This is what happens when you let the network take over your show
This guy needed a Larry David to fight back against Fox
shareThis used to be my theory, too, that Mulaney is a talented comedian who was being held back by the network. And I made some posts to that affect on this board. But after listening to John Mulaney on the WTF podcast recently, I'm not so sure anyway.
In the WTF podcast, Mulaney says this is exactly the show that he wanted to make, that he has complete creative control and has final say on all the scripts etc. Which suprised me a lot, how could this crappy show be exactly the show that someone as talented as John Mulaney wanted to make? You'd think someone like Mulaney would want to make something much more original than a carbon copy sitcom.Then again I stopped watching after 2 episodes, and I've read some posts saying that it's gotten better.
It has gotten better since the Halloween episode, but Mulaney himself is still responsible for the crappy initial scripts, the stupid choice to shoot it multi-cam, the character of Andre, etc. What really seems to have happened is that John Mulaney has been revealed as a rather mediocre scriptwriter. He can write short sketches and stand-up jokes but he doesn't have the command of narrative structure that a good long-form screenwriter has.
shareI guess it's his own fault. He needed a Larry David to save him from himself.
shareOr maybe Fox paid Mulaney a s***load of money to say that and in reality they're the ones accepting all the s****y scripts
shareYeah FOX cares what Mulaney says about creative control for an abortion of a show.
IT WAS THE LUMERNATIS GUISE! THEY MADE MULANEY SAY THAT!!!!!!!!!!
soundcloud.com/jackofallfunk
I guess the lesson is just because someone is funny at standup means they can do a scripted show. I watched New In Town over the weekend was laughing out loud, which I don't normally do when I'm alone. But he was funny.
I've seen two episodes of this show on Hulu and it's mediocre. It's not as bad as Rob, the Rob Schnieder sitcom that I watched an entire episode of, but I don't think most comedies are very funny. I guess as people mature and if you watch too much TV you get jaded.
I had the same experience with Amy Schumer, I loved her stand up Mostly Sex Stuff, but her show was pretty unfunny. And I heard her talk about how she's happy with the show, it's what she wanted to make. So that same thing with Mulaney, very funny but it's just not translating into their shows. I don't know what skits he worked on for SNL, maybe I'd be disappointed in those since SNL is mostly unfunny.
Whether or not this true, I don't think we'll get the final answer to this until years after the fact, when the show is cancelled and when he's free to say what he will about the show and what he tried to accomplish.
He is a fairly open and straightforward guy on stage, and even in interviews most of the time, so I have a feeling that he is going to make some good stand-up material out of this show in due time. I hope that he take this as a learning experience and goes on to make bigger and better things (just like Louis C.K. did).