Creator Of The Year: Samantha Bee
ADWEEK|November 28, 2016

She took a big leap launching full frontal on TBS, but the bet has paid off for the new queen of late night. 

Jason Lynch
Creator Of The Year: Samantha Bee

Samantha Bee admits that she was “terrified” as 2016 began. After all, she and husband Jason Jones had left Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, where they’d worked as correspondents for more than a decade, to create not one but two gambles for TBS, which could make or break the network’s ambitious original content overhaul: a new comedy series starring Jones called The Detour, and Bee’s own late-night show, Full Frontal With Samantha Bee.

Turns out she had nothing to fear: both programs became breakout hits and established Bee as the face of the new, edgier and funnier TBS—and an instantly indispensable late-night voice. Full Frontal averages 3.3 million multi platform viewers per episode, while The Detour brought in a weekly audience of 4.4 million (Season 2 debuts early 2017). “We didn’t know what to expect, but we’ve been so fortunate to have so much creative freedom and so much material to work with,” she says. “We’ve had the greatest year: it’s been so much fun, so much stress, so much pressure and so much excitement. It’s been everything.”

This story is from the November 28, 2016 edition of ADWEEK.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the November 28, 2016 edition of ADWEEK.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM ADWEEKView All
News Anchor Of The Year Megyn Kelly
ADWEEK

News Anchor Of The Year Megyn Kelly

From Trump to ailes, the fox news personality fearlessly faces off with the powers that be—and ends up crushing the cable ratings race.

time-read
5 mins  |
November 28, 2016
The Big Bang
ADWEEK

The Big Bang

Global consultancies are rocking the agency world, creating a new universe of offerings that meld marketing and technology.

time-read
10 mins  |
March 13, 2017
DROGA5
ADWEEK

DROGA5

Using the fingers on just one hand, David Droga argues, you can count the number of agencies that possess a “strong soul.”

time-read
6 mins  |
December 05, 2016
Ogily
ADWEEK

Ogily

When it comes to leadership changes, 2016 will be remembered as a time of disruption.

time-read
6 mins  |
December 05, 2016
The Myth of White Space
ADWEEK

The Myth of White Space

'Brands have to stand out in an obvious crowd—not stand alone in an unusual spot that no one cares about.'

time-read
4 mins  |
December 12, 2016
Brand Phelps
ADWEEK

Brand Phelps

Can the greatest olympian in history be as dominant out of the pool as he was in it?

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 12, 2016
Masters Of Their Domain
ADWEEK

Masters Of Their Domain

WHY DIGITAL BRANDS ARE KILLING IT IN ECOMMERCE. BY LAUREN JOHNSON

time-read
3 mins  |
April 16, 2018
Winners' Playbook
ADWEEK

Winners' Playbook

BRANDS OFTEN FIND THAT WHEN THEY AIM TO DO GOOD, THEY ALSO END UP DOING WELL. HERE ARE FOUR RULES TO KEEP IN MIND. BY DAN TYNAN

time-read
2 mins  |
April 16, 2018
Flipping The Disruption Script
ADWEEK

Flipping The Disruption Script

THE FORTUNE 500 SHOULDN’T REST ON THEIR LAURELS OF HAVING A FIRST-TO- MARKET ADVANTAGE.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 4, 2017
MCCann
ADWEEK

MCCann

All things old were new again in 2017 as McCann dominated the U.S. agency landscape with a string of wins and created the most-discussed campaign of the year in Fearless Girl. 

time-read
7 mins  |
December 4, 2017