Jay Light: Wrong! Game, Right Time

After a Dallas shooting incident in 2016, Jay found himself writing a lot of gun control jokes because it felt so close to home (Light was raised in the Dallas area). While preparing to record his debut album, he spent a month running his show at Edinburgh Fringe Festival when the El Paso shooting occurred. These events caused a pivotal shift in Light and he explored themes of guns and gun control while doing crowdwork with festival goers. His album was recorded days after returning from Edinburgh and what gives him pride is the fact that his gun control and gun-related jokes were some of the strongest and darkest material he had, and feeds into the idea that he doesn't look like the type of person who would tell these kind of edgy jokes. PS - anyone that has seen him perform at a Roast Battle knows his looks defy his virtually lethal takedowns.

Jay grew up watching game shows like Match Game, Newlywed Game, and Family Feud, and noticed just how mean the hosts were to the contestants (now it's on full display if you watch Steve Harvey's Family Feud). He even hosted his own game show at Elon University, his alma mater. Approached to produce a show by an LA theater, Light originally turned down the offer, but then realized he could finally return to his original fandom of games shows and brainstormed an idea with fellow comic and long-time friend, Tyler Meznarich. That brainstorm led to Wrong! A F**cked Up Game Show. The goal of Wrong! is to deliberately mess with guest comics, with Light serving as "mean host" and Meznarich serving as announcer/sidekick. The show was refined in obscurity and had its successful official debut at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival (where game shows are always a hit). A new monthly residency at the Los Angeles Comedy Store ensures the continued growth of the game show.

Admittedly biased (Jay is a writer for several reality TV shows), he finds the human dynamics and psychology on full display truly fascinating. Giving props to next level reality TV, you can't escape masterpieces like Nathan Fielder's Nathan Ruins Everything or The Rehearsal and mind-benders like How to with John Wilson. Ultimately, what Light finds fascinating is its a rich source of material for his own comedy and, maybe, just maybe, his future projects.