R.I.P. Jak Knight, stand-up comic and Bust Down star
Knight also wrote for and appeared in Big Mouth, Pause With Sam Jay, and Black-ish
Jak Knight has died. A stand-up comic, actor, and writer, Knight recently gained national prominence as the co-creator and co-star of Peacock comedy series Bust Down. Beyond that, Knight was an up-and-coming talent in the world of TV comedy, with credits, as both a writer and a performer, on shows like Black-ish and Big Mouth (where he played DeVon), and a long string of celebrated stand-up sets. Per Variety, no cause of death has been released. Knight was 28.
Originally from Seattle, Knight first made a name for himself in the Los Angeles comedy scene, scoring an early entertainment industry gig after an encounter with comedy duo The Lucas Brothers led to them offering him a writing job on their Adult Swim show Lucas Bros. Moving Company. From there, he continued to develop as both a writer and a stand-up, gaining wider recognition in 2018, when he was selected as one of several comics to do a 15-minute set for Netflix’s The Comedy Lineup. (A distinction Knight shared with Bust Down co-creator Sam Jay, whose Pause With Sam Jay saw Knight hire on as a writer, performer, and producer in recent years.)
Bust Down was Knight’s biggest platform yet; co-created with Jay, Chris Redd, and Langston Kerman, the series saw Knight and his friends play low-pay workers at a casino in Gary, Indiana. Satirical and silly, the six-episode series could hit absurd heights, but was rarely better than when Redd, Kerman, Jay, and Knight were simply bouncing their comedic energies off of each other; Knight’s character (also named Jak) was an extension of his stand-up persona, a mixture of childish innocence and cheerful chaos.
Tributes to Knight have already begun to pour out of L.A.’s comedy community, as Kumail Nanjiani (who hosted Knight on his Comedy Central series The Meltdown), James Adomian, and many more offered up memories of the stand-up’s talents and kindness, while Comedy Central—who hosted Knight on more than one occasion—issued its own tribute to his work.
Knight recently filmed his first movie role, in Chelsea Peretti’s upcoming movie First Time Female Director.