'John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch' Throws Back To Classic Children's Television Programming

If getting stand-up specials, new seasons of Big Mouth, the Oh, Hello! Broadway special, and episodes of Documentary Now! wasn't enough John Mulaney for you on Netflix, we have good news.

Netflix has announced the launch of John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch, a comedy special that "aims to recapture the magic of that bygone television era when children sang songs about their feelings with celebrity guests on funky outdoor sets." And if that doesn't sound like the most perfect thing for John Mulaney to do then you can just go back to Sesame Street or whatever. Get a first look at the series and learn about the celebrity guests stopping by below.

Yep, that looks like it's taken straight from Sesame Street or even Barney and Friends. It's just missing puppets and people in big puffy creature suits. But John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch doesn't need any gimmicks like that to bring back wholesome children's television programming, because the 37-year old comedian and his tween co-stars have a roster of celebrity guests who will help liven things up with songs and more.

John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch will welcome kid favorite guests David Byrne, Tony Award winner Andre De Shields, Natasha Lyonne, Annaleigh Ashford, Shereen Pimentel, Richard Kind, and, as the press release very specifically notes, Jake Gyllenhaal from the movie Zodiac. What kid doesn't love Zodiac?

The show is further described as "a collage of Broadway caliber showstoppers, comedy sketches for all ages, meditations on the unknown from children and adults, and a papier mache volcano. It's funny, musical, joyous, anxious, and surprisingly profound." A papier machie volcano? Why the hell is anyone else even making television anymore? It won't get any better than this, people!

None of these descriptions help me determine whether or not this is sincerely for kids and adults, or if it will be entirely tongue-in-cheek as a parody of children's television shows, albeit a potentially earnest one. In the hands of Documentary Now! director Rhys Thomas, it could go either way. We'll likely be seeing a teaser trailer for this very soon to give us a better idea of what to expect. But either way, I'll definitely be giving this a watch as soon as possible.

John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch arrives on Netflix as a last minute Christmas present on December 24, 2019.