It's hard to thing of a bigger goal for a comedy writer than working at Saturday Night Live. But for SNL legend John Mulaney, that was never his intention. In fact, he wanted to work for a different late-night TV show.
Growing up in Chicago, Mulaney was drawn to stand-up, sketch writing, and improv. He developed a singular focus on becoming a comedian, purusing that dream through college and his early days.
That career ambition included the goal of working for one specific television show: Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Mulaney shared his mindset during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning.
"I wanted to be a writer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien and a standup and liked improv," Mulaney said. "I was I was choosing between shades of eggshell white, you know, dove white. There
was nothing that far a field about my choices, they were all sort of New York comedy, writing sketches, doing stand up."
While Mulaney never achieved his goal of writing for Late Night with Conan O'Brien, the parallels between the two comedians are unmistakable. Both wrote for Saturday Night Live and both made the leap from the writers’ room to becoming beloved on-camera performers.
Mulaney’s crisp, fast-paced delivery and knack for absurdist turns often echo the tone Conan pioneered during his Late Night tenure. Now, Mulaney leads his own talk show, Everybody's Live with John Mulaney, that shares some of the same offbeat humor that made O'Brien a comedy icon.
Their admiration is mutual. O’Brien has frequently praised Mulaney’s wit and writing, and the two have appeared together on podcasts and stages. Listen to Mulaney's appearances on Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend or watch his interviews on Conan and see just how much reverence Mulaney has for O'Brien.
It's no surprise that Mulaney was there at the Kennedy Center to see O'Brien received the Mark Twain Prize. Few people get to meet their heroes, nevermind call them friends and collaborators. For Mulaney, his dream took a detour from Late Night but still landed him among comedy's best and brightest.