Just hearing about Emmy Award-winning writer and comedian John Mulaney might inspire you to start multi-tasking in your life. Mulaney, a stand-up comic and former Saturday Night Live writer, has written, created, and executive produced his new FOX starrer, Mulaney, premiering Oct. 5. Rounding out the cast are comedic veterans Elliot Gould and Martin Short, along with former SNL star Nasim Pedrad, Seaton Smith, and Zack Pearlman. Here are four reasons, with excerpts from our interview with the cast, on why you should get excited to watch the sitcom being touted as the next Seinfeld.
1. With both Gould (who can also be seen on Showtime’s Ray Donavan) and Short in a television comedy series, the recipe for laughter should be guaranteed.
Of the casting, Mulaney says, "I was sitting in my apartment, writing the pilot, and it was one of those things where I'm imagining this large show business personality that I'm working for, this great New York veteran who is kind of my neighbor and my mentor, and I put down 'a Martin Short or an Elliott Gould type.' And, then, to actually get the actors themselves was incredible. It's a daily thrill. Just talking to these gentlemen for the first time on the phone was some of the most excited and nervous I've been in this whole process.”
Short, too, was intrigued by the role: “I think it's a compliment, and what drew me immediately to this was the strength of the writing. That's the thing that you are always looking for and rarely find it. So if it's a Martin Short-type or Martin Short, I'm all for it!”
2. Nasim Pedrad will finally get a chance to show off her long-underserved comedic ability with a producer who plays to her strengths.
“John and I worked on my Arianna. Whenever I did Arianna Huffington on 'Weekend Update,' John wrote that. I was lucky to be [at SNL] for five years," Pedrad says. "At some point, you have to leave, and I can't think of a better reason to leave than for this particular show and with this particular cast.”
She adds: “Even just as a fan of comedy, I'm excited about this show. I don't think it's that common to get this kind of group together, and having the experience of working with John at SNL, I couldn't be more confident in his ability to write and star in a sitcom like this. It's such a testament to John's writing that these characters are so fun to play.”
3. Even if you’ve never seen Mulaney’s stand-up performances, if you’re a fan of SNL, you must remember Bill Hader's iconic chracter Stefon on "Weekend Update"—Mulaney wrote that character, too. Consider it a promise for more fresh and unforgettable characters on his sitcom.
"Stefon came about in a sketch that we did at about four in the morning one night when Ben Affleck was hosting. It was a sketch where Stefon was trying to pitch a movie with his brother, and they are very different. Ben Affleck is playing this straight‑laced screenwriter, and Stefon is his brother, interrupting the pitch. And it was similar to the character you saw on 'Update,' but it was in a totally different a sketch setting. Once we brought Stefon to be a commentator on 'Update,' it took on this new energy," says Mulaney.
4. In the series, Mulaney plays a single, rising stand-up comedian trying to be successful, which is based on his own unique life.
“This comes from a time in my life when I was living with two roommates and was trying to do stand‑up comedy. It's loosely based on the time that I was freelance writing for different people, and would write for comedians to do things like award and talk shows," Mulaney explains. "I kind of came into it with an old fashioned idea of what show business was. And then suddenly, living in Brooklyn, trying to do stand‑up spots, it was just a funny surprise to see what a grind it was. But, like Motif, I made a lot of friends through doing stand‑up that I became so close with, because you are in the trenches together.”
