Everybody’s in L.A. with John Mulaney Was Unusual Yet Refreshing

 

This was a different type of show that aired live via Netflix for six consecutive nights in May of 2024. It had the feel of a late-night show, even though it was on at 7:00 pm pacific/10:00 pm eastern time. The host was comedian John Mulaney (SNL writer from 2008-2022, and voice actor on animated show “Big Mouth”). The announcer/sidekick was comedic actor Richard Kind (best known for Mad About You and various animated projects). I did not like this show at first, but it grew on me. This was a show that took chances and did something different. We don’t see that enough on today’s TV shows. The title refers to the fact that the week it aired was the week of the “Netflix is a Joke” comedy festival. Therefore, at that point it seemed like everyone, especially in the world of comedy, was in L.A. at the same time. The theme song was “To Live and Die in L.A.” by the group Wang Chung (1985). That song has probably seen a resurgence in popularity since this program aired. It was a mix of serious topics with comedians chiming in with their thoughts too. Each show had a serious topic that is of interest to those in L.A., such as earthquakes, coyotes, palm trees or the future of Los Angeles. Each show featured a highly educated expert on the topic, joined by funny people who provided comic relief. Comedians that appeared on the show included: David Letterman (note: Mulaney appeared on Letterman’s Netflix show “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction”), Nikki Glaser, Bill Hader, Cedric the Entertainer, George Wallace, Sarah Silverman and more. Musical guests appeared on the show such as: Los Lobos, Weezer, Beck and St. Vincent. The shows had remote segments where they would check in on what was going on in the L.A. area with everyday residents. A taped segment had several comedians looking at a home for sale in Los Angeles and making humorous observations. The show felt disjointed at times, but that is the nature of live shows, which can be refreshing. Sometimes it felt like the host and guests were flying by the seat of their pants. With a live show, they were able to take phone calls, which was a nice touch. One segment had them sending two people in limos on a hunt around L.A. looking for Red Hot Chili Peppers member “Flea.” I was looking at Reddit comments regarding this show and someone said this… “Netflix, don’t let John leave the building without giving him a weekly talk show.” Mulaney would make a great late night talk show host, with his quirky sense of humor. His show was a bit like Conan’s in the NBC days, with that crazy, unpredictable vibe. Someone on Reddit commented that he needs to be the new Daily Show host. He did well with the interviews too, considering many people were on the set at the same time. One of the “stars” of the show was Saymo, a delivery robot, which is apparently a common sight around L.A. It would randomly appear, and people would open its lid to reveal drinks. An article said that the set for this show was patterned after Johnny Carson’s Malibu home. USA Today called the show “So weird, but also wonderful.” The review said…” It does not make sense. It does not follow regular formats. It is so strange. And yet it is also pretty funny.” Who knows what the numbers were for this show, but hopefully we will see more.

My Next Guest Needs No Introduction

 

When Johnny Carson retired from The Tonight Show in 1992, people wondered what his next project would be. Besides brief appearances with David Letterman, a Kennedy Center Honors Award and a Bob Hope special, he disappeared. Johnny passed away 13 years later, in 2005. When David Letterman retired from his CBS Late Show in 2015, people thought that Letterman would pull the same disappearing act as his idol, Carson. Thankfully, that did not happen, and David Letterman has kept active with various projects. He is still a co-owner of the Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan Indy racing team. Since growing up in Indianapolis, he has been a die-hard auto racing fan. He appeared at the “Netflix is a Joke” Comedy Festival in Los Angeles. He makes regular appearances on his official You Tube page, being interviewed by longtime producers Barbara Gaines and Mary Barclay. Plus, he has released several seasons of his Netflix show “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.” Since 2018, Letterman has released 5 seasons and 28 episodes. The tagline for the show is “His beard is big. His guests are bigger.” The show has been nominated for a primetime Emmy five times. Its theme song was written and performed by Letterman’s longtime band leader, Paul Shaffer.  This show demonstrates Letterman’s top notch interviewing skills. Even if the viewer is not interested in a specific guest, Letterman makes it fascinating.

His two most recent guests were Miley Cyrus and Charles Barkley. At age 77, David Letterman is no spring chicken. People have suggested that he return to daily TV, or even have a weekly show, perhaps filling in for Jimmy Kimmel, who looks up to Dave like Letterman looked up to Carson. At his stage in life, Dave probably wants a show like he has on Netflix, where he can call the shots and decide how busy he will be. No doubt, he does not need the money. His net worth is a staggering $400 million.

The show is refreshing since Letterman interviews people of all ages and disciplines. It would be easy for him to stick with people only from his age group and talk with nothing but comedians. But he has talked with people much younger than himself who would appeal to a youthful demographic. Examples include: Lizzo, Cardi B, Tiffany Haddish, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian and Billie Eilish. That is not to say that he has not interviewed more “seasoned” guests, such as: George Clooney, Howard Stern, Robert Downey Jr, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jerry Seinfeld. In 2018, Letterman interviewed President Barack Obama for this program. That was his first interview since leaving the White House.

His interview with Miley Cyrus had Dave talking with Miley’s mother and sitting with her as Cyrus performed at the legendary Chateau Marmont Hotel in Los Angeles.

When he talked with NBA great Charles Barkley, Dave joined him on the golf course and Charles showed Dave around the TBS studios where he acts as an NBA analyst. Letterman joined Barkley and his cohorts on TBS to discuss the current state of the NBA. Dave talked with Barkley’s co-hosts on the NBA show, including Shaquille O’Neal.

It’s refreshing since the show is not just Letterman sitting in a studio interviewing a guest for an hour, although he could make that interesting. Each show is partially in studio and partially on location. It is nice to see Letterman in a long form interview format where he does not need to break for commercials every few minutes like he did with his shows on CBS and NBC.

In 2022, Letterman did another project for Netflix, called “That’s My Time with David Letterman.” This show consisted of six episodes, recorded at the “Netflix is a Joke” comedy festival in Los Angeles. Each episode featured a comedian doing a stand-up set with Letterman briefly interviewing them afterwards. In 2023, Disney Plus released a show called “Bono and the Edge: A Sort of Homecoming, with Dave Letterman.” This show had Letterman interviewing the duo from then legendary band U2 in their hometown of Dublin, Ireland. Bono and The Edge performed some of their iconic songs, reimagined.

Without a doubt, Letterman will be remembered as one of the icons of late-night television, like his idol, Johnny Carson. 

*Some information from Wikipedia and imdb.