Mark Normand Might Just Be Norm Macdonald Light

Summary

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Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade

Episode: "Mark Normand Might Just Be Norm Macdonald Light"
Date: April 23, 2026
Guest: Mark Normand

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Episode Overview

This episode features standup comic Mark Normand, known for his rapid-fire punchlines and wry, Norm Macdonald-esque delivery. Dana and David dig into Mark's comedy philosophy, career trajectory, joke-writing process, and the current landscape of standup. The conversation is packed with inside comedy talk, memorable stories, and a generous helping of self-deprecation, with tributes to Norm Macdonald, reflections on comedic risk-taking, and the grind of constantly generating material.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introduction to Mark Normand & His Comedy Style

• Consistent Joke Writing: Dana and David praise Mark’s ability to land multiple laughs per minute and highlight the challenges that come with such a style.
• Comparison to Norm Macdonald: Mark is framed as “Norm Macdonald light”—rapid, dry, mischievous, but non-threatening.
• The Pressure to Generate Content: Discussion about the relentless need for new material, especially for comics whose acts are "joke dense" vs. storytelling comics.

[04:43] - [07:58] The Joke-a-Minute Approach & Standup Evolution

• Mark’s Process: Mark explains that his short jokes force him to hit stage after stage in New York:

  "I run around like a psycho because my jokes are short. So I gotta write a lot just to fill an hour." – Mark (06:35)

• Spade’s Storytelling: David contrasts Mark’s punchy sets with his own desire to extend single stories for as long as possible.
• Norm Macdonald Influence:

  "You’re like norm light, you’re norm, but bad." – Mark (07:51)

[08:55] - [10:14] Taboo Topics & the "Non-Threatening" Comedian

• Pushing Boundaries: Dana observes how Mark floats through controversial themes with a harmless delivery:

  "You just flow by, but you go wherever you want, right?" – Dana (08:57)

• Permission via Punchlines:

  "If it’s got a punchline and a twist, you can joke about anything...I’ve been told I’m non-threatening." – Mark (09:14)

• Building an Audience in Clubs: David notes that comics like Mark or Shane Gillis break through by being “offensive, even though you’re unoffensive,” baking in their style before wider exposure.

[12:04] - [13:57] Path to Success, "Out to Lunch," and Viral Impact

• ‘Out to Lunch’ on YouTube:

  "...Comedy Central said no, Netflix said no, Amazon said no, so I said, screw it, put it on YouTube. And it hit because people needed content and...it was free..." – Mark (12:04)

• Timing & the Algorithm: Panel discusses how timing, the pandemic, and sharing contributed to the special’s huge viewership.
• Challenges of Touring Post-Special:

  “...now you have no material...people go, hey, this guy got a special, he sucks. And I go, I know, but I’m out of material.” – Mark (13:57)

[15:33] - [16:16] The Technical Grind & Low Self-Esteem

• Relentless Refinement:

  "It’s a nightmare. It’s a young man’s game...tinkering, getting every...oh, that word’s not hitting, let me shorten it..." – Mark (15:33)

• Storytelling Anxiety: Comics like Mark and Attell panic without immediate laughs, in contrast to comics like Nate Bargatze who lull the crowd.

[19:29] - [20:26] Relatability, Messages & the ‘No Agenda’ Approach

• Just Being Funny: Mark rejects comedy with an "agenda":

  "I don’t want to have a message. Everybody’s got a message or an agenda...I think it’s refreshing..." – Mark (19:29)

• Celebrating Absurdity: Cites Chris Fleming’s special for its pure silliness.

[21:26] - [22:10] Industry Demands & Comic Hustle

• Pressure to Produce:

  "My agent’s like, we got you $18 to play for Raytheon. You want to do it? I’m in." – Mark (21:36)

• Aging in Comedy: The trio reflect on the changing opportunities as comics enter their 40s and the industry’s obsession with youth.

[25:44] - [26:15] Mark’s Comedic Discipline

• Insane Reps:

  “I got four sets tonight in the city, jumping around from club to club...dissect one line...just do that for months and months.” – Mark (25:57)

[27:41] - [29:17] Comedy Inspirations & The Enigma of Norm Macdonald

• Norm as True North:

  "Norm, to me, is just the funniest guy. His stand up is great, but he was funny everywhere..." – Mark (28:08)

• Always ‘On’: The group reminisce about Norm’s unique energy on any platform—TV, podcasts, or live.

