Stand-up comic, writer, and actor Jak Knight died at 28 Thursday night in Los Angeles, confirmed his family. The multihyphenate was a writer for popular shows Black-ish, Netflix’s Big Mouth, and had recently released a Peacock series, Bust Down, that he co-created.
Additional details surrounding his death have not yet been released.
“Knight’s loved ones ask that their privacy please be respected during this extremely difficult time,” an agency rep said, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Knight broke into the Hollywood limelight as a stand-up comedian, finding success in 2017 in the writing room of the adult coming-of-age cartoon Big Mouth, where he also voiced the character of DeVon for five seasons.
In 2019, he became executive story editor for season six of Black-ish, additionally writing the season six, episode nine “University of Dre.”
More recently, the rising comedian was a creator of the Bust Down original series, starring opposite Chris Redd, Sam Jay, and Langston Kerman. The six-episode series debuted in March.
Knight was also attached to another recent release on HBO, Pause with Sam Jay, as a writer and co-executive producer, and had wrapped filming a role in his first feature film, First Time Female Director.
He regularly toured as a stand-up comedian and was featured in a 2018 Netflix comedy special, The Comedy Lineup series.
News of his death shocked social media, causing him to trend on Twitter. Many fans and those who previously worked with Knight expressed their dismay over the actor’s sudden death amid his rise to stardom.
“Absolutely devastated about the passing of Jak Knight. First time I ever saw him was when he played Denver Levins on NBA2K17, he’s the reason why I will randomly say ‘This here mine!’ when playing video games. Gone too soon man, so talented,” wrote one user.
Absolutely devastated about the passing of Jak Knight. First time I ever saw him was when he played Denver Levins on NBA2K17, he’s the reason why I will randomly say “This here mine!” when playing video games. Gone too soon man, so talented pic.twitter.com/YfMSIuztk8
— Black Sokka (@TheBlackSokka) July 16, 2022
Comedy Central’s official Twitter account sent out a condolence: “Jak Knight was a hysterical and honest comedian. We will miss him tremendously.”
Jak Knight was a hysterical and honest comedian. We will miss him tremendously. pic.twitter.com/F1dQEjT5GV
— comedycentral (@ComedyCentral) July 15, 2022
Musician Flying Lotus wrote, “RIP to Jak Knight, honestly was my fav comedian these days. Unapologetically bold and hilarious.”
https://twitter.com/flyinglotus/status/1548102870653800450?s=20&t=kP7LW9PUfQrGJlZ8QDcWKw
“Rip Jak Knight. I’m really going to miss you bro,” said fellow comedian J.D. Witherspoon.
Rip Jak Knight 🕊
I’m really going to miss you bro. pic.twitter.com/zgtVgDvVT9
— J.D. (@jdwitherspoon) July 16, 2022