So there’s this sitcom. It’s a multi-cam show about a standup comedian and his friends, and one of them is a woman. There’s a portly, annoying gentleman that is around. Did Seinfeld have a legendary actor in a bit part as a gay neighbor? Maybe Mulaney should point to this to try and tamp down the Seinfeld comparisons.
Those comparisons were inevitable, due in part to the similarities between the two shows, at least in a broad sense (and also because comparisons make things easier to digest). Of course Seinfeld is one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time, so any comparison is not likely to flatter Mulaney, the new starring vehicle for comedian John Mulaney. However, this is a show that stands on its own two feet, and, for its sake, Seinfeld references should probably be kept to a minimum.
Then again, based on the early chatter from the critical community, perhaps the folks behind Mulaney would prefer that people spend their time making the Seinfeld comparisons. Sure, the caveats about comedy pilots have been bandied about too (and—oh, by the way, did you know that Seinfeld struggled during its first season?), but before Mulaney aired its first episode on Sunday night, the people who had seen it were, by and large, not into it. But here’s the thing—the Mulaney pilot is good. It’s not just good for a pilot. It’s good for an episode of television.
The pilot does pilot things. The characters are introduced, and the show presents itself to the audience, led by Mulaney doing standup at the beginning of the episode, and also again just before Elliott Gould’s Oscar makes his first appearance. There is not a lot of true plot here. The only thing that really happens is that John gets a job as a writer for Lou Cannon’s game show. Lou is played by Martin Short, who does Martin Short things, which is fine, because it works for the character, and within the world of this show.
Otherwise, the characters just sort of hang out, and there are a couple comedy vignettes. We meet John and his roommates Motif and Jane. Motif is another standup. Jane is… a woman. Her plot involves her trying to get closure after her ex-boyfriend cakked her “crazy.” Sure, it’s not the most substantive thing, but Nasim Pedrad does the most with it, and gets to do a couple of very funny things. There’s humor to a woman running around with plants she pulled out of her ex-boyfriend’s window box, especially while a cardboard cutout of Martin Short is also there.
Obviously, things aren’t perfect. John Mulaney isn’t the greatest actor, and perhaps that’s the most apt comparison to Jerry Seinfeld. He’s fine, but there are definitely some issues that will hopefully be improved upon. There’s some clunky exposition, and some strange transitional dialogue. But, it’s ultimately a funny pilot. There’s humor in the dialogue, and some funny set pieces. While the general consensus may be aligned against Mulaney, there’s definitely something here for some people. Maybe you have to be a huge fan of John Mulaney, and he is an excellent standup comic and generally very funny guy, but the early returns on his first foray into sitcoms is promising.
Chris Morgan is an Internet gadabout who writes on a variety of topics and in a variety of mediums. If he had to select one thing to promote, however, it would be his ’90s blog/podcast, Existential Parachute Pants. (You can also follow him on Twitter.)