As Netflix continues to announce new talk shows at a brisk clip, some have speculated what the streaming giant’s endgame is. It now seems clear: Slowly but surely give out more and more late-night-style shows, so that eventually every person on Earth (and some dogs) spend all their time preparing for their show or stopping by someone else’s show. After giving shows to David Letterman and Joel McHale (though both have wildly different formats), ordering more episodes of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, and announcing new weekly talkers from Michelle Wolf and Hasan Minhaj, Norm Macdonald is the next comedian to land his own weekly Netflix series. The project — officially revealed by the former Saturday Night Live star on Twitter Friday, and confirmed by Vulture — will be called Norm Macdonald Has a Show.
The announcement isn’t a total surprise. Earlier this year, in a Reddit AMA, Macdonald alluded to a deal with Netflix being in the works, writing, “I did my podcast in order to see if I could host a talk show and I think I succeeded and have now been offered a talk show by Netflix.” Like that podcast (Norm Macdonald Live, which has been released in video and audio form since 2013), the Netflix series will feature Adam Eget as Macdonald’s sidekick, along with one celebrity guest per episode. (Podcast guests have included Adam Sandler, Caitlyn Jenner, and Sarah Silverman.)
Along with hosting, Macdonald will act as the executive producer and co-showrunner with Lori Jo Hoekstra, with whom Macdonald has worked his whole career (from his Comedy Central show, Sports Show, to his ABC sitcom, Norm, to SNL’s Weekend Update). Also serving as exec producers: K.P. Anderson (who’s also producing McHale’s Netflix show) and Daniel Kellison. Also creatively involved: past podcast guest Letterman, who will serve as the “location scout” for Norm Macdonald Has a Show. Netflix has ordered ten episodes of the Macdonald series, which is being produced by Lionsgate TV. No word yet on when the show will launch. Either way, congrats to Macdonald. And, congrats to you, whenever you get your show.
