Sam Jay made the most of the pandemic with ‘Pause’ and ‘Bust Down’

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How did you spend your epidemic? Here’s how Sam Jay has gone through these past two years: The “Sam Jay: 3 in the Morning” special debuted on Netflix in July 2020. While continuing to work as a writer on Saturday Night Live, she also wrote on HBO Max titled “That Damn Michael Che,” worked as a consulting producer on NBC’s “Kenan,” then launched her own talk show, HBO’s “Pause With Sam Jay.”

Still not enough? In March, Peacock appeared in the comedy series “Bust Down,” which Jay co-written and starred alongside Chris Reed, Langston Kerman and Jack Knight. With so many gigs at once, at this year’s WGA Awards, Gaye received a triple nomination in the Comedy/Graphic Variety Series category for her work on “SNL,” “Michael Che,” and “Pause.”

But here’s the thing: It all happened mostly during the era of lockdown, social distancing, quarantine, and masks. So it’s only now that Jay is finally beginning to experience the effects of that success.

“Weirdly, when [Netflix] We went out private, we were in the epidemic.” “So it wasn’t like one of those things I have to go out on, and people were like, ‘Oh, I saw yours!’ I made it in this bubble where I didn’t really know who had seen it, or What in the world was she already doing? I wasn’t able to tour right after that to see if more people would come to the shows. Because there were no offers. So it probably took a whole year before I went out into the basement and was on stage, noticing that people were clapping louder than they did before.”

There will be plenty of stories in the coming years of projects being delayed or even canceled due to the pandemic and business interruptions – followed by the emergence of content that consumes the world in different ways. But there are also the positive stories of a talent whose star power rose by chance during the same time frame.

Apparently Jay, who grew up in Boston and worked in other fields before trying her hand at stand-up comedy in her late twenties. She was already on ‘SNL’ when her software production went viral in 2020.

“I haven’t done a show outside of the pandemic, so I don’t know the difference there,” Jay says. “Out of SNL, I think, but that’s like his little world.”

In “Bust Down,” Jay plays Sam, a high-ranking member of a group of friends who work dead-end jobs in the Midwest. Then there’s the song Pause With Sam Jay, which she produces with Prentice Penny. The mixed series features Jay and guests talking on different topics, which then leads to sketches, interviews, and more.

For the second season of “Pause,” which returned at the end of May, Jay was able to expand the show’s reach thanks to relaxed COVID protocols. She also describes this season as “more personal”.

“We’re really starting to get into the details of my trip and the things I’ve been through and the things that directly affect me and attack them in a more personal way,” she says.

As for the accolades, “It made me feel like, ‘Oh, that’s an echo. “The goal is just to be able to make things for as long as possible, and have creative outlets for as long as possible.”



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