This just in, the last few years have been a lot. I don’t think I need to recite the list. In the last 24 hours alone we saw the Love Is Blind live stream fiasco and Frank Ocean nearly on ice at Coachella. It’s a world gone mad. But while you take a moment to process the stunning revelation of our collective alotness, let’s also remember the sheer tonnage of stuff that’s gone on in John Mulaney‘s life since his last Netflix special, 2018’s Kid Gorgeous: a relapse, a stint in rehab, the end of one relationship, the beginning of another, and the birth of his and Olivia Munn’s first child. All of this has been widely broadcast and gossiped about proving that Mulaney is not just any old comedian, but one of those rare comics that touches the rarified air of celebrity, people-on-the-internet-always-talking-about-you status. Lucky him.
All of the above is to say that Mulaney’s upcoming Netflix special, Baby J, which spawned from his wildly successful and oft-confessional comedy tour, won’t be lacking subject matter. And as we see in the freshly released teaser trailer, some of the conversation may be “obnoxious, wasteful, and unlikeable.” Which is a good thing.
Plenty of comics have looked outward, connecting with their audience over the shared tumult of these times. And that’s fine, but that approach can often feel a little distant. Others have gone inward, revealing their own pain and pressures. It might just be a matter of taste, but to me, that’s the kind of material that really connects.
Mulaney, with that celebrity status in mind, could have decided that everything about his life is already out there for the world to digest. He could have figured there was no need for him to get into it, but it appears that he may have gone the other way, giving some of himself to the process. How much? Well, as he says in the teaser, there are going to be stories he’s willing to tell and one’s he’s not, which is also a good thing. And with a master whose calling card is his specificity (both with language and presentation), you know it’s going to be the exact right mix.
‘Baby J’ debuts on Netflix April 25.