One of the rarely used concepts in television sitcoms is that of a stand-up comedian playing himself while replaying certain portions of life. Seinfeld was the most popular and successful version of this concept, but this show ran from 1989 to 1998. Now, Fox is trying to create a modern day version of Seinfeld with the show Mulaney, created by stand-up comic John Mulaney and Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels. John Mulaney and Lorne Michaels have history of successfully working together on Saturday Night Live, so the potential for greatness is there. Does Mulaney do enough to break away from simply being a standard copy of Seinfeld?
Mulaney revolves around the life of stand-up comedian John Mulaney, who is played by stand-up comedian John Mulaney. In this fictionalized version of his life, John is a struggling comedian who is simply trying to get his dream job of writing for a big network show. This job comes when popular comedian and game show host Lou Cannon, played by Martin Short, decides to hire John as his show’s head writer. Unfortunately, Cannon is an egotistical nightmare who makes John’s life a living hell, which is where the show’s pilot episode places its focus.
Lou Cannon is the stereotypical celebrity host who is only focused on making money and proving that he is still relevant. Unfortunately, John has to deal with Lou’s craziness as he attempts to create jokes for Lou’s game show. None of these jokes go anywhere because Lou keeps canceling John’s live appearances while focusing more on his own ego. This character would be weird, but Martin Short plays him to perfection. Short combines multiple characters from his career to create a self-obsessed, douche that only cares about money, and it’s great.
Mulaney’s pilot episode also focuses on introducing the show’s recurring side characters that try to help or destroy John’s dream of being a big-time writer. John has two roommates, Motif and Jane, who are the main side characters in Mulaney. Motif is a stand-up comedian like John, but he is still trying to find his voice—as evidenced by a plotline involving the catchphrase “Problem Bitch”. Jane is an old friend who went to college with John, but her shtick is being a crazy ex-girlfriend of an unknown character. Most of Jane’s time during the pilot episode is spent breaking into email accounts, screaming at random times, and ripping flowers out of her ex-boyfriend’s planter.
Motif is one of the more entertaining characters of Mulaney, based mostly on various attempts to become a stand-up comic. Jane, on the other hand, is actually pretty irritating. Her character is specifically focused on being insane, which is fine, but Jane isn’t funny. All of Jane’s scenes involve her screaming at something or making subpar attempts at various jokes. Thankfully, Jane was in fewer scenes than Motif and Lou Cannon, despite her role as a main character.
The other two side characters of Mulaney are Andre, an irritating drug dealer, and Oscar, a retired gay man who serves as Yoda to John. Andre doesn’t seem to serve any real purpose besides irritating John and his roommates, but he could serve a different role as the season progresses. Elliott Gould, on the other hand, plays Oscar beautifully. John seems to gravitate towards Oscar anytime that he is in need of some important advice. In addition, Oscar also fits the description that John provides during one of his comedy bits about being a retired gay man. Actually, the connection to John’s stand-up comedy is one of the stranger aspects of Mulaney.
Like Seinfeld, each episode of Mulaney starts with a stand-up comedy bit while others are mixed in throughout. This setup works well with the theme of a struggling stand-up comedian, but it’s very random at times. Certain scenes place John in a various location like a doctor’s office while he quotes his routines. These comedy bits are great if you are new to John’s comedy, but anyone who has listened to John’s albums will know all of the punchlines before they happen.
As a pilot episode, Mulaney wasn’t too shabby. The jokes were fairly standard, but John Mulaney does a good job of creating humor. The side characters aren’t fantastic, but Martin Short and Elliott Gould are fantastic in their roles of egotist and laid back Yoda figure. Additionally, Motif has the potential to be a hilarious character. Hopefully, the later episodes of Mulaney will feature more varied jokes and writing, because recreating old comedy bits won’t last very long.
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