Richard Kind Seems Miffed That John Mulaney Didn’t Ask Him to Return to Their Show Before Announcing It
As John Mulaney’s weekly Netflix talk show Everybody’s Live continues its deliberately chaotic 12-episode run, one of the few stabilizing factors has been sidekick and announcer Richard Kind.
Thankfully, Kind hasn’t been relegated to the sidelines, he’s participated in some of the show’s funniest bits, including when he behaved like Gene Simmons for an entire episode allegedly due to an oddly specific KISS-related head injury.
Don't Miss
Kind held the same role in last year’s iteration of the series, Everybody’s in L.A. But when it was confirmed that Mulaney’s unhinged show would be returning for a longer run in 2025, Kind’s name wasn’t included in the announcement, prompting some fans to threaten to “riot” if he wasn’t involved.
Well, it seems that the reason why Kind wasn’t name-checked in that press release is that nobody involved with Everybody’s Live had actually talked to Kind yet.
The former Spin City star recently guested on NPR’s Fresh Air, and told host Terry Gross that Mulaney promised him that the show would never go beyond those initial episodes. “We were supposed to do six last May: Friday and then Monday through Friday,” Kind explained. “And (Mulaney) said, ‘Even if we get moon landing ratings, we’re not doing any more.’”
Kind didn’t realize that Mulaney had changed his mind about doing more episodes until he heard about it in the news. “So you can imagine my surprise when I read he’s doing 12 more. It didn’t even say whether or not I was coming back.”
Kind, who seemed a little ticked off about the lack of communication, was finally invited to join the new show by Mulaney. “When I spoke to him, I said, ‘Listen John, you don’t have to ask me to do it. You know, it was six and out,’” Kind recalled. “I go, ‘I won’t be insulted.’ He goes, ‘I’d be very insulted.’ But he didn’t even call me.’”
Even though he has more experience as a comedic sidekick now than he did last year, Kind isn’t entirely comfortable performing on the new and improved (?) talk show. In fact, he sounded a little freaked out when describing the gig. “This is not what I was born to do,” Kind told Gross. “It was a lark when I did the first six. It was fun. Oh my gosh! Now it’s a job. Now it’s, ‘I’d better be good.’ We’re on live all over the world on Netflix. All over the world. What if I say something that’s so unfunny — or God forbid is something I would regret saying? I can’t take it back. It’s scary.”
So be sure to tune into next week’s episode of Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney, just in case Richard Kind accidentally blurts out something thoroughly unforgivable on live TV.
