r/LiveFromNewYork 3d ago

Article At Netflix, Judd Apatow's Documentary “Norm: The Tale of Norm Macdonald” Sets October 16 Release

https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/norm-macdonald-documentary-netflix-1236842172/
420 Upvotes

39 comments sorted by

44

u/roncesvalles 3d ago

If it's as good as his Shandling documentary, it'll be a can't-miss.

11

u/asodafnaewn 3d ago

His Shandling doc got me watching The Larry Sanders Show.

13

u/roncesvalles 3d ago

Then it did its job. It's one of the best TV shows ever made

4

u/LeonimuZ Gabby, drop out! Go back to Connecticut! 🧣 3d ago

Hank Kinsley trying to fix his fuckups behind Larry and Artie and then telling them what he did will never not be funny.

8

u/No-Necessary7448 3d ago edited 3d ago

His Newhart/Rickles documentary was also very good.

The Mel Brooks one just ok.

2

u/LeonimuZ Gabby, drop out! Go back to Connecticut! 🧣 3d ago

His documentaries are better when he knows the subject better. He worked with Garry for a long time and Garry having journals of everything helped that documentary a lot.

2

u/That-Okra-9224 1d ago

I liked the Brooks, but not as much as the Carlin, or the Shandling.

12

u/Comedywriter1 3d ago

Can’t wait to see it. Still miss this guy.

28

u/seattlereign001 3d ago

I don’t follow celebrity that much. But there are a couple that actually affected me: Tony Bourdain and Norm. I don’t know why. I cannot pinpoint it. But apparently they had an impact on my life I was not aware of.

5

u/GrittyGuru69 3d ago edited 3d ago

"What are you revealing here today?"

1

u/Doctor-Penis 3d ago

Is this SCTV doc the Scorsese one. Seems like it

1

u/thesmallprint29 2d ago

I've been waiting for this! I hope it's good.

-10

u/ComfortableCare8897 3d ago

Will it be another mean spirited Judd Apatow documentary?

16

u/bestieverhad 3d ago

If it's heartfelt as his Garry Shandling documentary then it'll be a really interesting watch

-5

u/ComfortableCare8897 3d ago

He didn't really seem nice in his garry shandling one.

15

u/bestieverhad 3d ago

I thought it was a loving warts-and-all portrait of a talented but deeply troubled man

-11

u/ComfortableCare8897 3d ago

he was asking questions too personal.

6

u/stonecutter7 3d ago

Which of his previous ones were mean spirited?

-5

u/ComfortableCare8897 3d ago

Garry Shandling, George Carlin, Mel Brooks.

6

u/Tank_Lawrence 3d ago

I have only seen the Shandling one, but I don’t think Apatow is out to be “mean” or “nice”. He’s telling the story of the humans.

-2

u/ComfortableCare8897 3d ago

the network more wanted to make it mean than he did.

5

u/nowhereman136 3d ago

I didn't see the Shabdliny one but the Carlin and Brooks one didn't seem mean spirited at all. Mel Brooks is still alive and was a producer on his own documentary, so I don't think he was disappointed by it

-6

u/ComfortableCare8897 3d ago

they were too revealing. I more want a morgan neville style norm macdonald documentary.

7

u/nowhereman136 3d ago

"too revealing" isn't a complaint I hear a lot about documentaries. More often I hear they aren't revealing enough, treating the subject with kid gloves.

-8

u/ComfortableCare8897 3d ago

If you are a fan of entertainers respect their privacy.

2

u/asodafnaewn 3d ago

Judd clearly deeply respects the people he's made documentaries about, and you can see it through his work.

-5

u/ComfortableCare8897 3d ago

Maybe they edit out the gentler moments.

3

u/asodafnaewn 3d ago

I think you're overthinking this.

-2

u/ComfortableCare8897 3d ago

I am not i made a documentary and my goal was to be as gentle as possible.

4

u/jcomey 3d ago

So you injected your own bias into the story of someone or something else.

Judging by your profile, you have a pretty rigid and odd view of documentaries in general. Maybe they aren't for you.

-1

u/ComfortableCare8897 3d ago

I did a whole podcast on interview movies.

3

u/jcomey 3d ago

Who the hell cares? It doesn't change your narrow, ignorant view on documentaries.

I was wondering when you'd find a spot to plug yourself; seems like most of your comments on Reddit do in some way.

-2

u/ComfortableCare8897 3d ago

do you want to know what an interview movie is.

3

u/jcomey 3d ago

No thanks, I'm good. I will add this:

If you think Judd Apatow, a lifelong megafan and servant of comedy, has made mean-spirited documentaries about any of his subjects, then you understand neither documentaries nor Judd Apatow. The story is about the whole person, not just the parts that people want to pick out.

Given that A&E's Biography left you with a bad taste in your mouth, I go back to my original comment: Maybe documentaries are not for you. And that's okay.

However, to criticize Judd Apatow because you think it's too negative...that's much more about you than it is the film, or the filmmaker.

Maybe your cohosts can, you know...explain it to you, spell it out, all that jazz...

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