John Mulaney's New Show Is The Future Of 'Late Night'

By Andrew Sanford | Celebrity | October 11, 2024 |

By Andrew Sanford | Celebrity | October 11, 2024 |

Podcasts have achieved a level of popularity likely unthought of when they began as little radio shows you could download on your iPod. What started as several people sitting around a device and doing improv has become a multi-million dollar industry. Podcasts have the power to spread misinformation, affect elections, and give white guys a platform to talk, uninterrupted, about sports *shudder*. The medium has also taken over the celebrity interview sphere.

It used to be that you would have to wait for specific platforms to deem your favorite celebrity worthy of a deep-dive interview. They may get a magazine cover or primetime special where they get to tell their story. You could also find them on late-night talk shows, often allowing for a more casual interview experience. Now, you can likely find five to six podcasts where your favorite celeb has not only appeared but talked for hours. But where’s the glitz? Where’s the glam? Where’s Max Weinberg?

Late-night talk shows were special. Yes, celebrities could have casual and intimate chats with the hosts, but those were often couched in big, studio production value. Costumes, characters, and sketches ran wild. It felt like a happening. Late-night became something you couldn’t miss, whereas there are so many podcasts you can get to whenever you want. The immediacy is not there, but that said, few people want to make appointment-viewing out of nightly talk shows either.

Now, it seems like Netflix may have cracked a late-night code. After the success of John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s In L.A., the streaming giant has committed to a year of John Mulaney doing a weekly live variety talk show. It is unknown if it will air every week or at what time slot, but it signals the evolution of late-night and Netflix’s continued foray into live TV. If I had to guess, Mulaney’s show could easily see placement after WWE RAW, which comes to Netflix in January. That live show will air on Monday nights from 8-10 PM EST.

“We have a long relationship with John, and we have done the stand-up specials, and during Netflix Is a Joke Festival this year, he did a live talk show called Everybody’s in LA,” said Netflix’s Chief Content Officer, Bela Bajaria. “I was there at a couple of the tapings, and it was so bold and original and fresh and unprecedented, unpredictable. And I think it’ll be really fun to get to do a live show with him.”

I would disagree with almost every word Bajaria used to describe Mulaney’s show, but that’s their job. Mulaney’s show wasn’t fresh; it was an homage to a simpler time. It’s a studio actually spending money to foster a well-executed and creative idea. If anything is unprecedented or unpredictable, it’s that Netflix is doing it.

Once-a-week commitments with an already famous host seem more tailor-made for the television landscape to come. Gone are the days of giving a tall, redheaded man a chance because he has good manners. We have moved past bandleaders being as well known as the host. Still, Mulaney clearly respects the format and I’ll happily embrace him doing more.