What's The Deal... With John Mulaney?

He Has Two Emmys, A Multi special Deal With Netflix, And The Respect Of Comedians You Probably Worship. He ’s Also A Suit-wearing Square Who’s Inspired By Stephen Sondheim And Writes Jokes About His Pug, Petunia. Is That What We Really Need In 2019?

- Jonah Weiner

ALEX, ONE OF EIGHT CHILD ACTORS SITTING in a circle with John Mulaney, has a grand unified theory about blooper reels that he would like to share right this second. “Before I see a movie, I always watch the blooper reels,” he explains. “If that movie has no fun moments, like, so that means they didn’t even have fun doing it? So then I’m not gonna watch the movie.” Mulaney’s eyebrows fly upward—Alex’s logic is a touch cockeyed but impressive. “That’s brilliant!” he says.

It’s a Tuesday afternoon in July, and he and the actors—ages eight to twelve—are gathered in a fluorescent-lit rehearsal space in Manhattan’s Theater District, here to rehearse his next, as-of-yet-untitled comedy special. A couple years ago, on the same block, he starred with his friend Nick Kroll in a hit Broadway show they cowrote, Oh, Hello, portraying two grumpy, corduroy-sporting septuagenarian weirdos partial to cocaine, casual misogyny, and Steely Dan. Last year, five blocks north, Mulaney did seven straight sold-out stand-up shows at Radio City Music Hall; footage from one of those shows became his third special, Kid Gorgeous. Whereas that one, released by Netflix, was a watchmaker tight hour of jokes, he’s trying something new this time: a children’s variety show. And these children have a lot to say about bloopers. “I think they should have blooper reels at the end of scary movies so people can go home and not feel terrified,” another kid interjects. “Right,” Mulaney says, nodding. “A catharsis of sorts.” He scans the circle. “This whole special,” he tells the kids, “is going to be a blooper reel.”