Yahoo Sports John Mulaney reveals his canceled 2014 sitcom was originally about him getting sober: 'I lost the thread'
Before he was The Comeback Kid, Baby J or Kid Gorgeous, John Mulaney was simply... Mulaney.
In 2014, the comedian and former SNL writer was at the center of his very own self-titled sitcom, but the journey was short-lived: Mulaney, a very loosely autobiographical comedy, was canceled after a single season.
Now, the comedian has revealed that the show changed quite a bit from his initial pitch. During a recent Hollywood Reporter roundtable, which Mulaney appeared on alongside Steven Yeun, Jason Segel, Mo Amer, and Tyler James Williams, he reflected on his original idea for the half-hour comedy, before it was picked up by Fox.
"There was another version at NBC called Mulaney Don't Drink, which was about me getting sober at 23," Mulaney said. "It was based on the time in my life when I got sober at 23 and had two roommates and was just trying to figure out: What does a good person do? That was an actual part of my life, or a pointless gauntlet I threw down in front of myself."
Ray Mickshaw/FOX John Mulaney and Martin Short on 'Mulaney'
The sobriety angle was excised when the show moved to Fox. There, it followed Mulaney as a comedian living in New York City and working for an eccentric game show host played by Martin Short. In one of the first promos for the series, Mulaney called it "autobiographical in that I play a comedian named John Mulaney — it kind of ends there."
Now, Mulaney admits that "there was really something lost when I, on the advice of others higher up, took that out." He added, "But I take full responsibility. I lost the thread that made it something."
Mulaney was panned throughout its sole season, with EW dubbing it one of the year's worst TV shows.
In the years since, he's found continued success with his stand-up comedy specials, using the medium to open up about his personal life and struggles with addiction.
When asked if he would consider another stab at an autobiographical comedy series, Mulaney said, "My immediate thought was, 'Oh, should I?' But I'm not sure. I've enjoyed doing it through stand-up. And one thing I learned from doing it was that I wasn't sure what my story was. Like, what exactly am I bringing to everyone and do they need it?"
Watch the full roundtable discussion below.
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