Jay Pharoah Talks FOX’s ‘The Quiz with Balls’ & Does Impressions with Rich

Jay Pharoah's grandmother loves 'Quiz with Balls.' She tells him so, in church-ready volume, every chance she gets. 'Baby, I love the show with the balls,' he recounted, doing the voice. 'I was like, that's kind of weird me hearing you say balls, but I'm glad you like it.'

The comedian and impressionist returned to the show Wednesday to promote the FOX game show, which airs Mondays at 9 p.m. Eastern. The premise is a quiz format with consequences involving water and round objects. Season three is in progress. The format has expanded beyond family teams, Pharoah said, which opened the door for the obvious pitch. He wants Rich and his crew on. He also wants Stephen A. Smith on. He wants the Dan Patrick Show back on for a rematch after Rich's team got, in his words, 'wiped out' on a Family Feud crossover. 'Quiz with Balls season four,' Pharoah said. 'Let's go. Somebody's going to go in the water.'

Before the segment turned into a parade of impressions, the Lakers came up. Pharoah, a Knicks fan first and a LeBron James appreciator second, said the father-son storyline with Bronny James is the reason he is rooting for Los Angeles. 'It's historic and monumental, something that's never been done with a son and a father being playing together in the playoffs.' He praised LeBron's longevity, his body chemistry of choice, and his manners. 'Every time I see this dude, no matter where he's at, he always comes up and he says, what's up, what's up Jay?'

Then the impressions started, and Rich set them up rapid fire. Kevin Hart on the upcoming roast: 'There's nothing that you can say to me that I haven't said to myself in the mirror. Somebody told me my blood type was munchkin. I said, okay, fair, cool.' Dwayne Johnson: 'When The Rock is trying to pick out a hamster, he's trying to figure out which one he should pick. This one, that one, or he can just go with the old one, Kevin Hart.'

Stephen A. Smith on National Coconut Cream Pie Day: 'Coconut cream pie is not as good as lemon meringue. Lemon meringue pie is the best.' Then a digression into Stephen A.'s grandmother and her baking. 'A black woman does not just put her soul into the food. She puts her whole foot in it like OnlyFans.'

Jason Statham on flopping: 'The worst flop I've ever seen came from Shaq years ago. He fell on the floor, and he did this. I said, you know, that's a guy right there who's an actor.' Rich offered the obvious follow-up. 'I would think Shaq's biggest flop was Kazaam.'

Pharoah closed with a music plug. His project 'The Odyssey' drops June 12. The next single, 'The Man,' arrives May 15. Tour dates are at jaypharoahworld.com. Then he made Rich say the name of the show one more time, for the road. 'Quiz with Balls,' Rich obliged. Pharoah was satisfied.