Why Nate Bargatze HAD to film his ‘The Greatest Average American’ game show in Nashville

With his signature dry wit and “clean” humor, comedian Nate Bargatze is stepping into the game show spotlight with “The Greatest Average American,” premiering Wednesday, Feb. 25, on ABC and streaming on Hulu. The concept is as relatable as it sounds.

“I travel all over the country,” Bargatze told PauseRewind’s entertainment reporter Courtney Tezeno. “I would jokingly always call myself ‘the greatest average American,’ that I know all the average American things. And so I wanted to make a game show that kind of celebrates that it’s fun, it’s silly, it’s weird little questions that you wonder.”

The show grew from a bit in his stand-up into a full-fledged competition series. With the help of executive producer John Quinn, Bargatze brought the idea to life. “I kind of came up with the idea, and then got paired up with John Quinn, who actually knows how to make the game So then we created it, and yeah, I’m excited for it to come out.”

Competitors have a chance to win a grand prize of $67,920, which is the average American salary. That number could change each season as the economy fluctuates.

“It should be going up. So you hope it goes up,” Bargatze said. “Everybody’s going to know the average American salary. So you hopefully will get to see that go up, and we will go up with it.”

Unlike many hosts, Bargatze doesn’t just stand on the sidelines. He jumps into the challenges himself without knowing what’s coming.

“I don’t know what the challenge is before we go in,” he shared. “I was like, I’d rather just go in and not know. Don’t tell me what it is I need my natural reaction. So if my first answer is probably going to be the dumb one, let it be the dumb one.”

The 46-year-old comedian says his favorite segment is a nostalgic parking lot test. “We put shopping carts into [the cart return station] you see if you can make it into the railing in the parking lot. And so that was one that I enjoyed. I was better at it than I thought.”

The show also leans into audience participation, including a final round built from pre-show audience responses. Bargatze hopes the game show experience becomes destination-worthy, much like the shows he grew up watching.

“It’s like when you see people want to go be on ‘Price Is Right” I like the idea of creating something that people want to be a part of,” he said. “If you get to come to the show, there’s a great chance you’re going to be shown on the show, and you play a big part in it.”

Bargatze also reflected on how his early days in stand-up shaped his perspective. “When I first started here in New York City, everybody’s kind of doing jokes essentially about New York City when you’re first starting. And so then you’re like, well, that’s not going to work in, you know, Columbus, Ohio,” he said. “Getting out of this element and going home, it kind of was a balance.”

That balance is part of why filming in his hometown, Nashville, was so important.

“I love Nashville I wanted to raise my daughter at home, around family,” he said. “This game show is a big reason. I wanted people to want to be on it and come see our city we’re a city that’s growing very fast, and we welcome you to come.”

Beyond the new show, Bargatze, dubbed the “nicest guy in comedy,” is hitting the road soon. For tour information and tickets, visit natebargatze.com. Fans can also look forward to his new book, “Big Dumb Eyes”, available here.