Former reality show singer and current Fakist traffic reporter Jake Stein is tired of waiting for his big break. Travel back through the history of The Fakist to find out what Jake wants, and how he’s worked the entire series to get it.  When his big day comes, will Jake Stein rise to become the newscaster the elite Diamond Club needs, or will Paul DaFoe find a way to stop him?

It was Jake Stein all along.

This episode shows how our villains manipulated the plot of The Fakist from afar the entire series. Yes, it’s kind of like Agatha on Wandavision, but I had a rough draft before that ever aired!

My original draft for the two-part finale had a lot of these villainous reveals baked into the dialogue, but after having so much fun recording everything live with the cast I decided to skip the monologues and get everybody together to show what the bad guys have been up to. Who needs another monologuing villain, right?

In this episode, we show how Fakist traffic reporter Jake Stein teamed up with station owner Bertram Kcom to take down The Fakist once and for all. We also get to take a trip through previous Fakist finales and revisit classic characters like Debra Dawnstar and Birdman Stan.

As for the baddies, Jake Stein’s story was inspired by a former co-worker who went from reality tv star to news anchor. Jake got his start singing in the singing competition series “The Choice.” For the past few seasons, he’s been the mirror image of my character Paul DaFoe. He’s privileged, self-obsessed, and mostly an asshole, just like Paul. The difference between them is that Paul cares about what others think of him, while Jake couldn’t care less. Justin Robert Young, who plays Jake and even wrote him an origin story in Season 2, is a collaborative performer. For example, when we were recording these episodes, he suggested a small dialogue tweak on the fly that gets great reactions every time he says it. See if you can figure out what it was! HINT: He made the slightly less vulgar choice and made it sound a little more vulgar. Brilliant work!

Bertram Kcom is based on a higher-up in the Sinclair Broadcasting Group who I got to see speak at a conference a few years ago. He’s dirty. He’s brash. He’s greedy. He’s inspired a thousand new HR policies. He was originally played by my old friend Adam Paulauski, who had to bow out this season. CJ Boat of Geek I/O stepped in for the final season with a wicked WC Fields impression. Adam’s in this episode too, thanks to a remastered MacDonald’s Broccoli Bites ad I repurposed from Season 2.

Montipaire DaFoe is Paul DaFoe’s adopted father, from a Season 2 plotline that based on the first big lie I was ever told. See my blog post “The Truth About Me” for more on that. Derek O’Neill from TV Podcast Industries gives him a devious, crotchety flair. You can tell he really loves playing the bad guy. Then again, who doesn’t?

To round out our terrible trio is Allison Jara, who plays Mayor Audra Reliant. I met Allison studying improv at SAK Comedy Lab, and she’s been a great creative collaborator and friend over the past couple of years. She’s launching her own life-coaching business over at AllisonJara.com this year. Hit her up! She’s one smart cookie.

Two of my favorite improvs from the season appear in this episode, including one where the news team has to clean up the newsroom before the executives arrive. If you’ve ever worked in TV news, you probably know the feeling.

Okay. By the end of this week, The Fakist will be dead and I’ll be heading out to live my new Hollywood Life. There are a lot of surprises left!

Did I mention there’s a time belt? There’s a time belt.

I hope you enjoy “I Want It That Way”!