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Norm Macdonald’sdidn’t shy away from joking about the end of his life in the comedy special that would end up being his last.
The Netflix special, titledNorm Macdonald: Nothing Special, included a few jokes about writing his living will, talking with God and telling his family to “pull the plug” should he ever find himself in a coma.
While the dark jokes about death could be connected to hisbattle with leukemia, Macdonald didn’t directly address his illness in the special. He died in September 2021 of the cancer after keeping it a secret from the public for around 10 years. TheSaturday Night Livealum was 61.
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“Norm was working hard preparing material for his Netflix special — until COVID shut things down,” a title card on the Netflix series explained. “In the summer of 2020, he was scheduled to undergo a procedure and as he put it, ‘didn’t want to leave anything on the table in case things went south.'”
So, the special was filmed in his own home just a night before the surgery. For most of the special, Macdonald sits in a desk chair with a single camera on him. But the final product is not entirely made up of his routine.
The episode also features commentary from some of Macdonald’s friends and fellow comedians, includingDave Chappelle,Molly Shannon,David Letterman,Conan O’Brien,Adam SandlerandDavid Spade. In their odes to Macdonald, some wished they knew more about his illness while others praised his legacy.
“This guy was, in a weird way, reconciling his mortality, hilariously. And ironically, he’s no longer with us,” Chappelle said. “We’re sitting in the aftermath of Norm Macdonald, watching him be incredibly alive.”
In total, Macdonald’s impromptu comedy performance runs about 50 minutes. Moments of reality are included, too, including outside noise from his dogs barking, as well as a phone call Macdonald has to answer while filming.
Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special is now available to stream on Netflix. The comedian has two other projects available on Netflix —Norm Macdonald: Hitler’s Dog, Gossip and Trickeryand one season of his talk showNorm Macdonald Has a Show.
source: people.com
