thought I'd put this outside the OP:
I sadly think Sepinwall was spot-on. actually, not even spot-onhe wasn't quite negative enough. I don't buy the reviews like the NYT one that say it's bad based solely on its similarity to S**nf*ld. But as a huge fan of John's standup and his writing in general, this is not at all good. The ensemble is messy and introduced badly. Jane would seem like an SNL sketch character even if she weren't played by Pedrad, she just doesn't feel real. Andre is tacked-on, so is Oscar (though he's a bit more interesting in how weirdly soothing he is, true). Short is wasted and Motif is annoying already.
oh if only it stopped there. Every good joke in the premiere is from his standup so I've heard it before (dozens of times). Fair, that isn't a problem for a part of the intended audience. but beyond being old material, it's wedged into the episode horribly. Mulaney's not translating the material for the sitcom format, he's just performing it within a visually sitcom world. It's disconcerting. Seinfeld the show or Louie the show might have the comedian act out standup/standup-inspired material, but it'll be retooled. And the way the character plays it will be different. This is just Mulaney doing the material the exact same way he does it on stage.
It could get a lot better. It could just be finding its footing. But if I'm being completely honest: were I not a big fan of Mulaney, I probably would not keep watching this show.
meh. I thought it was too seinfeldy.
Just makes me more sad that Pedrad left SNL for this.
Eh. it's more generally a throwback multicam. In terms of narrative structure and comedic tone it's not much like Seinfeld. very little dovetailing, and definitely Mulaney's humor not Seinfeld's.