'Full Frontal' Samantha Bee says she never wanted to host 'The Daily Show'

Comedy Central never offered Samantha Bee The Daily Show hosting gig when Stewart left. Sure, she'd worked there for 12 years as a correspondent, "learning from the master," Jon Stewart, as her husband, former Daily colleague Jason Jones put it. Instead, Trevor Noah got the gig after just three appearances on the show.

But she's OK with it, she says, as she readies Full Frontal, a weekly TBS series premiering Monday at 10:30 ET/PT.

'Daily Show's' Samantha Bee goes 'Full Frontal' with her own TBS series

"I don’t want to do a show four nights a week.  Kill me. Oh my God. No thank you," says the mother of three (her oldest is 10). "If there’s one thing that I do know myself, it’s better for me to build something from nothing than to take over something from someone else who is so lauded. This is a better path for me, and I can carve out my own space."

Starting with the fact that at 10:30, her show isn't really in late night.  "We’ll get to have people who are still awake! That will be nice."

A recent test show focused on Iowa  

Where the "state color" is "white people." Topical humor will mix Daily-style headline news, here on Iowa's caucus and GOP debate, with field segments that are Bee's trademark.