Samantha Bee and Jason Jones Leaving 'The Daily Show'
by Andy Neuenschwander
The longest-running "The Daily Show" correspondent is about to pack up and go.
Samantha Bee, who among the current correspondents on "The Daily Show" has been there the longest, has announced that she is leaving the show along with husband Jason Jones, who announced his departure last month.
Though Bee and Jones' resignations coincide with Jon Stewart's retirement from the show, they aren't necessarily connected. Rather, Bee and Jones are leaving in order to pursue shows of their own on TBS. Bee's project isn't too fleshed out yet (at least publicly), but it will reportedly make good use of her effortlessly deadpan sarcasm and sharp wit that she exhibited on Comedy Central.
"For 9 & 1/2 years, I have worked at one of the greatest TV shows of all time. But...It is time for me to go," Jones wrote on Twitter. "That said, I am ecstatic to announce that I'm about to make another great show over @tbsveryfunny."
As for TBS, they expressed excitement over having both Bee and Jones on their team. "We're thrilled to have Sam join Jason at TBS and really make this a family affair. We actually have their kids coming in next week to pitch us animation," Brett Weitz, executive vice president of original programming for TBS, said in a statement. "Like her fans around the country, we absolutely adore everything about Sam, from her straight-faced sarcasm and ruthless wit to her uncanny ability to mine comedy gold from just about any awkward situation. After watching Sam's work for years, we knew that her distinctive humor and talent belong at the front of her own show."
The show will also star Natalie Zea of "The Following" and will be based loosely on Jones and Bee's own family vacations with their kids. TBS has ordered 10 episodes to premiere either later this year or early 2016.