Stars: 4/5 
I remember those mornings when I was sick and couldn’t go to school. I would turn on my grandmother’s TV and binge watch PBS Kids. From “Sesame Street” to “Between the Lions,” I was being entertained while educated. It’s nice to think about that time of my life.
John Mulaney will do that to you in “John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch,” a Netflix special that features a cast of kids and Mulaney himself. The Broadway-esque show does take some inspiration from “Sesame Street,” and Mulaney is basically an unconventional Mr. Rogers. 
The special is subtly bonkers, because we are basically going back to our minds when we were children. I think you’ll understand the humor of the special when Mulaney said that he likes doing this children’s show, and if no one likes it, they can just say they did it ironically. I had a good laugh out of that. 
The cast goes through different musical numbers from topics such as your grandma having a new boyfriend, eating a bowl of noodles, algebra and the frustration of adults not paying attention to you. It’s great humor and audiences may relate with those parts of their childhood.
It’s a children’s show, but it is geared toward adults. The jokes are strange and entertaining. The children are talented and make you think about your own talents. There is an eight-year-old kid who can sing, and I can only cram information for a test. 
My favorite part of the special was when the children are asked what their biggest fear is, a question that may be still hard for us to answer. We see the thought processes and innocence of children while exploring our own childhood. It’s a wholesome reminder that we are still kids at heart. We should embrace that. 
We also gain more insight about children. Adults do talk down to children as if they need to dumb it down for them. Mulaney doesn’t see that. He is having conversations with them without being patronizing. It’s as if they are on the same level with each other. I think that’s something as adults to think about. 
The special also features a handful of guest stars like Jake Gyllenhaal, David Byrne, Andre De Shields, Annaleigh Ashford and more. 
Overall, this show is nostalgic with clean adult jokes. It’s wholesome and much needed on a bad day if you want to uplift your mood. This isn’t like Mulaney’s other specials, but it is different in a pleasant way.