Netflix will present a posthumous Norm Macdonald comedy special Netflix announced on Thursday. The special, titled “Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special,” was self-taped in the comedian’s home and will premiere on May 30.
The former “Saturday Night Live” star left behind an hour of unused material that he filmed at home during the COVID lockdown. He intended to reshoot it in front of an audience, but didn’t get a chance before his death in 2021.
“Norm worked so hard on a new hour of material and wanted it to be seen. While this version of ‘Nothing Special’ was not originally meant to be the final product, COVID restrictions prevented him from filming in front of an audience. We want to make sure his fans see this very funny hour. He left this gift for all of us,” said Lori Jo Hoekstra, Norm’s long-time producing partner and executive producer of the special said in a statement.
Following the special is a bonus featurette with Adam Sandler, Conan O’Brien, Dave Chappelle, David Letterman, David Spade and Molly Shannon remembering the comic. It was taped earlier this month during a tribute to Norm at “Netflix is a Joke: The Festival.”
In a CTV article about the May 3 “Celebrating Norm” event, his sister-in-law, Joyce Napier first wrote about the self-taped special: “Oh, wait: there was an Easter egg. It turns out Norm left an hour of new material behind, recorded in his apartment during the lockdown. It’ll be a Netflix comedy special soon. So, we have that. Which is precisely what Norm wanted.”
Macdonald died of leukemia on Sept. 14, 2021 at age 61. The comic’s death came as a shock, as he hadn’t previously shared his nine-year battle with the disease with the public.
This will be this third special: “Me Doing Stand-Up” aired on Comedy Central in 2011 and “Hitler’s Dog, Gossip & Trickery,”debuted on Netflix in 2017.