[31:18] - [32:22] The Hard Road: Norm's Integrity & Comic Strength

• Unapologetic Approach: Mark shares a Norm anecdote about walking (clearing out) an audience, emphasizing staying true to oneself despite crowd reactions.
• Private Pain, Public Fun:

  "He was so strong...the whole cancer thing, he hid that for years..." – Mark (31:59)

[34:13] - [36:26] Controversial Jokes & Audience Pushback

• ‘Moon Team’ Bit Explained:

  "I said...they had a first black astronaut...They’re not letting him on the moon...might hurt the property value...of course they make the black guy do a drive by..." – Mark (34:13)

• Handling Outrage:

  "The black community was pushing back. And I said, I’m just joking around. I make fun of honkies. I make fun of Jews, you know? Now it’s your turn." – Mark (34:46)

[37:43] - [39:08] Comics’ Threshold for Offense

• Comedians' ‘Safe Spaces’:

  "If you saw my text thread with a couple comics, I would go right to the gulag." – Mark (37:43)

• Jokes Among Friends vs. On Stage: Spade observes the difference between what kills in a green room or lunch—and what can’t survive on stage in public.

[41:41] - [43:01] Mark’s Broader Comedy Adventures – Rogan, Protect Our Parks

• Protect Our Parks:

  "We go on [Rogan] and just get drunk with Shane and Ari and just joke around for four hours...joke around, be idiots, say horrible things, get drunk, do mushrooms..." – Mark (41:46)

• Impact: These appearances are powerful ticket-sellers for Mark’s standup.

[46:06] - [47:45] Mark’s Backstory: Growing Up & Getting Mugged

• Humble Beginnings:

  "I failed out of college three times...I had such little going on that I said, screw it, I’ll try an open mic...moved to New York...got mugged three times, got bedbugs..." – Mark (46:27)

• Mugging Stories: Mark recounts blackout-era subway travails—including an incident where local drug dealers “saved” him from a mugger.

[51:14] - [52:18] On Success and the Perpetual Next Step

• Never Enough:

  "It feels like being a mailman, where you, you put the mail out. Then you show up the next day and they’re like, we got a lot more mail. Like, God, it never ends." – Mark (52:18)

[54:18] - [55:09] The Business of Specials

• Production Value: Mark discusses putting more thought and money into the latest special, “None Too Pleased” (shot at Boulder Theater with New Orleans theme).
• Joke Clipping: The group discusses the necessity and fatigue of constantly uploading crowdwork/joke clips for social media traction.

[56:09] - [58:23] Highs, Lows, and Future Projects

• Can’t Rest on Laurels: Even with “None Too Pleased” charting on Netflix, Mark’s focus is on writing his next hour.
• Upcoming Movie: Mark and Sam Morril are set to shoot a comedy film (directed by Jonah Feingold), tweaking the script to fit a smaller budget.

[59:45] - [62:13] The State of Movie Comedy

• Decline of Studio Comedies:

  "We used to get like five, six comedies a year in the 90s, and now it’s just like few and far rated." – Mark (61:21)

• Hollywood Hesitation: Executives praise classics like “Office Space” but hesitate to greenlight new comedies.
• Advice from Dana & David: Focus on clarity, be influenced by the greats, don’t try to be too original at the expense of your voice, and storyboard/problem solve ahead.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Being Unthreatening While Saying Threatening Things:

  "You’re unoffensive, even though you’re offensive." — David Spade (09:34)

• On the ‘Out to Lunch’ Breakthrough:

  "Comedy Central said no, Netflix said no, Amazon said no. So I said, screw it, put it on YouTube. And it hit..." – Mark (12:04)

• On the Real Grind:

  "It’s a young man’s game. It’s so much tinkering, getting every [joke]...Let me shorten it off a few syllables." – Mark (15:33)

• On Norm Macdonald:

  "He was funny everywhere. He’s what a comedian is to me." – Mark (33:13)

• On Balanced Risk:

  "If it’s got a punch line and a twist, you can joke about anything." – Mark (09:14)

• On Never Arriving:

  "It feels like being a mailman. You put the mail out, then you show up the next day and they're like, we got a lot more mail." – Mark (52:18)

• On Social Media and Audience Building:

  "Clips really spread like herpes and that can save your tickets..." – Mark (54:01)

• On Unfiltered, Real Comedian Life:

  “We go on [Rogan]...do mushrooms, smoke cigars, and just be a bunch of dudes.” – Mark (42:02)

• On Self-Deprecation:

  “I have a child and a wife, but I’m like second and third.” – Mark (24:34)

