CABLE | Netflix Throws Back to 'Everybody's Live with John Mulaney'

"Like the measels, he's back in a big way!"

Sunset Gower Studios

Clipboard-carrying stand-up comedian John Mulaney's highly chaotic but wildly entertaining late night show is back. Everybody's Live with John Mulaney, his follow-up to the bizarrely amusing Everybody's in L.A. streaming experiment, originally a tie-in to the 2024 Netflix is a Joke Festival, started its twelve-week run live on Wednesday nights. Mulaney promised more of the same discomforting type of offbeat fun and, so far, has delivered.

Inspired by the looseness and anything-can-happen sensibilities of cable or public access television, Mulaney's Los Angeles-based, self-described "jazz-like unpredictable talk show" has a naturalistic production cycle that makes it nearly impossible to get into a groove or master the format like a more typically hosted variety series. His carefree mix of celebrity guests, expert contributors, produced comedy sketches, random viewer call-ins, banter with sidekick/announcer Richard Kind, and silly niche topical segments add to the element of danger sorely missing from most of our current television and streaming landscape.

What's so appealing about Everybody's Live and Mulaney's comedic subversion is the stubborn commitment to its self-amusing nature and the novelty of the whole thing, especially when compared to other safer hour-long late night programs hosted by veteran entertainers. As long as Mulaney continues to commit to the straightforward strangeness of his deadpan broadcast instincts, the matter-of-fact nature of the live television experiment will continue to feel fresh and must-watch programming.

Everybody's Live with John Mulaney's twelve-episode season is available to stream weekly on Netflix.


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