While there are now more women writing for late night shows than ever before, female hosts, like female presidents, largely remain a figment of the Hollywood imagination.
Bee may have less competition, but she doesn’t see that as a good thing. “It doesn’t excite me being the only woman late-night host anywhere,” she said in an interview.
For aspiring comedy writers, the process can be as brutally competitive as getting into the Ivy League — and just as reliant on powerful connections. “I don’t think anybody has malintent, but at every stage it’s a little harder for women and people of color” to break through, says Hagel. She developed and stars in one of the show’s signature bits, “Jokes Seth Can’t Tell,” in which she delivers punchlines about lesbians and the Hispanic community that are off-limits to her straight, white, male boss.
To level the playing field, she’s made it her responsibility to look beyond the traditional gatekeepers, often sending direct messages to talented women on Twitter. In the past two years, a spate of shows hosted by women have been canceled after one- or two-season runs, including “Chelsea,” “The Break with Michelle Wolf,” “The Rundown with Robin Thede,” “I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman” and “Busy Tonight.”
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