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Segment Timestamps

• 03:17 – Introduction to Mark, his comedy style, and rise
• 06:35 – How Mark’s ‘short jokes’ change his work habits & the pressure to write
• 09:14 – Handling sensitive topics
• 12:04 – The “Out to Lunch” story: success after industry rejections
• 13:57 – Touring—the challenge of generating new material for theaters
• 15:33 – The technical grind of joke writing
• 19:29 – Comedy as escapism vs. message
• 21:26 – The grind, money deals, and comic hustle
• 25:57 – Mark's manic stage rep routine
• 28:08 – Norm Macdonald as comedic inspiration
• 31:18 – Stories of Norm’s notorious fearlessness
• 34:13 – Controversial bits and pushback (the Moon joke)
• 37:43 – Behind-the-scenes comic texts, offensive humor
• 41:46 – “Protect Our Parks” and Rogan’s impact
• 46:06 – Mark’s origin story and early New York days
• 51:14 – Reflections on success, constant pressure
• 54:18 – “None Too Pleased” and the business of specials
• 56:09 – Savoring a win and the movie project with Sam Morril
• 59:45 – Advice on writing and producing comedy movies
• 61:21 – The death of mainstream big-budget comedies
• 63:00 – Wrap-up, sincere thanks, and fandom exchange

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The Tone & Chemistry

The episode is fast-paced, jocular, and full of industry wisdom, but never self-serious for long. Genuine admiration flows between the hosts and Mark, with easy transitions between roasting, bantering, and diving deep on the pains and philosophies of the comedy life.

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For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

If you’re interested in the mechanics of standup, the economics of specials, what it really takes to write jokes that kill, and the quirky hallmarks of comic voices like Norm Macdonald, this episode delivers. Mark Normand’s humility, relentless work ethic, and refusal to take any aspect of “making it” for granted make the conversation both real and inspiring.

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[None Too Pleased is now streaming on Netflix]

Transcript

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[Mark Normand]

Well, that was an LA version, so we kept it a little queefy for You. I know you're old, and thank you.

[Dana Carvey]

I'm gonna look that up.

[Mark Normand]

I get that all the time. Feels like yourself, you're no norm. You're. You're like Norm light, you're norm, but bad.

[David Spade]

And did you kill yourself or you take any of that advice?

[Mark Normand]

Nah, not yet. Later. But they're just going around the moon. They're not letting them on the moon, which I thought was messed up, but it might hurt the property value. And then I said, of course they make the black guy do a drive by. And I say, let him on the moon. I want to see that guy jump. Can you imagine that? Moon jump. And then I call it moon team. So we had some good times.

[David Spade]

Dana. Mark Norman, who is a very funny comic. Not on every single person's radar yet, but that's. We like to do. Get someone like we did with Shane. Get him a little early and free stadium. Yeah, Pre stadiums. He's always consistently funny when I see him do quick sets or on Instagram or just talking to the dude. He's got a great sort of Norm MacDonaldy vibe.

[Dana Carvey]

Well, they talk about his love of Norm.

[David Spade]

Yeah. His love of stand up. And also he does a podcast called We Might Be Drunk with Sam Morrell is another great comic. So two of them are out there killing it. And he was a lot of fun and just a lot of jokes, a lot of laughing. And we really kind of dug deep with him, too.

[Dana Carvey]

Yeah, we do talk about the. Because he really writes a lot of jokes per minute and a lot of punchlines per minute and the pressure to keep coming up with material.

[David Spade]

Yeah. Little shorties. Yeah, we got three jokes every minute. You're right. And it's just hard to fill an hour on stand up. And then I think we talked about doing a special and how. How much of that can you still use? And, you know,

[Dana Carvey]

inside baseball or what it's like to be a touring stand up comic. It was a pleasure to hang out with him, ladies and gentlemen. Enjoy.

[David Spade]

Mark Norman.

[Dana Carvey]

Mark Norman.

[David Spade]

Mark Norman is our guest. We start right away. Mark.

[Mark Normand]

All right, let's do it.

[Dana Carvey]

We're halfway through. All right, so this isn't a We

[David Spade]

Might be drunk marathon when you're there for an hour. 5.

[Mark Normand]

Great.

[David Spade]

How long are your. How long are your podcasts on? We Might Be Drunk.

[Mark Normand]

Well, we drink a lot, so they can go from an hour to two and a half. It gets pretty sloppy.

[David Spade]

Do you really drink? When I was there, did you drink?

