'Twas the night before the election, and the late-night shows told stories

‘Twas the night before the election, and the late-night shows told stories

By Tracy BrownStaff Writer

Nov. 8, 2016 2:35 PM PT

On the eve of the election, late-night TV hosts Samantha Bee and James Corden both invited actors on their shows to do what they do best: read.

During a segment on Monday’s episode of “Full Frontal,” Bee addressed the most recent developments around presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s email investigation, which she referred to as “James Comey’s flaming bag of October surprise.”

While the FBI has cleared Clinton after investigating the newly discovered emails, it seems Bee reached her limit on how much scrutiny and media attention these emails have received throughout the election season.

“You want to talk about emails instead of policy?” asked Bee. “Fine. Let’s do it.”

After addressing some of the hacked emails involving Clinton’s staff that have been released by WikiLeaks, Bee tackled Clinton’s own emails, including those “shady emails showing Hillary doing special favors for people.”

She then called on “ ‘Full Frontal’s’ best new intern,” Sarah Paulson, to read Clinton’s actual emails.

Watch the clip above to see Paulson tackle dramatic lines such as, “Please print for me,” and “Could you help me with my iPad?” Start before the three-minute mark if you’d like to skip to Paulson’s entrance. (Be forewarned: The full clip contains some adult language.)

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“Late Late Show” host Corden, on the other hand, took a more whimsical approach to celebrity literacy by having Benedict Cumberbatch read him a bedtime story.

After turning down “Peter Rabbit” and “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” Corden and Cumberbatch settled on “The Story of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.”

The fairy tale follows “a lady who wanted to rule the kingdom very much” — “very, very much; some would say too much” — dressed all in beige on a journey to “a beautiful White House.” The lady’s scary journey included getting lost in a forest full of computers, trolls and a bad “news fox,” as well as facing foes such as a “big orange monster.”

The story is complete with fantastic illustrations. Watch the video above to find out how it ends.

In related news, Bee also used her final pre-election show to unequivocally throw her support behind Clinton. Or, more specifically, Hillary Rodham. Considering Bee has routinely skewered the multiple layers of sexism prevalent in politics and mainstream media throughout the election, her support of Clinton is not at all surprising. But her final plea, which chronicled how Clinton has had to change because of public demands, is definitely targeted to a more left-leaning audience.

Watch the clip below, but beware of more adult language.

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Twitter: @tracycbrown

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