Marc Maron released a brand new episode of WTF today with guest John Mulaney, who talks with Maron at length about his work as a standup, former SNL writer, and creator and star of Fox’s struggling freshman sitcom Mulaney. The whole interview is full of insight into Mulaney’s career and many SNL memories, like writing monologue jokes with Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Danny DeVito. Here’s what Mulaney had to say when Maron asked him about previously being the “heir apparent†of Weekend Update:
Did you want to do Update?Sure. Of course.And was it ever offered to you?It was not offered like “Do you want to do it right now?†I think it was maybe a possibility, but I then did a special … that special got a nice reception, so I was kind of like “I think maybe I’ll move on.â€
On whether he’d change anything about Mulaney:
I maybe think about changing a thing here or there, but not the fundamentals, not the bones of it … and it was very pleasant working with Fox, it wasn’t like one of those crazy developments where they say “Can you and Nasim Pedrad date each other?†and all that shit … I think having been passed on at NBC also, I knew it could get taken away at any time.
On the future of Mulaney on Fox:
It’s a bumpy time right now – yeah, for sure. We did not come out as a huge ratings hit right away and I love the show, some people do not … Look, what happens to shows that have low ratings and don’t take off as critical successes? They can get smoked. And maybe thats gonna happen, but I don’t know. The one thing I’ve learned in all this is, like, I have no fucking clue what’s gonna happen with these things.
On whether he’d consider returning to SNL as a writer/performer:
I don’t know if that would happen … I mean, I’m in no position to turn down work, Marc. [laughs] What are you talking about? Oh, could I be on a show that’s not gonna be canceled ever?
Head over to the WTF website to listen to the entire interview.