The decision for John Mulaney to fight three 14-year-olds was only taken somewhat lightly.
“We air on a Wednesday. That decision was made, I think at about maybe 10:30/11 p.m. on Tuesday night,” executive producer and writer David Ferguson recalled at a recent FYC event for “Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney.” Mulaney and his team realized that they rarely tease their next show (with just a week between episodes, it’s not always top of mind to leap into the next one), and wouldn’t it be fun to do just that?
Thus: “John Mulaney versus three 14-year-olds,” which rose out of a recent spat of online debates about 100 men fighting a gorilla. But the original idea for this week’s episode was actually much more similar to its upcoming iteration; early in the season, writer Langston Kerman pitched a segment entitled “Are you stronger than a 16-year old?”
“Pretty straightforward premise,” Kerman said on the panel. “We take a grown man who is not on television, has no experience in entertainment, and we face them off against a 16-year-old who is similarly not famous, and we make them fight in front of a live audience and we see what happens.”
Kerman’s excitement (“You test their will against a child”) permeated the writing staff enough to make it to their “Maybe” idea board. Still, there were concerns about the kind of grown men who wanted to participate. “It didn’t feel safe,” offered writer Anna Drezen. “He was like, ‘OK, we have some new men that might want to fight the 16-year-old,’ and I think that was making everyone uneasy.”
There’s also big difference between 16 and 14 that was evident as they vetted contenders. Sixteen-year-olds tend be taller and more adult — and the “Everybody’s Live” writers also noted that they can be more confident. Mulaney recalled seeing a photo of a 16-year-old who was “huge” and “jacked” (“He had a cool haircut and no doubt in his eyes,” said Kerman). He was ostensibly more formidable than the current opponents, but still not the most risk-free option.
“I was scared, because 14-year-old means you’ve been through puberty, and that’s scary,” said “Everybody’s Live” announcer Richard Kind. “Twelve-year-old, they’re gonna come out, you can handle them. Fourteen is terrifying.”
But now that there’s three teen contenders, we’re back to the gorilla query. “I think a lot of those simulations online are super-flawed, because it’s going to be a pile,” Mulaney said. “People might be picturing one young man — I think it’s going to be all three jumping on me, and that’s what I’m preparing for.”
There are rules in place for safety, including no punching or harmful hits — and a distinction from other televised combat. “I do want to separate it from MMA or boxing — that’s like a sport with like sponsorships, and they have an owner,” Mulaney said. “We’re gonna brawl, and I think that’s really important.”
With the fight scheduled for this Wednesday night, Mulaney’s team is mainly curious to see if he’ll hold back. His friend, moderator Fred Armisen, suggested that “your weakness is gonna be your fear of hurting them,” but Mulaney isn’t so sure.
“Do I go in being like, ‘Man, I can’t on national TV — I have a family, I can’t push a 14-year-old,’” he wondered. “But … the second someone’s up in your space, that’s true. You can snap. I think that’s what I’m counting on.”
“That’s what I’m most excited about,” said Kerman.
“Everybody’s Live” airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT on Netflix. The season finale (and teenager fight) airs tonight.
