Much has been made about the “under-produced” nature of John Mulaney’s pop-up talk show Everybody’s in LA. But it turns out the host had some pretty exacting specifications when it came to the show’s furniture.
Mulaney discussed the show’s seating arrangements during a recent FYC event, which utilized the same furniture, but saw Mulaney relegated to the guest couch this time around.
“I’m so happy to be sitting in the chair where you had to awkwardly put your elbows on during the show,” moderator Nick Kroll joked. “Did you know how high these [arms] were?”
“Andrea [Purcigliotti], our production designer… designed the chairs, and I said they should be deep and high,” Mulaney explained. “A lot of shows that I’ve been on have shallow furniture so it’s easier to sit up straight. And I wanted deep chairs.”
Purcigliotti also serves as a production designer for one of Saturday Night Live’s film units. Her past credits include production design for John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch and Maya & Marty, and scenic design for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
“As the six episodes went on… I got better and better at slumping in the chair and leaning back,” he added.
“You were like, ‘I want Pete Davidson couch vibes,’” Kroll joked, referencing one of the show’s guests. “‘I want slouch-in-a-Knicks-bomber vibes.’”
“One hundred percent,” Mulaney said. “And we got there. Because he showed up in a bomber and definitely slouched.”
As for the guest couch: it apparently felt as good as it looked. “This couch is remarkably comfortable,” Mulaney confirmed.
Those furnishings certainly seem fitting for Everybody’s in LA, which stood out to late-night viewers for its casual, laidback vibe.
