TORONTO — Samantha Bee is taking a pause from the world of politics.
During her seven-season run as host of the TBS late-night talk show, “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee," and 12 years as a correspondent on “The Daily Show,” Bee covered a wide spectrum of political and social events with a layer of satire on the side.
While the topics were inexhaustible — from U.S. presidential elections to the 2021 attacks on Asian communities — the show, as it turns out, was not.
On July 23, the Emmy Award-winning program aired its last episode before being cancelled as a part of a new programming strategy at TBS.
Bee says that she knew the writing was on the wall for “quite a long time” before “Full Frontal” officially ended. While the timing was a shock to her, she says she was ready for it to conclude.
“I’ve been doing political comedy for 20 solid years without stopping, so I think I might need more of a break than I originally thought I did,” says Bee, who stood out as one of the few women among the man-in-a-suit model of late-night hosts.
“I’m just trying to figure out — what are the elements from this 20-year journey I can’t live without doing, and one of those things is interviewing people. I love it so much and it’s very fulfilling to me.”
Though the Toronto native is currently finding different outlets such as the new educational and silly Canadian Audible Original podcast series "Wildlife Confidential," which launched last week, Bee says she expects it won't be long before she returns to her comedic roots.
"It's strange to not be publicly commenting on the state of the world right now. But I actually think this is a pretty temporary break," Bee says.
"I will definitely carry forward commenting on the current political system," she continues. "I don’t really know what form it will take though."
Bee stars in “Wildlife Confidential” as avian talk show host Cameron the Crow, who interviews fellow animals, played by a cast of humans, about wild stories ripped from the headlines.
It's a welcome change of pace for Bee after a long on-air career of finding the humour in the news about the dog-eat-dog world of politics.
"I can’t believe I’m saying this to the actual press, but it’s true. I bought peanuts once I decided to take on the role of a crow,” says Bee.
"I heard crows really love peanuts, so I was like ‘all right folks, we’re going to get to know each other.'"
For Bee, the exercise was as much about getting into character as it was about finding a way to get along with the clever yet petty birds occupying her property.
"We have a house outside of New York City with crows in our yard and they’re incredible,” says Bee. “It’s just happenstance that I’m playing one now because I’ve been staring at them and attempting to lure them for a while. They halfway like me, but I also think they aren’t sure yet.”
Over the course of 10 episodes, listeners get to hear interviews with an array of curious critters. The lineup features a number of recognizable voices, including "Schitt's Creek" actor Jennifer Robertson and Colin Mochrie of “Whose Line is it Anyway?" playing Bonnie and Clyde, the capybara couple who captivated Toronto with their 2016 escape from High Park Zoo.
"Run the Burbs" star Andrew Phung, who co-hosts the series as rodent reporter Gordo the Groundhog, says he was drawn to the project that would appeal to his children.
For Phung, a seven-time Canadian Screen Awards winner, a first-time vocal project like “Wildlife Confidential” is a welcome new experience.
The Calgary-born comedian first secured major prominence as the charming Kimchee Han on “Kim’s Convenience,” prior to his lead role in “Run the Burbs," which he created and will return to CBC for its second season next year.
Like Bee, Phung views the experience of lending a comedic voice to an audible medium as equally meaningful to being in front of a screen, but also more convenient.
“I didn’t have to wear makeup, or go through a wardrobe or have perfect hair,” says Phung, who on some days would perform in shorts, a hoodie and a hat.
“Often, when you’re acting in TV or film, there’s a small percentage of you that’s always worried if you’re on the mark. ‘How does my hair look?’ ‘Did I smear my makeup?’”
For Phung and his fellow Audible host Bee, freewheeling projects like “Wildlife Confidential” serve as a complement to the free-form current state of their careers.
“I’m in a really good place right now creatively because there are so many ideas and stories I want to tell,” says Phung.
“'Kim’s Convenience' has made me feel as if I could do it. It made me fearless and allowed me to take on more projects like these.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2022.
Noel Ransome, The Canadian Press