[Mark Normand]

Well, that was an LA version, so we kept it a little Queefy. For you. I know you're old and delicate.

[Dana Carvey]

Thank you, Queefy. I'm gonna look that up.

[David Spade]

Wait, I know I'm old and what?

[Mark Normand]

Delicate? I know it hurt you.

[David Spade]

Yeah, yeah. You don't want to hurt me. Mark Norman, I was telling you such a riveting story. Like, if you do a podcast, we might be drunk, which I've done. And I actually, like, I didn't know because I'm frail and brittle that you were delicately leading me through a 22 minute podcast for my own safety. But I don't drink in the day anyway. That's from. I barely drink at night.

[Dana Carvey]

Why not?

[David Spade]

Because I'm a puss, dude. I used to be able to, but God dang it is bad.

[Mark Normand]

It leads to horrible things. You tend up skipping the night and just drinking and going to bars. So day drinking is. Is evil. Don't do it.

[David Spade]

Yeah. Do you. When you drink, do you. I don't mean to cut. I won't cut you. I'll cut you off 30 more times.

[Mark Normand]

Zoom is tough.

[David Spade]

I know. Zoom is tough. I appreciate that you had offered to come in when you were in town. That was very nice. And then I was trying to find you. I was in New York the other night and I saw on my stupid Instagram, it's like, Mark Norman is doing his hijinks at Gut Busters. I'm like, why am I seeing this? And then I go, oh, he's in New York. And then it scrolls down. He's also doing flim flams. He's also doing bebops. And I go, oh, he's not gonna have time to do anything. You're like the New York guy going, boom, boom, boom, right?

[Mark Normand]

Oh, yeah. Well, yeah, I gotta. I run around like a psycho because my jokes are short. So I gotta. I gotta write a lot just to fill an hour, and it takes forever, so I gotta keep. Keep getting up and tweaking.

[David Spade]

I did notice that. Very good joke writer. Very funny. I've always sort of watched from a distance. I finally got the nerve to approach you on Instagram, but. Well, I always appreciate a good joke writer. So does Dana. So when you're cramming in short ones, it is harder. I like to tell stories of my act. I'm trying to get one story that's an hour long, ideally.

[Mark Normand]

Wow.

[David Spade]

I don't think I have one. I can make a story an hour and it's fucking boring. But to get some tent pole laughs in the middle is very hard.

[Mark Normand]

That. That's called the moth. That's a whole different thing.

[David Spade]

Oh, the moth story from Norm.

[Mark Normand]

No, no.

[David Spade]

Norm takes an old joke and then he's like, this is my joke. I'm like, it's a joke. It's like Johnny went to school. And I'm like, are you sure this is your joke? Just elongate it with facts.

[Dana Carvey]

Yeah, I used to drive a tractor. You know, one of those tractor things. You know, driving that tractor.

[David Spade]

That's good. You have a little Norm. Do you hear that or not? You do hear that.

[Mark Normand]

I get that all the time. People say yourself, you're no norm. You're the. You're like norm light, you're norm, but bad.

[David Spade]

And did you kill yourself or you take any of that advice?

[Mark Normand]

Nah, not yet. Later. Not for them.

[David Spade]

If there's a million comics, you're gonna look like someone, you're gonna act like someone. That's just the way it is. I. I get. I get Dana at the car wash the other day. The guy goes, isn't that special? And then he goes, I'm sorry. I love Opportunity Knocks. I love all your movies. And I go, thank you. I think Dana does the same thing. They think we're the.

[Dana Carvey]

I've aged out of our. We used to got really compared a lot. Yeah. Joe Dirt.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Dana Carvey]

Anyway, you know, we've interviewed people on this. You know, we, we were. We interviewed Shane when he was still in the clubs and he maybe had just put out the YouTube special. And I was following your trajectory. So based on the experience of this podcast, you'll be headlining Madison Square garden. Yeah, in 11 months.

[Mark Normand]

Hey, all right, I'll take it. I just gotta say some Asian slurs and I'm in.

[David Spade]

That's the trick. That's a shortcut.

[Dana Carvey]

That's the thing, is you go anywhere you want and it's never comes off. I mean, I don't know, you just. It doesn't get away with a lot. Dark or weird or creepy. It's just sort of. You just flow by, but you go wherever you want, right? As far as just topics and stuff.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Thanks. You know, you always hear these people, like, what can you joke about? Can you. Where's the line? I think if it's got a punch line and a twist, you can joke about anything. And so I. I go all in. And yeah, I've been told I'm non threatening.

