ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Youre obviouslydifferent than the other late-night hosts.
Do you feel a lot of pressure as the only … Canadian?
SAMANTHA BEE:Theres so much pressure as a Canadian to forge new ground.
Credit: Peter Yang
The Canadians are going to be watching with bated breath.
Canadians will silently pressure you.
BetweenThe Daily ShowandLast Week Tonight which is hosted by anotherDaily Showalum, John Oliver where doesFull Frontalfit in?
How will your show be different in voice or subject matter?
I do feel like just naturally Im drawn to different kinds of stories.
Can you give us a taste?
… Theres also a story brewing among female veterans.
Most of their VA hospitals and health clinics dont have gynecologists.
In many of their health care facilities, they dont have womens body parts in the computer system.
Do you think that you shouldmaybeupdate your processes?…
We are also doing a piece about persecuting pregnant women.
What is the mantra of the show?
Are you declaring war against injustice?
Oh, I wouldnt saythat.
I mean, I mightunofficiallysay that.
Were just trying to shine our comedy light on stories that need to be told.
Do you have a dream-get, holy-grail story?
I cant tell you what it is because were trying to get it.
But I can assure you: It would be the most important interview of all time.
If we get this interview, nobody else should ever interview anyone else for the remainder of human history.
It would be that good.
Whats the toughest thing about being a woman entering a male-dominated arena?
What about that challenge is appealing?
I dont come from an experience of being really challenged due to my gender.
When I lived in Toronto and I did sketch comedy, I did it in all-female sketch troupe.
We created shows out of dust, it was such a DIY comedy experience.
And then I got hired atThe Daily Show, and I did not have a gendered experience.
The job was difficult but not because of my gender.
I always felt completely listened to.
I think Ive actually had a very rare experience.
Why is a woman hosting a late-night show such a rare and radical concept?
I mean, Chelsea [Handler] did it.
Im not the only one who ever did it.
But it is more rare, and I dont really have the answer to that question.
I do think there are women who have been offered late-night talk shows and havent wanted to do them.
I certainly wouldnt want to do it.
My life would be destroyed, so doing a show once a week is perfect for me.
You Photoshopped yourselfas a studly centaur shooting laser out of your eyes into Vanity Fairs all-male late-night hosts photo.
Did you ever expect it to go viral?
I think the moment you expect something to go viral, it immediately dies a horrible death.
[Laughs] Theres no way to predict anything like that.
Theres no way to even really hope for it.
I will say that I was pleasantly surprised and I felt really vindicated.
It made me feel really supported and happy to see how much it resonated with people.
I was not surprised, and I also didnt really … care?
[Laughs] I have the same feeling about it now that I did then.
This is a plum opportunity for me.
Why werent you surprised?
Speaking of TBS, what did they say to you when they offered you a show?
How blanche was this carte?
Theyre really letting us find our own voice, they expect us to find our own voice.
I dont even know why theyre leaving us to our own devices.
[Laughs] It doesnt make any sense.
Maybe theyre planning something behind the scenes, Im not sure.
Its a little bit too good to be true.
Jason stars inThe Detourabout a family vacation road trip.
Whats the most common note that you give him?
Sometimes hell take a joke to its absolute limit.
Theyre painful experiences but we do it from time and time.
Did he give you advice forFull Frontal?
Thats our yin and yang.
What do you watch in late-night?
I dont really watch late-night television.
Am I supposed to?
I mean, I do test whether something sort of emerges.
… At 9 oclock I fall asleep immediately.
I watch things the next day thats so bad.
Im not supposed to say that!
What about an infomercial?
Theres a pressure cooker infomercial that my children love so much.
So we do watch that.
You know what I just started watching?Black Mirror.
How is on-air Samantha Bee different than the off-air one?
I think about that from time to time.
The person on camera is a version of me, but its a much yellier version.
Its just a louder version of me.
