Over the course of the past decade and change, John Mulaney has gone from being a Saturday Night Live writer to one of the brightest and most recognizable voices in the world of standup comedy, to a voice-actor bringing characters to life in some of the most inventive animated movies and TV shows in recent memory. His unforgettable performances in the incredible Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse may have overshadowed the great comedy specials to his name.
With the comedian’s most recent stand-up special, John Mulaney: Baby J, having just arrived on Netflix, now seems like the perfect time to go back and talk about some of his must-watch specials and how to watch them. And, one in particular is an especially good option for those who love Mulaney’s SNL musical numbers.
John Mulaney: New In Town (2012)
After years of cutting his teeth as a standup comedian performing in clubs and headlining gigs around the country, and as a writer on Saturday Night Live as mentioned earlier, Mulaney was given his Comedy Central special in 2012. Titled, John Mulaney: New In Town, this manic, hyper, hilarious, and honest one-hour special touches on a number of topics ranging from crime procedurals to 1920s bank robbers to random encounters with homeless people.
One of the highlights from New to Town is the bit where Mulaney dives into everything shows like Law & Order: Special Victims Unit can get away with, despite certain four-letter words being off the table. But, the spot that steals the show comes when Mulaney describes a meeting with a homeless man who spits out a crazy sequence of facts, an interaction that gives the special its name.
Stream John Mulaney: New In Town on Netflix.
Stream John Mulaney: New In Town on Paramount+.
Rent/Buy John Mulaney: New In Town on Amazon.
John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid (2015)
Three years after the release of New In Town, he came back with his first Netflix comedy special, John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid. Recorded at the Chicago Theatre in Mulaney’s hometown of Chicago, Illinois, his second standup special is far more personal than the first and is just as funny, if not more hilarious.
The name is drawn from an extended bit about former United States President Bill Clinton, who Mulaney met when the then-Governor of Arkansas was running for the presidency in 1992. Over the course of this long journey, Mulaney reveals that his parents attended college with the “Comeback Kid,” but had differing opinions on the man his father said “could get away with anything.” That is just part of the one-hour special, however, as Mulaney dives into everything from the absurdity of the Back to the Future plot to awkward interactions with kids and how he was thrown for a loop when attending Catholic mass for the first time in years. And, that’s just part of this whirlwind of a standup routine.
Stream John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid on Netflix.
John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous At Radio City (2018)
In 2018, Netflix released John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City, a one-hour comedy special that would go on to win a Primetime Emmy Award following its release. Much like The Comeback Kid, Mulaney’s third special was an incredibly personal experience, where the comedian opened up about his childhood, adolescence, and adulthood with stories about being incredibly hungover at his college graduation, later receiving letters in the mail from said college asking for cash “gifts” as a donation, and his experience writing for Mick Jagger when the Rolling Stones frontman hosted Saturday Night Live in 2012.
The most memorable part, though, is the extended bit in which Mulaney compares former United States President Donald Trump to a “horse loose in a hospital.” Over the course of the bit, Mulaney says he thinks everything will eventually be okay, it’s just that he has no idea what’s going to happen next. Little did Mulaney know, but two years later, he would be under investigation by the Secret Service for another joke he made about Trump.
Stream John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City on Netflix.
John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch (2019)
Mulaney’s next Netflix release wouldn’t be a standard comedy show, but instead a children’s musical special much in the vein of Sesame Street and The Electric Company. Titled John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch, the 70-minute special included a combination of skits and musical numbers that had no business being so catchy, or good, for that matter. This included earworms like “Grandma’s Boyfriend Paul,” “Plain Plate of Noodles,” and “I Saw a White Lady Standing on the Street Just Sobbing (and I Think About It Once a Week),” to name a few.
It also featured an incredible and incredibly random assortment of celebrity guests like André De Shields, Natasha Lyonne, Richard Kind, David Byrne, and Jake Gyllenhaal in the special’s off-the-walls finale.
Stream John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch on Netflix.
John Mulaney: Baby J (2023)
The past few years have been a physical, mental, and emotional rollercoaster for the star, as the Saturday Night Live five-timer has sat through an intervention, attended multiple stints in rehab, gotten a divorce, and had a kid with girlfriend Oliva Munn. A lot of that comes up in his latest special, John Mulaney: Baby J, which debuted on Netflix in April 2023.
The special, which features his unique blend of wit and honesty, is a little more subdued than his previous efforts, though that doesn’t mean it’s not as funny as everything that’s come before, because it is. Similar to Mulaney’s touching SNL monologue in February 2022, Baby J serves as a way for the comedian to address everything that’s transpired the past few years. He doesn’t hold back or let himself off easy.
Stream John Mulaney: Baby J on Netflix.
If you want to watch these John Mulaney comedy specials, remember that you’ll need a Netflix subscription to do so (or a Paramount+ subscription for New In Town). More specials are being added all the time, so make sure to check out the 2023 Netflix TV schedule and upcoming Netflix movies guide for more information.
