REVIEW: ‘John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s In L.A.’ Swings Big

One of John Mulaney’s greatest strengths is his ability to surprise us. We see this in the off-kilter cadence of how a joke lands or the length of a joke to get to a certain point. His reverence for specificity, presenting speeches at the Oscars or hosting the Governors Awards, and writing for Bill Hader on SNL is evident. His Netflix special, John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch, reveals his peculiarities. His taste shines through in guest appearances in Season 2 of The Bear and Documentary Now! We shouldn’t be surprised by the avant-garde nature of John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s In L.A. Still, he catches us off guard.

Airing over a week, John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s In L.A. has the comedian giving his best shot as a talk show host. And, for the most part, he succeeds, though it all comes with his specific brand of peculiarity. The six installments include explorations of Los Angeles during a week when many comedians flock to the city. Segments range from dissecting the origin of palm trees to interviews with celebrity guests from Bill Hader to Jon Stewart, as well as local experts. Musical guests St. Vincent, Joyce Manor, Weezer, and more also make special appearances.

Peppered throughout the talk show miniseries are breaks in the live portions for pre-taped sketches. These are even more tailored to a particular taste, as we see comedians duke it out over an L.A. open house and see the return of Mulaney and Nick Kroll’s Oh, Hello characters George and Gil. The sketches are funny, though, and break the pacing up of the live show. That said, the pacing is seemingly nonexistent. At one point, Stewart compares the show to a Banksy. It’s a living, moving art piece that is both hilarious and sparse, chaotic and subdued.

That last part speaks directly to Mulaney’s sensibilities, makes the series worthwhile, and indicates what type of talk show Mulaney would like to run. And if this is Netflix’s way of testing the waters, then hopefully, the comedian passes because there’s nothing quite like it on television. His ruminations on the intricacies of L.A. culture speak directly to the town, and there’s no doubt that many references will go over many viewers’ heads (including this lifelong East Coaster.) But even that, too, is mined for comedy.

There are a lot of East Coasters who make their way to the stage of John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in L.A. Richard Kind, who acts as something of an announcer for the series, is constantly making asides about the nature of the city and how odd it is as a transplant. So even if the humor tailors itself around one area, there’s a universality to how they talk about it.

Honestly, some of the funniest bits are when Mulaney and co. hunker down to try and stick to the talk show format. From listener calls where the default question boils down to what type of car they drive to trying to keep the flow of an interview going, things quickly derail themselves. It’s why the entire feeling of the series leans more toward Comedy Bang Bang, and I Think You Should Leave than, say, The Tonight Show. Pieced with deliberate absurdism that presents itself as straight-laced, the series is unique.

Of all the Mulaney projects, it’s most similar to his last variety special for Netflix, Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch. Once again, his taste for old-school, bygone ’70s-era specials informs his comedy, which is decidedly modern. That melding of old and new is what makes for such engaging viewing. While the set itself draws from ’70s-era television and set design, there’s also a Saymo, a delivery robot that apparently can be seen all over the streets of L.A., making Ginger Ale runs to him on set. It’s all the perfect portrait of a man in his 40s with an interest in the past whose fanbase is largely made up of millennials and Gen Z.

Not everything works. Jerry Seinfeld takes up too much time in Episode 1, and a sketch about analyzing comedians and their mental health is too on the nose. That said, John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s In L.A. flourishes in the details when the show hits its groove. Despite its off-kilter rhythm and Mulaney’s dry delivery, there’s an earnestness to the production that makes it stand out, especially against other U.S.-based talk shows that have grown stale.

John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s In L.A. is out now on Netflix,