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Spoiler alert: Details follow for Season 7, Episode 4 of “Game Changer,” which premiered May 19 on Dropout.
There’s no such thing as a typical episode of “Game Changer.”
However, in Season 7, Episode 4 — aptly titled “Crowd Control” — the chaos wasn’t just allowed; it was actively summoned. Filmed for the first time in front of a live studio audience, the Dropout original didn’t merely break the fourth wall — it obliterated it, interviewed it, and then asked if it regretted its neck tattoo.
Hosted by Dropout CEO Sam Reich, the episode opens in stark black-and-white with an ominous jazz drumbeat, evoking a Birdman-esque aesthetic that signals to longtime fans: this is not your standard studio taping. The mood quickly shifts as Reich introduces the episode’s contestants — stand-up comedians Jeff Acuri, Gianmarco Soresi and Josh Johnson — all visibly bracing for the unpredictable storm ahead.
Ask Me About My…
This week’s challenge is deceptively simple: crowd work, but with a sinister twist.
Many of the audience members wear a white T-shirt with a cryptic phrase — “Ask me about my phobia,” “Ask me about my accident,” “Ask me about my love life” — turning the room into a conversational minefield. Contestants must engage, riff, and entertain, ideally without spiraling into trauma. Spoiler: they spiral.
Acuri kicks things off, chatting with a heavily tattooed audience member grieving a “Joanne” tattoo dedicated to an ex, and later interviewing a woman who married her college music professor, a story that veers from eyebrow-raising to strangely sweet when her much older husband is revealed to be sitting beside her.
Soresi wades directly into the deep end: a Satanic witch who “works with Lucifer,” a birthday celebrant who believes they’re cursed, and an ABDL community member (Adult Baby Diaper Lover). “So, you poop in the diaper?” Soresi recoils. “There’s a split in the community,” the audience member responds, deadpan.
Meanwhile, Johnson quietly becomes the episode’s MVP, blending empathy with dry wit. He chats with a man afraid of feet (a phobia born of a karate class toenail injury), a former cocaine addict with unexpectedly killer punchlines, and a woman whose stepmother once tried to poison her father — who then married the doctor who diagnosed him. Because apparently that’s how love works in the Dropout Cinematic Universe.
A Battle of Wits, Trauma and Titanium Plates
By the halfway mark, the game evolves. Enter the “red flag”-shirt portion of the crowd. More bizarre, intense, and even more unpredictable.
Among the standouts: a paleontologist who’s never seen “Friends” (prompting Reich to deduct points from Soresi for a poorly timed Matthew Perry joke), a magician that gets rejected faster than the kid who eats boogers in the class, a woman with a magnet implanted in her hand (the “surgeon” was her brother), and a woman who survived an encounter with the National Forest Killer. Also in the mix: a man with a titanium plate in his skull and another who (unknowningly) broke his neck in a snowmobile accident — the same spinal fracture that paralyzed Christopher Reeve. “You know I’m stronger than Superman, right?” Soresi quips. Too soon? Probably. Still funny? Also yes — though Reich is liberal with point deductions throughout.
Additional encounters include a person whose childhood was interrupted by a snake turned into a fire hazard, whose pants once literally caught fire. (“I wonder if you’re lying,” Soresi says, not missing the opportunity for a pun.) The Dad-joke earns him a rare point bonus from Reich. Let’s not forget the attendee who was raised in a doomsday cult because that’s the world we inhabit.
Yet for all its absurdity, “Crowd Control” finds genuine human connection. Johnson, best known for his stints on “The Daily Show,” listens with compassion, giving the chaos room to breathe. Soresi plays the heel, sure, but leans into the role with surprising pathos. Acuri, a quick study in comedic crowd navigation, keeps pace with both.
Show of Hands Showdown
In the final mini-game, the contestants must estimate how many audience members will raise their hands in response to a specific prompt.
Johnson nails his ask — “Raise your hand if you drove here today” — with a perfect 90% hit. When trying to get a smaller percentage of the crowd, Soresi misfires by asking how many people had never played Dungeons & Dragons… in a room full of Dropout fans. Rookie mistake.
Still, Soresi roars back in the final round, edging out Johnson by a single point — 19 to 18 — with Acuri close behind at 15. His prize is the comedy club special — two drink tickets, valid for beer but not hard liquor.
Final Thoughts
“Crowd Control” is a gutsy, and fun romp. While most game shows traffic in trivia and timers, “Game Changer” thrives on discomfort, honesty and improvisational brilliance. This episode, with its live-audience chaos, pushes that formula into thrilling new territory: part therapy session, part stand-up set, part fever dream.
And somehow, it all works.
Reich signs off with a knowing wink — “A stranger is just someone you haven’t turned into content yet.”
Winner: Gianmarco Soresi
Most Valuable Conversationalist: Josh Johnson
Most Deserving of a Hug and Discount on His Upcoming Wedding: Jeff Acuri
Moment That Will Live in Infamy: “There’s a split in the diaper community.”
New episodes drop biweekly. Drink tickets not included.
A new episode of “Game Changer” is released every other Monday at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on the streaming platform Dropout.
English (US) ·