Stand-Up Comedian and “Bust Down” Star Jak Knight Passes Away at Age 28

Stand-up comedian Jak Knight passed on Thursday night in Los Angeles, according to his family. He was best known for co-creating and starring in the Peacock comedy series “Bust Down,” as well as for his work on “Pause With Sam Jay.” No specific cause of death was revealed. He was 28.

The series “Bust Down,” which debuted in March, was co-created by Knight, Jay, Langston Kerman, and Chris Redd, who also acted as its stars. The first season of the six-episode programme centred on four low-wage workers at an Indiana casino. Knight played Jak, a stockroom worker who was the youngest and wildest member of the close-knit group of friends. In addition to acting in the show, Knight executive produced it and penned two episodes, including the pilot.

Prior to “Bust Down,” Knight served as an executive story editor on a season of “Black-ish” as a writer for the 2013 Fox animated comedy “Lucas Bros. Moving Company.” He contributed writing to Bill Burr’s sketch comedy show “Immoral Compass” on the Roku Channel. In 2018, he started working as a writer and producer on “Big Mouth,” for which he also provided the voice of DeVon, an arthritic 13-year-old. Knight worked as a producer and frequent performer on Jay’s late-night programme “Pause With Sam Jay” beginning in 2021. On seven episodes of the second season of the programme, which aired this May, he was listed as a writer.

As a stand-up comedian, Knight received the 2014 Comedy Central Comic to Watch and 2015 Just for Laughs Festival New Face awards. He opened for comics like Dave Chappelle, Joel McHale, Eric Andre, Moshe Kasher, and Aziz Ansari at the 2015 Oddball Comedy Festival. He appeared on television programmes like “The Meltdown With Jonah and Kumail,” “Adam Devine’s House Party,” and “@Midnight” to perform. His 30-minute stand-up special had its Netflix debut as a part of the “Comedy Lineup” series in 2018.

His first film credit, “First Time Female Director,” the feature directorial debut of Chelsea Peretti, had just finished filming when Knight passed away.