# Jonah Ray
**Jonah Ray** (birth name Jonah Ray Rodrigues) is an American actor, comedian, and writer born in 1982 in Honolulu, Hawaii, best known as the host of the Netflix revival of *Mystery Science Theater 3000* and as co-host of the Nerdist Podcast and the [Comedy Central](https://www.edgepedia.org/comedy-central) series *The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jonah-ray/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jonah_ray)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1982, Honolulu, Hawaii, as Jonah Ray Rodrigues; raised on Oahu[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jonah-ray/) |
| Breakthrough platform | Co-host of the Nerdist Podcast with Chris Hardwick, launched in 2010[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jonah_ray) |
| Own TV series | *The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail*, Comedy Central, 2014–2016, three seasons, co-hosted with Kumail Nanjiani[3](https://standupedia.com/en/comedians/united-states/jonah-ray) |
| MST3K role | Host of the Netflix revival (2017–2022) as Jonah Heston, the show's third human host[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-mystery-science-theater-3000-review-20170413-story.html) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2370462) |
| Stand-up records | *This is Crazy Mixed-up Plumbing* (2006, 7-inch) and *Hello, Mr. Magic Plane Person, Hello* (2012)[6](https://www.dead-frog.com/comedians/comic/jonah-ray) |
| Other hosting | *Hidden America with Jonah Ray*, a travel show parody on Seeso, 2016–2017[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/hidden_america_with_jonah_ray) |
## Early life and start in comedy
Ray was born in Honolulu and raised on the island of Oahu, where he played in local bands before relocating to Los Angeles.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jonah-ray/) He has said he moved to Los Angeles from Hawaii in 2001 and started doing comedy there in 2002, beginning with open mics.[8](https://observer.com/2017/05/jonah-ray-interview-hidden-america-mystery-science-theater-3000-seeso/) He initially continued pursuing music before shifting his focus to writing and performing comedy.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jonah-ray/)
His first break came as a writer's assistant on *The Andy Milonakis Show* (MTV, 2005–07), where he worked his way up to contributing writer, leading to writing jobs on *The Rotten Tomatoes Show* and *SuperNews!* on Current TV.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jonah-ray/) He performed stand-up and sketch at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles and made appearances on shows including *Human Giant*, *The League*, *Drunk History*, and *Maron*.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jonah_ray) • [9](https://www.laughfactory.com/comedians/bio/JonahRay) He also wrote for *The Soup* on E! beginning in 2012.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jonah_ray)
## Podcasts and The Meltdown
Ray's widest exposure came through the Nerdist Podcast, a weekly interview show devoted to genre entertainment that he co-hosted as sidekick to [Chris Hardwick](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-hardwick), alongside Matt Mira. Launched in 2010, it grew into one of the internet's most popular podcasts and spawned a network of related podcasts and television projects.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jonah_ray) In 2012 he launched his own music podcast, Jonah Raydio, which leaned on guests from independent music such as Man Man and [Har Mar Superstar](https://www.edgepedia.org/har-mar-superstar).[3](https://standupedia.com/en/comedians/united-states/jonah-ray)
**The Meltdown.** With his frequent stand-up partner [Kumail Nanjiani](https://www.edgepedia.org/kumail-nanjiani), Ray ran a weekly comedy showcase in the back of Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles, a former stockroom with little advertising beyond a chalk sandwich board. The two had hosted the live show for about four years before Comedy Central turned it into a television series in 2014.[10](https://www.thewrap.com/kumail-nanjiani-jonah-ray-meltdown-comedy-central-silicon-valley/) The TV version kept the live format, with Ray and Nanjiani telling jokes and talking to the audience followed by short stand-up sets, while cameras followed the comics backstage; Nanjiani's wife [Emily V. Gordon](https://www.edgepedia.org/emily-v-gordon) produced both the live show and the series.[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2014/07/30/jonah-ray-and-kumail-nanjiani-crafted-the-meltdown-from-their-live-show/) • [10](https://www.thewrap.com/kumail-nanjiani-jonah-ray-meltdown-comedy-central-silicon-valley/) The show ran for three seasons, from 2014 to 2016.[3](https://standupedia.com/en/comedians/united-states/jonah-ray)
## Mystery Science Theater 3000
In November 2015, *Mystery Science Theater 3000* creator [Joel Hodgson](https://www.edgepedia.org/joel-hodgson) announced that Ray would be the new host of a rebooted version of the series.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jonah_ray) Hodgson and Ray had met when Hodgson appeared as a guest on the Nerdist Podcast and became friends; when the hosting job became available, Hodgson offered it to him.[12](https://www.thewrap.com/jonah-ray-mystery-science-theater-3000-mst3k/) Ray has described the role as a lifelong dream, saying that *MST3K* was one of the reasons he went into comedy.[12](https://www.thewrap.com/jonah-ray-mystery-science-theater-3000-mst3k/)