[David Spade]

Yeah, creepy, you're asexual. That's great. This is a great exact quality to have in a comic. You're on. You're unoffensive, even Though you're offensive.

[Mark Normand]

There you go. So I think people told me early, like, you're. No one cares about you. You're kind of under the radar. So I said, all right, well, that's. That's a detriment, but maybe I can use it to say horrible things.

[Dana Carvey]

No, you throw it away and you make it a little innocent. You did that arm move. Something about. You're almost sort of commenting on how dark it was. Well, you know, but it's all cheery.

[David Spade]

It's all cheery delivery.

[Dana Carvey]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mark Normand]

That's where a comedy comes from. Because I had to remind audiences, hey, comedy. We're doing. I don't actually.

[Dana Carvey]

Yeah. Oh, by golly.

[David Spade]

Well, I think you stumbled upon a really smart point. Is if Dana or I go to one of these gigs and say something too much, we. We can step in quicker. But if you or Shane on the way up or Theo, you're just saying crazy things quietly in the clubs, and then you build up an audience, and they're all used to it, so it's all baked in. By the time other people hear about it, it's too late because you've already said all the stuff. Everyone's accepted it, and you're not like a corporate working for these different big places, so no one's telling you no. And now that's just you. And that's a great way to do it. Because if I. If I'm only on sitcoms and PG13 movies and then out of the blue. And I also do corporate gigs and I do commercials, so if someone. I say something, it jumps out more. If that's. If I'm making any sense.

[Mark Normand]

Sure, sure.

[David Spade]

People go, whoa, what are you doing? But you guys, I kind of get jealous of just like, people go, hey, we. We're already fans. We like this guy. Don't try to cancel this guy.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, hey, thanks. Yeah, and I think you get known for it. I mean, like, Louie might be a bad example because he did get canceled, but Louie's not.

[Dana Carvey]

Not for his stand up.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Dana Carvey]

Now. And now he's back. He's got an episode special.

[Mark Normand]

He's back.

[Dana Carvey]

Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

But I think if you come off like a Robert Schimmel who's like, I'm the. The bum. I'm the loser. I'm the. The underdog. You set that table. Like, this is who I am. I am the creep.

[Dana Carvey]

Yeah, that's a great title for his next special.

[David Spade]

No, I'll tell you, this is. This is a reverse compliment. Did you think a special called out to Lunch would get any views, let alone 15 million. He got 15 million. What a funny title. Out to lunch.

[Dana Carvey]

That's nuts.

[Mark Normand]

Thanks. Well, I got. It was the Pandemic. I put it out right as the Pandemic hit. It was a complete fail, failure. Because Comedy Central said no, Netflix said no, Amazon said no. So I said, screw it, put it on YouTube. And it. It hit because people needed content and, you know, it was free and all that. So I. I guess the timing worked out. But at the. At the time I put it out, I wanted to kill myself.

[Dana Carvey]

But you shot it yourself with your own money and then tried to sell it to other people.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[David Spade]

Did you shoot yourself with your own gun? No. You know what about. I think it's also. You're kind of underplaying it because even though it was during COVID they have to find it. I see things on YouTube that are great and they have 20,000 views. And you go, how does it get to the point where it gets passed around enough? Or in the algo enough where people start going, now it's at a million. Like, that's a big deal.

[Dana Carvey]

You can't. You can't. Time to get 15. Maybe one. You can't. Not 15.

[David Spade]

Yeah. So something's working. And then you play bigger places, obviously, over time you do clubs, then you start doing some theaters, and that's a little more pressure. Do you feel like it's hard or is it the exact same?

[Mark Normand]

Well, I think. Well, just to go back to the special, I do think it got oversaturated. When I got it in, there was still new. And if you watch all these specials over time have gotten less and less views just because it's. It's not what it used to be. So if I put one out now, I don't think it would. It would hit as big. So timing is a factor. But yeah, it sold a ton of tickets for me. Started doing clubs, adding shows, and we moved to theaters. But then here's the crazy part. You get the Netflix hour finally, and it comes out. That was in 2023. And everybody goes, hey, let's go see this guy in a theater. And now you have no material, and now you're kind of eating in a theater where people go, hey, this guy got a special. He sucks. And I go, I know, but I'm out of material.

