John Mulaney officially returned to late night this week. After debuting “Everybody’s in LA” during Netflix’s comedy festival last year, the comedian debuted the first installment of his new 12-episode show on Wednesday night.
If you enjoyed “Everybody’s in LA,” it’s safe to say that you’ll like “Everybody’s Live.” Everything from Richard Kind serving as Mulaney’s righthand man to the set and Saymo the robot are back. The show even utilizes its guests in the same way, combining celebrities with industry experts for a free-wheeling conversation. Maybe it’s because of the fourth-wall-breaking clipboard in his hands, but “Everybody’s Live” does feel like a more self-assured version of its predecessor.
Here’s what Mulaney’s new show took from its predecessor and what it will likely continue to explore in the weeks to come.
“Everybody’s Live” is fully embracing Netflix’s lack of ratings
John Mulaney is far from the first late night host to get a bit vulgar. After all, John Oliver drops f-bombs weekly, and the streamer gave shows to Michelle Wolfe, Chelsea Handler and Norm Macdonald before him. But from the jump, Episode 1 of “Everybody’s Live” made it clear that this isn’t a regular talk show. After explaining last year’s “Everybody’s in LA,” Mulaney said that his “live, jazz-like, unpredictable talk show” is back.
“I can’t do coke or adderall anymore, so I’m making it your problem. Will this show get my heart rate up to the level where I feel alive? We shall see,” he joked.
During his opening monologue, Mulaney also told a story about his wife Olivia Munn that used the word “p—y” in its punchline and called his wife a “sweet, wonderful dumbness” for the mistakes she made due to cancer treatment brain fog. So it feels safe to assume that “Everybody’s Live” will be a bit bluer than “The Tonight Show.”
Prepare for more jokes about murder
Mulaney’s first episode included not one, not two, not three, but FOUR murders via lamp. Tracy Morgan also appeared on the show as King Latifah and ended his segment by “dying.” That’s a lot of death for a comedy show! But if you’re familiar with Mulaney’s standup, which covers topics like how easy it was to murder people before DNA and retired cops who yell “Street Smarts,” it feels like the right amount of death.
Mulaney is encouraging his guests to say exactly what’s on their minds
Technically, any guest who appears on a late night show can say anything they want. That’s live television, baby. But there’s an unspoken rule that guests use their time to tell a couple of charming stories and promote their latest project. However, Joan Baez began her interview by confirming with Mulaney that she can really say anything.
“Oh yeah, 100%,” Mulaney said.
“We’re all here to be silly and have fun as long as you recognize the fact that our democracy is going up in flames and we’re being run by a bunch of really incompetent billionaires,” Baez said, contextualizing her appearance. “That being said, ask me anything you want.”
Mulaney thanked Baez for saying what she did and encouraged his other guests to say whatever they wanted. He then immediately asked her what Martin Luther King Jr.’s sense of humor was. As silly as the exchange was, it continued the sense of bizarre honesty that characterized Mulaney’s first Netflix show.
The call-in segment seems to be working better than before
The call-in part of “Everybody’s in LA” was always a highlight. But, because the show only aired six episodes that weren’t widely promoted, most of those call-ins either felt scattered or were from celebrities pretending to be regular people. Celebrity cameos will likely continue in the weeks to come, but at least in this first episode, the calls felt better integrated into the show.
This isn’t to say that Mulaney is an especially kind listener. The comedian asked people to call in about their experiences lending people money. Personal finance columnist Jessica Roy and Fred Armisen gave some good advice to callers, whose problems ranged from lying about a loan to deciding whether they should lend money to a sibling. But the tone of the panel’s advice was more tough love than sugarcoated. For example, Mulaney all but scoffed at a caller’s computer-based fitness training program, and he was visibly confused when someone said their experience lending money to a stranger impacted whether they should lend money to his mom. This is all to say that viewer call-ins make for excellent comedy and pretty odd advice.
“Everybody’s Live” is still staying niche
Typically, late night show includes an attention-grabbing segment designed to appeal to as broad an audience as possible. Think James Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke” or Seth Meyers’ day drinking adventures.
Compared to his peers’, Mulaney’s pretaped segment was as weird as it gets. His first episode featured sketch that included around 10 actors answering questions in character as Willy Loman from “Death of a Salesman.” It’s the sort of bit that seems like it was designed for Mulaney and maybe five of his friends, not a global show from the biggest streamer on the planet. That being said, this intense degree of specificity is what originally gave “Everybody’s in LA” its charm.
So did the “Death of a Salesman” bit not work comedically? Or did work because it amused Mulaney? If something doesn’t work, does that conversely mean it works when you’re talking about late night deconstruction like this one? Who’s to say? But it does feel safe to note that “Everybody’s Live” is going to keep being weird.
New episodes of “Everybody’s Live” premiere on Netflix Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET.
