-We're joined now by one of my dearest friends.
And you can hear him right now
on the new "Oh, Hello: The P'dcast."
Please welcome back to the show John Mulaney, everybody.
-Do I sit into it?
-Yeah, you can sit in.
Do you want to walk into it like you're -- Yeah.
-Okay.
-We'll have Fred add some music in post.
-Am I waiting for my name?
-John Mulaney!
♪♪
[ Laughter ] -Hi!
-Hi! -Oh, my dog barking.
How are you, Seth?
-I'm very happy to have you here.
You are, as you know, you are the record holder
for most frequent guest on the show.
-Oh, I still have it?
-You still have it.
Martha Stewart very close.
[ Clears throat ] Excuse me, she was just on.
And I feel as though it's good to always, like,
keep the same buffer between you and her.
-Which is I always have one over Martha Stewart.
-Yeah. I think that's just for safety.
-Right. Right.
Okay, I mean, I'm always a little nervous
with her hellhound on my trail like that.
-Yeah, exactly.
I like asking people
how they're spending their time during quarantine.
I sort of picked up from social media
that you're watching old television shows.
-Yeah, I'm -- well, I'm catching up on
"Real Housewives of New York."
I'm starting from season 1, which took place in 2008.
And I'm currently in season 3,
which is I believe we're in late 2009.
-Gotcha.
-You know me. I'm an Orange County Beverly Hills guy.
-What was the impetus of going back and watching that?
You've never seen it?
-I'd never seen "Real Housewives of New York."
I was very aware of it.
And then my wife, Anna, said, "That's leaps and bounds beyond
'Beverly Hills' and 'Orange County.'"
And I had never seen a lick of it.
She said, "Let's start at season 1."
And we did, and it's fantastic.
-You do like it?
So it's living up to her highest standards?
-Yeah, I like it very, very much.
Yeah, her endorsement was exactly right.
Have you ever seen it?
-I haven't.
I remember it would sort of be on, you know, at "SNL"
in the corner sometimes, and I never really watched it.
-Do you know Bethenny Frankel?
-I've met Bethenny Frankel a few times, yeah.
-A few times. Okay.
Because I remember you had a bottle of her vodka
in your office.
-I feel like it was maybe tequila, though.
But I can't remember.
-Her name is also on a tequila.
-Yeah. -Fantastic.
-Like, a skinny 'tini.
Maybe I'm getting this all mixed up.
-All those words, "skinny 'tini," sound right.
-Based on watching "Real Housewives,"
that led you to take the Myers-Briggs personality test?
-It didn't lead me to take it, but I did begin thinking
where I'd fit in among the housewives, you know.
And I do that with most seasons,
be it "Orange County," "Beverly Hills" or now "RHONY,"
which is "Real Housewives of New York."
I try to figure out who I would be in the show
and how I would deal with a different conflict.
You know one thing they never, ever do ever
on that show is apologize.
-Oh, wow.
-So let's say that I said that you were tacky, Seth,
and that -- and that you -- you were tacky
and you show up to events like a stalker.
I made that up but that could easily be on the show, right?
I tell Fred this.
Fred tells you immediately. -Right.
-We're at a function within hours together.
And you call me out on it and you're mad at me.
-Sure.
-The way I would apologize is say,
"I want to just put this behind us."
[ Laughter ]
And you'd hug me and you'd go,
"Okay. I just want to put --" I said, "We're good, right?
"We're good."
And never would I say that I insulted you directly on camera
knowing it would get back to you with little remorse.
I would just say, "We're good, right?
I want to put this behind us."
-You've also noticed that it does seem as though
the characters on those shows are hyperaware
that they are on reality shows.
-Yeah, especially in the beginning of
"Real Housewives of New York," because it's like a --
it's not a new concept, a reality show.
It's been around for about eight years
by the time "RHONY" starts.
It's easier to say "RHONY."
So -- -[ Laughs ]
-But they still talk about it.
If you watch "RHOBH,"
which is "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."
"RHOBH." If you watch "RHOBH,"
that island that people go to,
they don't talk anymore about how they're on a reality show.
But in "Real Housewives of New York" circa 2009,
someone will say something like,
"Well, I don't want to share that. That's personal."
And the rest of them go, "We're on a reality show.
You have to tell us."
And they'll be, like, arguing with each other
and be like, "Well, why would you do that?"
They say like, "'Cause it's a reality show."
And so they're very aware when they're at an event
that they are marketing themselves.
So, someone might say,
"Why is there a skinnygirl margarita sign up?"
And she says, "Because it's a reality show
and I'm marketing myself."
Very self-aware and on the nose.
-Are there parts -- does it show you a part of New York
that you're nostalgic for,
especially during this time where we're stuck inside?
-Every part of outdoor New York I'm nostalgic for,
but this drives home how nostalgic I am
for any part of New York
because they'll show, like, 1st and 70th.
I'm like, "Oh. That's only --
That's only eight blocks from the United Nations.
An area I hate.
Oh, York and 80th?
Oh, I could walk there against the wind."
-[ Laughs ]