If I had to choose one place in the entire world to receive “quality care from unqualified experts,” you better believe I would be sprinting to the set of Jake Shane’s podcast, Therapuss, in his Los Angeles backhouse.
Sure, we all discuss which celebrities we’d be friends with in real life, but to my core I believe that if you put Jake Shane and I in a room together, there would be magic. With 5 hours, a case of Poppi, and the unreleased Reputation (Taylor’s Version), I have no doubt that we could write the Gen Z reboot of his current favorite show, Girls.
It must first be established that I have been a Jake Shane fan from the very beginning — an honor I take quite seriously these days. As a testament to my love for his content, I was gifted a long lost sibling of Jake’s many octopus stuffed animals, who I named rather appropriately, Professor Puss.
I vividly remember following his account, @octopusslover8, when he only had 30,000 followers on TikTok. Now, he boasts over 2.8 million “pussies,” a name for his fan base that pays tribute to his humble beginnings on social media doing octopus reviews.
From sharing his love for octopuses, (especially the Jellycats), to ironically deranged and consistently hysterical TikTok skits and “nyming,” Jake Shane’s latest endeavor is his hit podcast, “Therapuss.” After the podcast’s debut back in January, Therapuss has maintained a steady spot on Spotify’s Top Comedy Podcast Chart and has featured several high-profile guests, including Tate McRae, Reneé Rapp, Harry Jowsey, and most recently, Josh Richards.
Jake’s podcast arrived like a comedic apparition descending from the misty haze of my podcast dry spell, and rescued me from the (self-inflicted and frequently depressing) confines of my Spotify Daylist. If you too want to save yourself from melancholy playlist overexposure, Therapuss is your saving grace. This podcast is so jaw-droppingly funny I cannot even begin to fathom how his recording team is able to keep it together behind the scenes. Kudos to them.
After a few words from Jake to open the podcast, he goes on to introduce his guest to the “pussies.” For some guests, Jake has done their introduction in a characteristic off-pitch singing style that he goes on to admit is “just for the straight guys” when questioned by Josh Richards.
Following their catch-up, Jake starts to get the laughs brewing with the first segment, “Therapissed,” in which he and his guests divulge what exactly is peeving them at the moment. A clear highlight of this segment was Reneé Rapp’s discussion of the mass media’s qualms about her ageism jokes. When Jake told her, “not to be toxic but I like live for when you get pissed off,” he said exactly what we were all thinking. And ever since, no guest has come even remotely close to dethroning Reneé as the rightful queen of Therapissed.
Jake then swiftly transitions the guest, and the audience, right into the “Tell Me What’s Wrong” segment, a fan favorite, that spans the remainder of the episode. Essentially, the “pussies” write in to share their various predicaments, some of which are so absurd that it’s hard to believe they’re even real. In return, Jake “pusscribes” them a remedy — a “pusscription” if you will.
The best part about Jake’s pusscriptions is that there is absolutely no method to his madness other than the fact that every single one is so bizarrely niche that you wonder how he possibly comes up with these on the spot. One of my favorites was, and I quote: “a smear campaign and 90210.”
Oftentimes, the guests will collaborate with Jake in order to conjure up a pusscription, or they decide to create their own entirely, which happened most notably in Harry Jowsey’s episode. In response to a “Tell Me What’s Wrong” prompt about an STI debacle, Harry recommended swift legal action, while in a comically divergent course of treatment, Jake decided to recommend Episode 3 of Girls when Hannah discovers she has contracted HPV.
The entire time that I listen to this podcast, I can’t help but think to myself, “I mean, you just can’t make this stuff up.” And folks, that’s just the thing: Jake Shane can, and he will.
Even though Jake said, “the only God I worship is Taylor Swift,” I think he must have experienced some form of divine intervention that rendered him a comedic genius. And even with his omnipotent humor, he continues to be the realest of the real. By never watering down his charmingly quirky personality, he is able to extract the same unabashed and just plain silly energy out of his guests, which has really made the show a brilliant success.
On that note, don’t forget to tell Jake what’s wrong on passthatpuss.com, because we all know that everyone needs a “Therapuss!” Tents up!