TikTok star Jake Shane on ‘Hacks,’ new movie role and ‘Therapuss’

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jake Shane is busier than ever.

Amid wrapping up the second season of his hit podcast “Therapuss” and continuing to post skits and commentary videos for his 3.8 million followers, Shane has also started to show that the TikTok-to-traditional-media pipeline is legitimate.

The content creator, who served as a speaker at Forbes‘ annual 30 Under 30 Summit in Columbus, Ohio, pointed to stars like Addison Rae, whose music career is increasingly being taken seriously, as evidence that content creators can translate beyond short social media clips.

The same can be said for him: Earlier this year, the influencer guest-starred on “Hacks” in his TV debut. He says the series, in which he made appearances as “Social Media Girlie” in the hit HBO Max comedy’s fourth season, “changed my life.”

“I just needed someone to give me a chance to be like, I can do this in front of a camera,” he tells USA TODAY ahead of the summit. “And although the role wasn’t the biggest role in the entire world, it still, I think, showed people that I could hold my own in a scripted television show, which is all I ever wanted.”

Shane also recently wrapped a weeklong stint in Portland filming the upcoming Graham Parkes-directed romantic comedy “Wishful Thinking,” which stars Lewis Pullman and Maya Hawke, calling the experience of getting to use his improv skills “incredible” and “perfect.” “I would like to do a lot more of that in my future,” he says.

As for his hit podcast – which has included appearances from his friends in between the biggest names in entertainment, including multiple appearances with his new pal Glen Powell as well as Charli XCX and Joe Jonas – Shane is bagging bigger guests than ever. This summer, “Therapuss” featured episodes with Selena Gomez and Lorde, both “pinch me” moments for him.

“It made me take a step back and be like, ‘OK, I can’t believe this is happening,'” he says, before hinting at one of his biggest guests ever in honor of the podcast’s 100th episode.

Shane also wrapped his 36-city tour in July, his second nationwide trek, including a stop at Radio City. The tour allowed him to connect with his audience and treat fans to a bit more off-the-cuff, standup-heavy performance. The podcaster has had to get comfortable in the live setting, but the experience was affirming. “I learned that I think I should trust myself more in longform settings, and I can do things live.”

Jake Shane’s popularity skyrocketed overnight. So did his anxiety.

Despite everything going on, Shane is the same content creator, finding jokes in the most random thoughts, reacting to dream guest Taylor Swift or riffing on faux-historical events. “I love pop music. I love television, I love movies,” he says. “I continue to consume media, the way I always have. And that’s really where I get all my inspiration from. I consume media and kind of blend it up like a smoothie and regurgitate it.”

On the road to accumulating a massive TikTok following overnight and launching a successful podcast, Shane – who has both anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder – has also been open about how the newfound attention has affected his mental health.

He told USA TODAY in August 2024 that “the bigger the podcast gets, the more out of control of my narrative I feel,” citing anxious and obsessive thoughts. “It’s frustrating because there will be really, really good things that happen, and I’m so scared of basking in the good moment or being happy, because I’m just so scared of it going away.”

These days, Shane is taking more control over his mental health, including keeping up with his medication, working out and making slight tweaks to his diet.

“If I heard this, I’d be like, ‘Shut the (expletive) up,’ but eating a little bit healthier is lowkey good for my mental health,” Shane says. “I’m not kidding.

“I swear it’s the clean eating!” he continues, including cutting out dairy. “And just surrounding myself with people that love me.”