John Mulaney is a stand-up comic who had a brief stint on Saturday Night Live and now shows up playing a version of himself in this sometimes very funny new sitcom. He’s a would-be stand-up comic who works as assistant to a live-wire game-show host named Lou Cannon (Martin Short). He also has two roommates: Motif (Seaton Smith), a fellow stand-up, and Jane (Nasim Pedrad), a personal trainer.
Pedrad and Mulaney have comic chemistry that keeps the show bubbling, and Short is always funny, even when the material isn’t. Short could play this character in his sleep but, to his credit, he doesn’t. It’s all a bit meta, with too much self-referential humor to avoid comparisons to Seinfeld, which are inevitably unflattering considering that was the most successful comedy of all time. Still this series has a lot of very strong pieces that may grow on you.
***3 STARS***
Mulaney premieres Sunday, Oct. 5 at 9:30 pm on Fox.
