Judd Apatow Lets Norm Macdonald Speak for Himself in Netflix’s ‘Norm’ Doc Trailer

Streaming service also to host docs on Martin Mull, Maria Bamford, and 'SCTV' in October

Norm: The Tale of Norm Macdonald, a new documentary directed by Judd Apatow, will look at the late comedian’s life and career. The trailer for the film, which hits Netflix on Oct. 16, compiles some of Macdonald’s best jokes (“When I was a kid I walked in on my parents having sex,” he says in one scene, “It was the most embarrassing half hour of my life”) along with clips of Macdonald talking with Sarah Silverman, Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, and David Letterman, among others. The clip shows Macdonald discussing his firing from Saturday Night Live, where he hosted Weekend Update, to appearances in movies and samples of his standup comedy.

Trending Stories

Unlike documentaries that feature retrospective talking-head interviews with people looking back on a subject, Apatow compiled Norm using “archival footage, personal photos, and rare home videos contributed by fans and friends,” according to Netflix, so Macdonald ostensibly could tell his story in his own voice.

The doc is one of four documentaries about comedians that the streamer has coming in October. The late Bob Saget co-directed Who Is Martin Mull?, out Oct. 7, about Mull, the actor and comedian who died in 2024, with Neil Berkeley. It features recollections from Steve Martin, Tom Waits, and David Alan Grier, among others. Apatow and Berkeley teamed up to co-direct Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story, which traces Bamford’s Minnesota origins to fame in L.A. and comes out Oct. 23. And SCTV: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard Of, directed by Jason Hehir, tells the story of the cult Canadian sketch show that launched the careers of Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis, Martin Short, and others. It hits Netflix on Oct. 30.