Norm Macdonald Shot One Last Secret Netflix Special Before He Died

Before he passed away, Norm Macdonald had a final wish: to put together one last stand-up special for the public. Now, that secret material will finally air to the public on Netflix, The Hollywood Reporter has shared.

Macdonald, who passed away last September at the age of 61, had been battling cancer since 2012, keeping his illness private. As he worked on new material for another Netflix special in the summer of 2020, he had to check into the hospital. Worried about the next steps in his career, Macdonald decided he would make the special unique.

“His test results were not good, so during the heart of COVID-19 pandemic and literally the night before going in for a procedure, he wanted to get this on tape just in case—as he put it—things went south,” Macdonald’s long-time producing partner, Lori Jo Hoekstra, told THR. “It was his intention to have a special to share if something happened.”

So, the comedic legend shot the entire stand-up special straight from his living room in a single one-hour take. Though he made it through the 2020 procedure, Macdonald decided to shelve the project for a later date. And after he became very ill a year later, his team decided it would be best to release the project in memory of the late star.

Before Macdonald passed, he rewatched the special and suggested a title: Nothing Special.

SNL’s Colin Jost and Michael Che Pay Tribute to Norm Macdonald

Macdonald has worked with Netflix in the past on his special Norm Macdonald: Hitler’s Dog, Gossip & Trickery, as well as his one-season-long talk show Norm Macdonald Has a Show.

The program includes collaborators like Adam Sandler, Conan O’Brien, Dave Chappelle, David Letterman, David Spade, and Molly Shannon, who all paid tribute to the comid during this year’s Netflix Is a Joke Fest.

Norm Macdonald’s one-of-a-kind final act, Nothing Special, will premiere on Netflix on May 30.

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