4 hours ago
3
Prior to going live on Wednesday night, there was already a pretty clear sense of what the season premiere of Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney would be like: The template for this first episode, themed around “Lending People Money,” was first born with Everybody’s in L.A., John Mulaney’s six-episode talk show experiment for Netflix from May 2024.
Combine an eclectic range of guests, the occasional sketch, Richard Kind, and Saymo the robot on an architecturally dynamic set, and make sure John’s got a clipboard. Throw in some calls from viewers, and an opening sequence featuring Wang Chung’s “To Live and Die in L.A.”, and you’ve got yourself a damn fine hour of entertainment.
What made this first episode of Everybody’s Live so exciting was how much of it felt genuinely unscripted. Take guest/folk icon Joan Baez’s introductory interview segment, which began by Mulaney asking her a question about her memories of Martin Luther King Jr. Before answering the question, she asked Mulaney to confirm that “I can say whatever I want here,” to which he enthusiastically agreed.
She then took the opportunity to point out what so many people are thinking these days — that it’s absolutely bizarre to be pretending like oligarchs aren’t currently tearing away at this country. It was almost a necessary acknowledgment of current events, to which the audience responded enthusiastically… And with that off her chest, Baez proceeded to reveal that she’d once spent a car ride listening to Dr. King and his friends tell each other dirty jokes. She declined to reveal what jokes King himself told.
The night’s crowning achievement in theater kid-turned-comedian energy came with the Willy Loman Focus Group sketch, which brought together a range of men (and one young woman) who have played the titular role in productions of Death of a Salesman to share their in-character Willy Loman opinions about the world. The assembled actors included Anthony LaPaglia, Joe Cortese, Rob Morrow, Christopher Lloyd, and two high school students, and was certainly a sketch it’s hard to imagine any other talk show airing. (Personal favorite moment, for no particular reason: Everyone applauding George C. Scott.)
The sketch also gave the show’s crew a needed break to set up for Cypress Hill’s hella classy performance of “Hits from the Bong,” accompanied by a 14-piece orchestra and filled with shoutouts to the guests like “Fred Armisen takes hits from the bong!” and “Michael Keaton was the best fucking Batman.” And after that, it was time for goodnights, just a hair before the end of the hour.
Not every bit featured in the first episode landed perfectly, which is okay. (Mulaney and Tracy Morgan could have used a little more rehearsal time to nail Morgan’s appearance as “King Latifah.”) The only real issue might have been that four guests felt like one too many for the length of time provided — Baez, Michael Keaton, financial columnist Jessica Roy, and Fred Armisen all made for fantastic TV, to the point where it might have been more fun to get a little bit more of each.
Mulaney was good about keeping people involved, including one or two particularly smooth conversational moves to draw out Roy’s financial advice. But it still would have been nice to spend more time with Keaton in particular, a game and charismatic force with some great stories. And every second the camera spent with Baez was precious, up to and including her dancing during Cypress Hill’s closing performance.
Joan Baez and Richard Kind dancing to Cypress Hill’s “Hits from the Bong” during the first episode of John Mulaney’s Netflix talk show. What more can you ask for? pic.twitter.com/TLJS4qhEHp
— Aléx Young (@AlexYoung) March 13, 2025
The call-in segments remain reliably chaotic, keeping Mulaney and the guests on their toes and really highlighting the energy that comes with live television. While Mulaney often demonstrated real compassion with those talking about the difficult financial situations they were in, there was still a bit of an edge to be found in some of his reactions — like his lack of sympathy for a caller when he found out that she’d lent someone $10,000 to make a podcast.
Kind in particular was fun during the calls, unafraid of sharing some blunt truths (“invest better,” was his advice to the podcast lady). Everyone had genuine heartfelt advice for the guy who’s living in his van, though. Also, Mulaney using his “What kind of car do you drive?” question as a gentle way to tell the caller he’s done talking to them works remarkably well on at least two levels: It’s more subtle than saying “And… we’re out of time!” Also, no matter how irritating he might be finding the caller, he’s always legitimately interested in their answer.
For, beyond his quick wit and ability to craft callbacks out of thin air, Mulaney really shines as a host by nurturing a genuine curiosity — about the world, about his guests’ stories, about the lives of the callers. It contributed to a welcoming environment that really empathizes the meaning of the word “host,” across multiple contexts.
Launching a talk show in a time when, as Baez said, “our democracy is going up in flames,” certainly feels like a challenge. But by creating a space that doesn’t ignore the world outside, but still allows for honest joy, Everybody’s Live feels like a really special opportunity to take big swings with Netflix’s money. Making this show is probably a lot cheaper than stunts like the Jake Paul/Mike Tyson fight. And it’s infinitely better for our souls.
New episodes of Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney premiere live on Netflix at 7:00 p.m. PT/10:00 p.m. ET.
English (US) · 