A Production Assistant’s Inspiring Role in This Week’s Game Changer Highlights the Power of Facing Fears

Every episode of Game Changer delivers a winner, typically determined by points or by tackling one of host Sam Reich’s deviously crafted challenges. However, this week’s episode showcased a standout who wasn’t even meant to be in the game. She was unexpectedly thrust into the limelight by her employer, forced to perform in front of an audience that likely numbers in the hundreds of thousands, all while sharing the stage with some of the internet’s funniest personalities. Despite the palpable terror she exuded, it was clear she outshone them all, and I felt her anxiety from my couch, hundreds of miles away.

Let’s give a shoutout to production assistant and comedian Kaylin Mahoney.

Each episode of Game Changer is a hit, consistently elevating its quality, scale, and ambition. The eighth season has been the best yet, and this latest episode was no exception. The concept is straightforward: three contestants arrive to play a game they’ve never encountered before, learning the rules on the fly under the guidance of the host and his team, who can be both gentle and hilariously wicked.

This week, I was thrilled to see familiar faces like Brennan Lee Mulligan, Josh Rueben, and comedian Zac Oyama. Their chemistry usually guarantees a show filled with absurd sound effects and lengthy rants about capitalism’s pitfalls. But this time, there was a twist. Instead of Reich giving prompts to the trio—affectionately dubbed the Noise Boys—he introduced new groups of contestants, transforming the episode into an intricate game of telephone that would make even Christopher Nolan raise an eyebrow.

With all that chaos, the humor was off the charts. I have a rule in my house that my husband and I can’t watch Game Changer while eating because we laugh so hard we risk choking. But because Sam Reich is a master of mischief, he added one final twist by bringing in production assistant Kaylin Mahoney. The sheer fear in her eyes when Sam announced she would be the game’s fourth contestant is a look I know all too well. It’s the expression of an introvert suddenly forced into the spotlight, with cameras rolling. How she didn’t bolt or implode right then and there is beyond me.

Typically, when someone excels after being thrust into the spotlight without warning, it’s because they mask their fear and tap into some hidden strength. What made Mahoney so remarkable and inspiring was that her terror was visible every step of the way. There’s a moment when she collapses in a phone booth, overwhelmed by the pressure to accurately convey a drawing to another contestant. At another point, she mugs for the camera, her eyes wide with panic, fully aware her answer might be wrong but feeling powerless to change it.

Yet, she pressed on, embodying a life lesson I strive to follow, especially in the gaming journalism world: “Do it scared.” And she did just that. There’s a moment in the show that, thanks to her incredible sportsmanship, had me and the cast cheering.

Kaylin Mahoney is my anxiety hero. She tackled the challenge head-on and left no crumbs behind, though she might have nervously expelled them later.