Comedian John Mulaney is bringing his own twist to the idea of children’s programming with his upcoming Netflix special John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch. Ahead of the show’s December 24th debut, the streamer has shared the official trailer, revealing some of the big-name adult guest stars tagging along for this strange experiment.
At the start of the quick preview, we find Mulaney sitting amongst a group of precocious kids, quipping, “What you’re about to see is a children’s TV special — and I made it on purpose.” Though the text cards admit the comedian has “neither children nor musical ability,” we see a steady stream of dance numbers and apparently child-friendly scenes with The Sack Lunch Bunch kids themselves. There’s also David Byrne running science experiments, a maniacal looking Jake Gyllenhaal, Natasha Lyonne laughing at the camera, and very dramatic scenes with Broadway stars André De Shields and Annaleigh Ashford. Oh, and Richard Kind shows up too.
The clips wraps back with Mulaney and the kids, where one asks whether the special is supposed to be ironic or genuine. A contemplative Mulaney responds, “That — we talk a lot about that. That’s the million-dollar question.”
(Read: John Mulaney Stayed Sharp in Uneven Times)
You can answer for yourself next week, but for now watch the trailer for John Mulaney & The Sack Bunch Lunch below. You can also catch the comedian live at next year’s JFL42 Festival in Toronto (tickets here), and of course you can hear him on the recently released Season 3 of Big Mouth.