says matter of factly. “There are more of us. There are more of us and so many more things to talk about. We haven’t even started. It hasn’t even begun. The cultural changes are going to be slow. This has been a very revealing process for a lot of people. People’s eyes are just slowing opening to so many different things. Not only issues like harassment in the workplace. People are having very enlightened experiences and it can only lead to good things.”
As for the show itself, Bee jokes she doesn’t want to “kiss TBS’ ass too much” but admits they are incredibly open about the content she and her writers create.
“You could never find a better match. They have been incredibly generous in keeping us separate and letting us create the show,” Bee notes. “I just can’t imagine a more free, creative landscape. They are amazing with the show. There is no other way to say it.”
The evening did have some unique revelations. “Full Frontal” is working on a game app to get people to vote in the fall (players may get a prize if they do) and the fact the staff wants to do an all musical episode at some point. There were also questions from the audience including one on how so many subjects would appear when it’s clear either Bee or her colleagues are often going to end up showing them in a comedic or dumb light.
“People do want to be on TV is the answer,” Bee says. “Also, I’m very of the mind if you have an opinion about something and you want to change the world to confirm to your opinion and your set of things you think are the rules for everybody than you should speak your truth out loud. If you want all of us to live like you do you should be willing to say the things you wanna say out loud. If you are ashamed of those things, you should change the things that you think. We ask a lot more people than we show. A lot of people turn us down, but we don’t misrepresent ourselves. People are willing to talk.”
“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” airs Wednesdays at 10:30 PM.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjMIZo4A9lO/?taken-by=gregel17