Samantha Bee toasts the press and roasts Trump at 'Not WHCD'

WASHINGTON — It may not be “Nerd Prom,” but Samantha Bee sure knows how to throw a party.

Hours before Washington’s elite were set to wine and dine, minus President Trump, at the official White House Correspondents' Dinner, Bee and a different group of luminaries and celebrities got together across town for her answer to the schmooze-fest.

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee’s “Not the White House Correspondents Dinner” special (airing on TBS Saturday, 10 p.m. ET/PT) offered all the same glitz and glamour of the official dinner But instead of formal attire, Bee’s staff sported shirts emblazoned with "FREE PRESS."

Some may have expected the event to be an extra-long Trump roast, and while there were plenty of jokes at his expense, the main theme of the proceedings was a celebration (and gentle ribbing) of the press.

“We came here to Washington, D.C., to celebrate the free press from, the failing New York Times to the failing BuzzFeed to the ... what the (expletive) Pro Publica is, it sounds Mexican,” Bee joked in her opening monologue.

“As much as I might love poking fun at the media and as much as you might deserve it, I know it has never been a harder time (for you),” she continued. “But you carry on. You dig up misdeeds and fraud by the powerful ... And you continue to fact-check the president as if he might someday get embarrassed!”

The rest of the special, interspersed with fake archival clips of Bee roasting other presidents from Woodrow Wilson to Ronald Reagan, was a super-sized version of Full Frontal, with special jabs at CNN's Jeff Zucker and the sexual-harassment allegations at Fox News.

And of course, she had a little help from her friends.

The host recruited a slew of celebrities for the special, putting West Wing star Allison Janney back behind the press secretary’s podium for the cold open and Steve Buscemi in a parody science documentary about alternatives facts.

In a star-studded short, Billy Eichner, Patton Oswalt, comedian Cameron Esposito, Kumail Nanjani (Silicon Valley), Carl Reiner, Norman Lear, Retta (Parks and Recreation) and other celebs roasted Trump in their own ways. And at the midpoint, Jake Tapper

Perhaps her biggest guest was Will Ferrell, who surprised the audience with his George W. Bush impression from his time on Saturday Night Live.

“For the longest time I was considered the worst president of all time,” the fake Bush remarked in a long standup bit aimed at Trump. “That has changed. And it only took 100 days.”

Bee also managed to squeeze in a parody of Amazon’s alternative-history drama The Man in the High Castle, featuring George Takei,  as a way to imagine what life would be like right now if Hillary Clinton had been elected president.

“Hillary Clinton won the presidency, the Patriots lost the Super Bowl, Lemonade won album of the year and all copies of La La Land spontaneously combusted,” she explained in the bit, where she was hosting the real Correspondents' Dinner.

Bee ended the night with one more plug for journalism — the event raised $200,000 for the Committee to Project Journalists, according to her — by having a correspondent dressed as a newspaper boy hawk papers to the crowd.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun as a performer than I had tonight,” Bee told the audience after the taping was over.

Though the entire event was inspired by Trump’s presidency, Bee sees no silver lining to the Trump presidency.

“Predictability would be better,” she said on the red carpet before the event. “Please bore me to tears with competence.”