How John Mulaney’s robot stole the spotlight on his Netflix talk show

Branded is a weekly column devoted to the intersection of marketing, business, design, and culture. John Mulaney’s somewhat-intentionally chaotic pop-up talk show, which ran live for six nights in connection with the Netflix is a Joke Festival, included (and often mocked) many familiar elements of the genre: gaggles of guests, live viewer calls, a bellowing sidekick, comedy set pieces, and person-on-the-street interviews. But amid all this, a stealthy star emerged: Saymo, the delivery...