New Fox series Mulaney debuted on Sunday, and there's a reason we've said you'll like it if you loved Seinfeld [1]: it has a lot of similarities to the seminal sitcom. Yes, John Mulaney shares a lot of cute, nebbish-guy comedian traits with Jerry Seinfeld [2], but there are a few ways the two series are so similar you may wonder if you just watched a reboot of the NBC classic. Just how close are they? Let us count the ways.
John's stand-up bookends the show.
John Mulaney is the star of the show, his name really is John Mulaney, and he's a stand-up comedian turned TV star. Sound familiar?
Not only are Jerry and John similar as characters, but John's stand-up comedy bits are highlighted in each episode, just like they were on Seinfeld.
John's apartment is a lot like this apartment . . .
Greige-colored walls, a door that keeps getting busted into by an annoying friend? It might as well be the same set.
Jane is a lot like Elaine.
Nasim Pedrad's character Jane is a lot like Elaine — single, neurotic, and hilarious. One of her dating dramas is a subplot of the pilot episode, and she's John's only significant female friend. She and John are also platonic, but you're already wondering about their sexual tension in the first episode.
Everything I just said about Jane applies to Seinfeld's Elaine, who was played by the incomparable comedienne Julia Louis-Dreyfus [3]. Pedrad is also famous for her comedy — she's a former Saturday Night Live [4] cast member.
The series opens with John trying to work in TV . . .
In the pilot, John tries to get a job writing for TV host Lou (Martin Short), while he toils at his stand-up career on the side.
Just like Jerry did.
Remember when Jerry and George pitched their show about nothing to NBC? They also go through a series of disappointments, mirroring John's burgeoning TV career. We'll have to keep watching to see if Mulaney follows in Seinfeld's footsteps, which is not a bad thing at all.