[David Spade]

Yeah, this is the age old. We always talk about this, man. Like I'm from the school of don't throw it all away right away. I mean, you need some tent pole. Laughs they're paying a lot of money. And as, as with a band, they only want old material.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[David Spade]

And they don't want new songs. And we always talk about this. Then your stand up, you're going. I want to see people do jokes I like. I want to go to my friends, listen to this one. And I think specials get watered down over time. Maybe myself included. I won't take myself out just because to work and buff out an hour, as you know, as Dana knows, is so hard to get it working.

[Mark Normand]

Yes.

[David Spade]

And to just go, let me start from scratch. It's so hard to get things at work. And you gotta massage them and try them out and. And then every time you're on stage, it's an audition. Dana knows that you're going. You don't want to bomb. You know, Shane's in the back or one of your friends walks in, you're like, I don't want to do my new. They're like, God, he has nothing.

[Dana Carvey]

Chappelle thought you were good man.

[Mark Normand]

Right.

[Dana Carvey]

He was here.

[David Spade]

Oh, he watched you bomb miserably.

[Dana Carvey]

But David tell on podcast is we watched his special and like people who write like you, you're a writer and you're landing like four or five laughs a minute probably at least. And I'll just go gaga, gaga for like five minutes. So I don't. I'm in awe of that. And David, he did a special, was like 35 a standup and then he did some thing at the end because he said, my God. Because it is like this bam, bam, bam. And I don't know how you guys do it, but it's seems like a really difficult to, to turn it, you

[Mark Normand]

know, it's a nightmare. It's a young man's game. It's so much tinkering, getting every. Oh, that word's not hitting. Let me shorten it off a few syllables. Let me change that term. But I think David tell and I. He's. He's the goat in my opinion. But I think that we're scared of doing stories. We have such low self esteem that I, I don't feel like anyone will want to hang on to me with

[David Spade]

a story for a three minute story, even three minutes. They're like, everyone's like going on.

[Mark Normand]

I panic. So I want to get that last move.

[David Spade]

Yeah. I agree with you. That's very hard. And I like people that have patience up there and I see people that just, you know, even Nate goes slow. I like that he. I don't know when that started. Maybe it's always been that way. But they wait. And his crowd is taught to wait.

[Mark Normand]

I know. I'm so jealous. And molasses. But it works like he just has that southern draw where you just get lulled to sleep like a big lazy boy.

[Dana Carvey]

That's the name of his next special Big Lazy Boy.

[David Spade]

My act is a Big Lazy Boy.

[Dana Carvey]

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[David Spade]

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[Dana Carvey]

You know those weeks where your schedule is just completely packed and somehow you still need a fully stocked fridge?

[David Spade]

Yep.

[Dana Carvey]

That's where Instacart has really come through for me.

[David Spade]

Yeah, that's every week for me. You know, I've been using delivery through Instacart for my weekly grocery restock. And what I like most is how much control I have over quality. Because that's right, you don't know this about me. I'm pretty particular. So yes, whether it's specific brands, fresh produce, or ingredients for meals I've already planned, I can be really specific. When you're on the app, you know, you can message your shopper if you want certain ripeness on avocados, you can really just get on them and say swap that out. It all makes a big difference. Yeah, honesty, convenience is huge.

[Dana Carvey]

Yep, that's right. That's right. It's amazing being able to order on my schedule, have everything arrive in as fast as get this 30 minutes. Saves me so much time and mental energy. It just takes one more thing off my plate. Instacart brings convenience, quality and ease right to your door so you can focus on what matters most. Download the Instacart app now and get groceries just how you like. I'm kind of curious just being from the olden days, how big standup has got, how people go to theaters and then stadiums or whatever and just trying to figure out Besides the comedy. Like, I think that Nate's audience really relates to him and of course he's brilliant at stand up. But I, I got a sense the audience really likes you and is relating to you. And also you're being funny and a lot of it, you. You'd mention your wife and things like that, but there's a vibe. You're push. Pushing out. So it's kind of interesting to watch. Why. Why someone blows up and another guy seems to have just as good. Or woman.

[David Spade]

Yeah.

[Dana Carvey]

Jokes. But is not quite. You know, it's fascinating sort of art form. I'm going to call it that.

[Mark Normand]

Aha. Well, hey, I think you just got to use what you got. I don't know what the hell to do. I'm just trying to get laughs and I don't want to have a message. Everybody's got a message or an agenda. And I think it's refreshing when I don't know if you saw this Chris Fleming guy. He just put out a special.

[Dana Carvey]

Yeah, it's hilarious. The tide's jumping around.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. There's no like, point or, or agenda. It's just like, hey, I'm gonna lay on the ground for four minutes and kick my legs up. And it's. It's silly and fun and I think we need that. I mean, you know, who knows what Iran's doing right now? So let's.

