John Mulaney Is Bringing His Sack Lunch to Comedy Central

at
Share This Post

The great W.C. Fields once gave a warning to other entertainers to “never work with children or animals”. Decades later, John Mulaney refuses to take that advice.

Comedy Central announced that Mulaney will be doing two more installments of his “John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch” musical-comedy special which featured a cast of 15 kids, for the comedy leader.

Mulaney’s original “Sack Lunch Bunch” special debuted last December on Netflix to rave reviews. It boasted a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It was John Mulaney’s latest hour for the streamer and featured several guest star cameos who played along with the child cast members in a variety of sketches and musical numbers. It’s currently available for streaming on Netflix.

Guest stars on “John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch” included Jake Gyllenhaal, Natasha Lyonne, the hilarious Richard Kind and David Byrne. The soundtrack featured hilarious songs like “Do You Wanna Play Restaurant?“, “Algebra Song!“, “Grandma’s Boyfriend Paul“, and “I Saw a White Lady Standing On The Street Just Sobbing (And I Think About It Once a Week).”

For John Mulaney, bringing the “Sack Lunch Bunch” to Comedy Central is a homecoming for him. Mulaney said, “I was an intern at Comedy Central when I was barely older than the kids in the ‘Sack Lunch Bunch.’” He added, “I wasn’t a very good intern, so I am psyched they hired me again. We are thrilled to bring these specials to Comedy Central: a place where I have had so many good times.”

Comedy Central is thrilled to have lured John Mulaney back from Netflix. Chris McCarthy, president of ViacomCBS Entertainment & Youth Brands said, “We couldn’t be more excited about John’s return to Comedy Central and hope this is just the beginning of a long-standing partnership.”

Mulaney will be executive producer for the two new Comedy Central specials with one “Sack Lunch Bunch” special having a holiday theme.

The inspiration for “John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch” was the children’s shows that Mulaney watched as a kid that featured large children’s casts, like “The Electric Company“, “Sesame Street“, and “The Great Space Coaster.”

“John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch” was written by Mulaney and Marika Sawyer and the musical numbers were composed by Eli Bolin. It was directed by Rhys Thomas. No word from Comedy Central on if John Mulaney will be reunited with this same team for the two new Comedy Central “Sack Lunch Bunch” specials.

Ernie Tripper
Ernie Tripper