Much About Mulaney: Is He Television’s Newest Comedy Star?

Published by Interrobang Staff at October 3, 2014

With all the new television shows coming to TV this fall, it’s easy to miss out on something great among the clunkers and people you’ve never heard of. One you comedian who you may be more familiar with than you think is John Mulaney. Mulaney will star on the new FOX sitcom ‘Mulaney’ alongside fellow SNL alums Martin Short and Nasim Pedrad beginning Sunday night October 5. The show airs at 9:30 pm and there’s a lot of hype on all sides about whether Mulaney will be the next Seinfeld or if it’s all much ado about nothing. Before you watch the big premier this Sunday, use our guide to catch up on everything you need to know about John Mulaney.

1. Mulaney worked at Comedy Central as a Production Assistant

Not long after graduating from college, Mulaney moved to New York And got a job at Comedy Central working as a production assistant. He pitched them an idea for a show less than a year on the job that would parody the VH1 show ‘I love the 80s’ called ‘I love the 30s’ with friend Nick Kroll and other comedians.

2. One of Mulaney’s First TV Gigs Was for Best Week Ever

Ironically one of his first television gigs after this was working on VH1’s ‘Best Week Ever’ where he riffed on different pop-culture things that happened that week.

3. Mulaney was a Writer for Saturday Night Live

Mulaney auditioned for Saturday Night Live in 2008 and was given a call by Seth Meyers telling him he had been hired as a writer a week later. During his five-year stint on the show Mulaney helped create several memorable characters, including Bill Hader’s mega-hit Stefon (watch Stefon here), in which he would frequently change the lines between dress rehearsal and the actual show to try and get Hader to break character. He was also given the rare privilege to appear on weekend update as himself where he joked about several different topics similar to his stand up.

4. Mulaney Won an Emmy

John won a primetime Emmy along with Seth Meyers, Justin Timberlake and Katreese Barnes in 2011 for co-writing Justin Timberlake’s opening monologue song. Watch the acceptance speech here.

5. Mulaney Co-Created the Infamous Too Much Tuna Sketch

One of Mulaney’s frequent comedy partners is Nick Kroll who he worked with at VH1 and also auditioned with for Saturday Night Live. Together they created (and star as) the popular characters Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland which have appeared in several of the popular ‘Too Much Tuna’ sketches on Kroll’s Comedy Central show.

6. Mulaney is a Killer Stand-Up

Mulaney is considered one of the best young stand-ups working today and has honed his craft in several of New York’s most famous comedy clubs. His material and onstage demeanor has been compared to Jerry Seinfeld and led him to receiving his own Comedy Central special 2012. Many have praised him for his joke writing ability which ranges from light and family-friendly to complex and dark. Here’s one of his most popular bits on the popular NBC show ‘Law & Order: SVU’.

7. Mulaney Got Pulled From NBC

Due to his burgeoning standup career and work on Saturday Night Live, he was given his own NBC comedy pilot which was to be produced by SNLs Lorne Michaels. However, NBC pulled the plug after only one taping, effectively canceling the show.

8. Fox Saved Mulaney

FOX pulled the rare move of giving him a second chance on the pilot and hired SNL’s Nasim Pedrad and comedy legend Martin Short for a twenty-two episode season before a single episode aired. FOX is all in on Mulaney.

9. The Premise of Mulaney

The show will follow Mulaney in a semi-autobiographical role as a New York-based comedian in his 30’s working the stand up circuit. John’s character gets a gig working for a crazy game show host played by Martin Short.