[David Spade]

I do.

[Mark Normand]

Let's have a ch.

[Dana Carvey]

I couldn't agree more. I never wanted to find be in that situation where you have a choir that has a certain point of view and then you're teaching you're. And they're getting roars of laughter because you're reinforcing political points of view. I like being just funny. Yeah. More than anything else. Is room for everybody. I don't know.

[David Spade]

I think Mark is also. Is there that kind of Chris Fleming, when he comes around, if the timing's right, everyone's ready for it. Like they just went through the kind of serious comic, then the guy that has no audience. And then there's all these tricks because, as you know, specials are put out almost every weekend. I mean, a big one like Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, so to stand out. And YouTube. I mean, it's such a blur, right? It's. I'm not saying it's pointless anymore. It's just hard because they. If my. My. My managers always like, got a special ready, I go, I just released it. He goes, I'll make a deal right now. What do you hate money Today doesn't like money. Everybody tells the office. I go, no, I'm just saying I like the money. I don't want to do the work. Just give me the money, Dave.

[Mark Normand]

You can just say Jewish. Come on. But, yeah, I know what you mean. They just want you to put stuff out, and you go, hey, I'm an artist. You. You douche. Leave me alone.

[David Spade]

Don't rush, Picasso.

[Mark Normand]

Right?

[David Spade]

So I'm Picasso in that scenario. And so I'm like, I have to work on my booger jokes. Come on. You can't rush these things.

[Mark Normand]

I know, I know. Leave me be. But they want that. They want that money. I'm so jealous of these, like. Like, I don't know if you know Ari Shafir. He's like, I'm gonna go to Machu Picchu for nine months and do ayahuasca and blow a pygmy. And then his agent's like, all right, we'll see it, and it works out. I don't have the balls. I'm such a woods that my agent's like, we got you $18 to play for Raytheon. You want to do it? I'm like, I'm in.

[David Spade]

You have to perform in front of the bombs before they get dropped. You're like, sure, whatever. I'm willing to look the other way.

[Mark Normand]

I'm scared of adults. I'm 42 years old, but I'm still like, oh, this. This man is calling me with a tie on.

[David Spade]

I fucking agree. My managers more like, we want you to make money because it's so hard to keep the balls in the air. Because Dana and I are both over 40, and after 40, in anything in showbiz, they're like, what, are you kidding? Dana looks like a. Dana looks like a fresh daisy.

[Dana Carvey]

I'm inside a ring light. You can't see the ring light. He lives in a ring light. Literally in a bubble of light. If you sat in my light, Mark 19.

[David Spade]

You look 19, 20. Yeah, it's hard because you just want to keep working, and you look at people that blow up quickly, and you go, it's probably harder. I. I sort of got known over time, gradually, and it was weird enough. But these people, like the Jim Carrey thing, where they get so famous, like, overnight, so huge.

[Dana Carvey]

Well, 15 years overnight.

[David Spade]

I mean, yeah, Jim, he did have living color, but to have dumb and Dumber the mask and, you know, ace venture in a row, you go, how do you. It's another level.

[Dana Carvey]

Well, yeah, that's a whole explosion. But just because of. For history's sake, when he Showed up in la. I was around and he was at the improv. And Jim was just doing pure impressions, like Rich Little and he would act out on Golden Palm with Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn with perfect voices, James Dean look. And then we know his whole.

[Mark Normand]

I remember that he would.

[Dana Carvey]

Well, it's Bruce Dern. And I mean, he's. His talent level, just pure raw talent is. Is insane.

[David Spade]

He was on like an old Comedy Store, Young Comedians or something, maybe by Dangerfield. And I was like, this guy, every time he turns around, he looks exactly like he was. So rubber faced. Jim Carrey, very memorable. And then you're right, Dana, he did that. Which I was already floored by that then. In Living Color. But I think you're famous. And when you do $300 million movies in a row, especially back then, that's about as high as you can get. As far as how do you stay. What I'm saying is, how do you stay around for 20, 30 years? And that's. You want to keep making money, you want to stay somewhat relevant. It's just a weird biz. So my guys are like, hopefully you can do this. Hopefully you want to do this, but I'm in your same spot. Do I want to take six months off? I don't even know if I know what to do.

