[7.3/10] A fun throwback to the kids shows I (and presumably, John Mulaney and company) grew up with. The fidelity to the presentation styles of *Sesame Street* and *The Electric Company* is impressive, and Mulaney finds ways to incorporate his own sensibilities into that framework. There’s a lot of pop culture-invoking and New York-specific gags at play, but in that unshowy, esoteric way that helps make the stand-up’s humor sing.

Speaking of singing, the musical numbers are well-performed and staged. The kids chosen do a great job of showing off their professional chops in the song and dance routines, while seeming like genuine, unrehearsed young men and women during the interview segments. They play well off the adults, and the show finds some amusing unguarded moments among kid and grown-up alike.

The grown-ups include a bevy of fun, off-beat guest stars engaging in Mulaney’s weirdo shtick like Richard Kind (who’s delightful at every turn), David Byrne (who’s surprisingly game), and Jake Gylenall (who does the sort of wide-eyed, goofball performance you rarely see from him). Other cameos from performers I was less familiar with like Andre de Shields, Natasha Lyonne, and Annaleigh Ashford clicked as well, with de Shields in particular bringing a distinctive presence.

The best part of the special is the way that Mulaney and co-writer Marika Sawyer manage to infuse something a touch cynical and a little bit off into all of the traditionally smiling bits from these family-friendly shows, without disrupting the tone. I love projects like *Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared* which use that sort of uncanny valley closeness between the cuddly and the bizarre to dredge up some true horror. But Mulaney and Sawyer manage to use the same to bring the laughs.

More than any of the specific gags, it’s the tone here that’s funny, with enough disparities between the safe, candy-colored world those classic shows presented and the low-key absurdities of the real world to make it all winning and funny. This is a slanted take on the kid-friendly variety special, but one fit for both young and old for how it expertly walks that line.