Comedian John Mulaney is going live on Wednesday nights for 12 weeks on Netflix. NPR's TV critic says that in the first episode, Mulaney seemed to be enjoying the absurdity of the whole setup much more than any of the actual content he was presenting.

As a longtime Mulaney fan, I was vaguely concerned that the tony allure of a primetime slot would tempt him toward pat, predictable late-night jokes and sketch formats. As it turned out, however, I needn’t have worried.

Despite hosting a six-episode talk show last year, Mulaney is essentially new to hosting a live talk show. In his opening monologue, he admits that 10 months is "just enough time" to forget how to do the show. The good news is he doesn't seem to have missed a step. In terms of quality and feel, the new show feels like a continuation of the old one.