What's next for Netflix? This trailer for Norm: The Tale Of Norm Macdonald!

Netflix continues to cast a wide net for its documentary fodder, lining up new cookie-cutter docs for such diverse figures as Mike Tyson, Mr. T, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Martin Mull, and Maria Bamford through the rest of 2026. And while we’d be willing to park ourselves on the couch for more than a couple of these subjects, Netflix’s latest is what we’d call appointment TV—if TV were still a scheduled medium, that is. You can watch stuff on Netflix whenever you want! It’s chaos. At any rate, Netflix has announced the October 16 premiere of Norm: The Tale Of Norm Macdonald, which will offer an “intimate portrait” of the late comedian, a phrase the late comedian might have found cause to ridicule with an acerbic quip or a meandering anecdote were he still with us. (You can almost hear him now: “Intimate portrait? Good lord!”) 

This comes from director Judd Apatow, who, through archival footage and interviews with Norm’s pals, will detail the life and career of the notoriously private Macdonald, from his scrappy “If ya know what I mean!” stand-up days to his stormin’ Norman “Weekend Update” era, to his later career, which we hope includes some behind-the-scenes tomfoolery from Bob Saget’s 1998 comedy Dirty Work, and unseen footage from his peerless podcast days with co-star Adam Eget. Fittingly, the trailer is modeled as though the viewer were searching for Norm clips on YouTube, which is appropriate—for who amongst us has not lost entire days watching hours of Norm Macdonald clips on YouTube at the expense of personal health and hygiene? Let them who have not done such a thing cast the first stone—Ow! The hell…?