The revival was funded by a 2015 [Kickstarter](https://www.edgepedia.org/kickstarter) campaign that drew roughly 50,000 backers and raised enough to produce a full fourteen-episode season, which premiered on Netflix on April 14, 2017 as season 11.[13](https://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/joel_hodgson_and_jonah_ray_on_bringing_back_mystery_science_theater_3000/) Ray plays Jonah Heston, a well-intentioned Gizmonic Institute employee forced to watch bad movies aboard the Satellite of Love alongside the robots Crow and Tom Servo, now voiced by Hampton Yount and [Baron Vaughn](https://www.edgepedia.org/baron-vaughn), with [Felicia Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/felicia-day) and Patton Oswalt as the new mad scientists.[14](https://www.wired.com/2017/04/netflix-mst3k-review/) Ray is the series' third human host, after Hodgson and Mike Nelson.[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-mystery-science-theater-3000-review-20170413-story.html) The production kept the original's deliberately low-budget look, with obvious puppets and a rickety set, though Ray's jumpsuit is yellow rather than the red or green worn by earlier hosts.[12](https://www.thewrap.com/jonah-ray-mystery-science-theater-3000-mst3k/)
Ray remained with the show through its run on Netflix from 2017 to 2022, playing Jonah Heston across 29 episodes, and also served as a writer and director on the series.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2370462) • [15](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jonah-ray/credits/3030525594/) In a 2024 interview he discussed hosting the annual Turkey Day marathon event on Shout! TV, featuring guests including [David Dastmalchian](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-dastmalchian), Mike Flanagan, Mark Hamill, and Kumail Nanjiani.[16](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/interview-mystery-science-theater-3000-195921118.html)
## Stand-up and other work
Ray's recorded stand-up began with *This is Crazy Mixed-up Plumbing*, a seven-inch record on Aspecialthing Records released in 2006, followed by the album *Hello, Mr. Magic Plane Person, Hello* in 2012.[3](https://standupedia.com/en/comedians/united-states/jonah-ray) • [6](https://www.dead-frog.com/comedians/comic/jonah-ray) He appeared in the 2013 Comedy Central stand-up showcase *Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents: Jonah Ray*, an alt-comedy set about breakups and heavy metal drummers.[17](https://brickwallcomedy.com/comedians/jonah-ray) In 2014 he launched his own record label, Literally Figurative Records, intended to produce comedy and music hybrid albums.[6](https://www.dead-frog.com/comedians/comic/jonah-ray)
On television, he hosted *Hidden America with Jonah Ray*, a travel show parody on the Seeso streaming service in which he explored real U.S. cities while not all of the characters he met were real; it ran for two seasons from 2016.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/hidden_america_with_jonah_ray) His acting credits include the films *[Satanic Hispanics](https://www.edgepedia.org/satanic-hispanics)* (2022), *Christmas Bloody Christmas* (2022), *Suitable Flesh* (2023), and *Destroy All Neighbors* (2024), in which he starred as a prog-rocker whose pursuit of a musical dream leads to bloody catastrophe, as well as a recurring role as Tyler on FX's *Better Things* and a turn as "Jonah Barf" in *Weird: The Al Yankovic Story* (2022).[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2370462) • [18](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/interview-alex-winter-jonah-ray-221000782.html)
## References
1. [Jonah Ray – Actor, Comedian, Writer, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jonah-ray/)
2. [Jonah Ray – Movies & TV Shows, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jonah_ray)
3. [Jonah Ray – Stand-up Comedian, Standupedia](https://standupedia.com/en/comedians/united-states/jonah-ray)
4. [Review: 'Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return' is still a scrappy delight, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-mystery-science-theater-3000-review-20170413-story.html)
5. [Jonah Ray – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2370462)
6. [Jonah Ray – Stand-Up Comedy Database, Dead-Frog](https://www.dead-frog.com/comedians/comic/jonah-ray)
7. [Hidden America With Jonah Ray, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/hidden_america_with_jonah_ray)
8. [The Face of Success: Jonah Ray on 'Mystery Science Theater 3000' and 'Hidden America', Observer](https://observer.com/2017/05/jonah-ray-interview-hidden-america-mystery-science-theater-3000-seeso/)
9. [Jonah Ray bio, Laugh Factory](https://www.laughfactory.com/comedians/bio/JonahRay)
10. [How 'Silicon Valley' and Nerdist Stars Brought Their Stand-Up Show From a Comic Shop to Comedy Central, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/kumail-nanjiani-jonah-ray-meltdown-comedy-central-silicon-valley/)
11. [Jonah Ray and Kumail Nanjiani crafted 'The Meltdown' from their live show, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2014/07/30/jonah-ray-and-kumail-nanjiani-crafted-the-meltdown-from-their-live-show/)
12. [New 'MST3K' Host Jonah Ray 'Teared Up' After First Time on Set, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/jonah-ray-mystery-science-theater-3000-mst3k/)
13. [Joel Hodgson and Jonah Ray on Bringing Back "Mystery Science Theater 3000", Under the Radar](https://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/joel_hodgson_and_jonah_ray_on_bringing_back_mystery_science_theater_3000/)
14. [Fear Not, Superfans: Netflix's 'Mystery Science Theater 3000' Reboot Nails It, WIRED](https://www.wired.com/2017/04/netflix-mst3k-review/)
15. [Jonah Ray List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jonah-ray/credits/3030525594/)
16. [Interview: Mystery Science Theater 3000's Jonah Ray on Turkey Day Event, Future of the Show, ComingSoon via Yahoo](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/interview-mystery-science-theater-3000-195921118.html)
17. [Jonah Ray – Stand-Up Specials, Brick Wall Comedy](https://brickwallcomedy.com/comedians/jonah-ray)
18. [Interview: Alex Winter, Jonah Ray Rodrigues, and Josh Forbes Talk Destroy All Neighbors, Yahoo Entertainment](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/interview-alex-winter-jonah-ray-221000782.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Stand-up comedy and comedians › American stand-up comedians, contemporary › Stand-up comedians born 1980 onward › Surnames N to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license