Norm Macdonald Live is a discontinued weekly audio and video podcast hosted by Canadian stand-up comedian, writer and actor Norm Macdonald. The Comedy Store's Adam Eget served as the show's co-host, with former Late Show with David Letterman producer Daniel Kellison as executive producer.
The show featured interviews with comedians, actors, and other members of the entertainment community, and ran for three seasons. Launched by the Video Podcast Network on March 26, 2013, and then produced by Jash, the show was also distributed on YouTube, Amazon Prime, and PlutoTV, with audio-only versions of the episodes uploaded via iTunes. On February 16, 2018, archived episodes of the show were taken off YouTube, followed by most major digital platforms.
Norm Macdonald Has a Show, a spiritual successor to Norm Macdonald Live starring Macdonald and Eget, was released on Netflix on September 14, 2018.
Background The first season premiered on March 26, 2013, and concluded after eleven episodes. After a year-long hiatus, the second season debuted on May 12, 2014. It concluded after thirteen episodes in August 2014.
A third season was released in September and October 2016, but only two episodes were aired before going on hiatus. On July 25, 2017, the season continued with guest David Letterman. The recommencement of the third season featured a brand-new set as well as a new style of filming that seemed to prefer close-up camera shots on subjects rather than the traditional medium close-up.
Format The podcast followed a talk show format without a studio audience. Each hour-long episode features opening remarks between Macdonald and co-host Adam Eget, often involving elaborate comedic bits and irreverent chit-chat, leading into a guest interview. The show concludes with a segment called "Jokes" in which the hosts and their guest take turns reading one-liners from index cards.
Episodes Season one No. overall No. inseason Release date Subject 1 1March 26, 2013 Bob Einstein (as Super Dave Osborne) 2 2April 2, 2013 Tom Green 3 3April 9, 2013 Fred Stoller 4 4April 16, 2013 Russell Brand 5 5April 23, 2013 Billy Bob Thornton 6 6April 30, 2013 Larry King 7 7May 7, 2013 Kevin Nealon 8 8May 14, 2013 Simon Helberg 9 9May 21, 2013 Nick Swardson 10 10May 27, 2013 Andy Dick 11 11June 11, 2013 Gilbert Gottfried – Part 1 12 12June 17, 2013 Gilbert Gottfried – Part 2
Season two No. overall No. inseason Release date Subject 131 May 12, 2014 Ray Romano 142 May 21, 2014 Adam Sandler 153 May 26, 2014 David Spade 164 June 2, 2014 Carl Reiner 175 June 9, 2014 Fred Willard 186 June 16, 2014 Todd Glass – Part 1 197 June 25, 2014 Todd Glass – Part 2 208 June 30, 2014 Bob Saget 219 July 7, 2014 David Koechner 2210 July 14, 2014 Roseanne Barr 2311 July 21, 2014 Marc Maron 2412 July 28, 2014 Martin Mull 2513 August 7, 2014 Jack Carter
Season three No. overall No. inseason Release date Subject 261 September 15, 2016 Stephen Merchant 272 September 26, 2016 Bill Hader 283 July 25, 2017 David Letterman 294 August 1, 2017 Mike Tyson 305 August 8, 2017 Bobby Lee 316 August 15, 2017 Sarah Silverman – Part 1 327 August 15, 2017 Sarah Silverman – Part 2 338 August 22, 2017 Dana Carvey 349 August 29, 2017 Jerry Seinfeld 3510September 5, 2017Caitlyn Jenner 3611 September 12, 2017 Rich Little 3712 September 19, 2017 Margaret Cho 3813 September 26, 2017 Tim Allen 3914 October 3, 2017 Jim Carrey
Specials In the spirit of the Sports Show with Norm Macdonald, Norm and co-hosts Jeff Martin and Chad Drew live-streamed their coverage of the US Masters golf tournament over several hours in 2013, and again in 2015.
The show featured special call-in guests, including Sid Youngers, Josh Gardner and Bob Einstein.
Episode Release date Subject1 April 13, 2013The 2013 Masters with Norm Macdonald – Day 1 2 April 14, 2013The 2013 Masters with Norm Macdonald – Day 2 3 April 11, 2015The 2015 Masters with Norm Macdonald – Day 1 4 April 12, 2015 The 2015 Masters with Norm Macdonald – Day 2
Critical reception Reviews for the series were positive, with warm notices from USA Today and Entertainment Weekly. Darren Staley of America's Comedy wrote "The show is at all times smart, unpredictable, thought-provoking, and funny as hell," arguing that "It's the best podcast out there right now." Writing for IFC, Ron Mwangaguhunga called Macdonald "a comedic force with which to be reckoned," noting that the show was "a bit rough around the edges," in its first episode.
References
External links Norm Macdonald Live at the Internet Archive