[Mark Normand]

I know you feel worthless. Comedy is really my only like self worth. I have a child and a wife, but I'm like second and third. Yeah, yeah. But do you guys worry about. That's the thing about fame or making it. Once you make it, you're like, hey, I made it. This is great. Now how the hell do I hold on to this? Like, I remember Jerry and he would say, like, thank God for comedians and cars, or I'd be irrelevant. I'm like, dude, Your show's on 11 times a day. What are you talking about?

[Dana Carvey]

44 channels.

[David Spade]

I know.

[Dana Carvey]

Jerry, Jerry, look at Letterman.

[David Spade]

He went back out, so.

[Mark Normand]

Yes, exactly. He's doing interviews.

[Dana Carvey]

Lorne Michaels, One of his quotes was, the minute you're hot, you can feel yourself getting less hot. And a career is like a pendulum. You're hot and it swings. And then you're in the dark side of the moon and then you come back. It just comes with a turf. I'm just curious about. Do you think. Well, two things I want to know about your process. Are you like Jim Gaffigan or like Jerry Seinfeld has a panic attack, if that's possible, because he needs to get to his room and work on his stuff. An Hour each day. Every day.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Dana Carvey]

Jim Gaffigan, brilliant. He. He records everything at the. And then he goes in and he listens to it. The kids are sleeping and fixes. How meticulous are you? Or is it just from reps on stage?

[Mark Normand]

Or. Oh, I'm a psycho. I mean, I got four sets tonight in the city, jumping around from club to club, and, yeah, same set with new stuff filling in. And then I go, this line isn't working. So I'll kind of just dissect one line and go, all right, the next set, just focus on that line. And then.

[Dana Carvey]

Right.

[Mark Normand]

Just do that for months and months. And hopefully it's because it's gradual.

[Dana Carvey]

Bill Burr told me that he doesn't write it down.

[Mark Normand]

What is that?

[Dana Carvey]

He does it so much. Yeah, But I guess that that's. You know.

[David Spade]

You know, I saw him the other night, Dana. He went after me. I introduced him. Of course, I blew it. Because sometimes, Mark, you ever noticed there's an MC and sometimes there's not. So I'm at the store, and I go, good night. And no one comes out. And I go, what am I doing? They go, bring up the next guy. I go, who's the next guy? Is it Bill? And then I go, I didn't. Encore. Because no one was back there. And so I. And then I go, oh, am I supposed to. So I bring. Anyway, Bill comes up, and I'm in the back, so I watch a little bit, and then I, like, type by text. Like, just lines I liked. And then he hit me on the way home. He's like, oh, you like that? Yeah, I was just working on that. And now that you tell me he doesn't write it down, I was, like, writing the wording when I text it, going, this is great. And knowing if I did it, I would be like, I have to remember how I said that was what made it work. The only reason it works because you've done the bit the next night, and you go, I know what that is. And you go, I've done it with Heather here. And I'm like, can you transcribe this? Because I hit it one night, and now it is just not working.

[Dana Carvey]

What did I say that Said, that's another Jerryism. You know, something stops working. You know, check the setup.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Dana Carvey]

Okay.

[David Spade]

Is it clear?

[Dana Carvey]

I mean, he is a scientist. I was curious because people were mentioning that you had norm vibes, or was he kind of one of your inspirations in a sense, or.

[Mark Normand]

Or who. Who.

[Dana Carvey]

So, yeah, because there is some rhythmic stuff there's. Something in there. It's a great thing to be influenced by. So, anyone else besides David or is Norm your true north true north star?

[Mark Normand]

Well, Norm, to me is the just the funniest guy. Like, his stand up is great, but he was funny everywhere. He's funny on the couch, he was funny on a podcast, he was funny in movies, which I liked. Bill Burr has that too. Some guys are just funny on stage, but then you put them on a podcast and they're kind of boring. You've, you've done, you've seen these

[Dana Carvey]

unique, unique thing. When he was on Conan and stuff, it's like he's, he's always smart, was always smiling in such an intense way.

[Mark Normand]

Yes.

[Dana Carvey]

Like, his eyes are really happy and he had these big cheekbones and so it's very potent. It's like he's laughing the whole time, but not out loud because he knows where he's going with it. But yeah, it's his stuff. You see the YouTube clips of him on Conan and it's like we haven't seen anything quite like, yeah, he's lucky

[David Spade]

as Conan because Conan or Letterman, those guys invite a guy like Norm because they want him to be weird. And a lot of people won't put up with it. They just don't get it. So when you go on the View and he's weird, he's talking and they're like the best. I'm like, why are they letting this guy on the View? Do they know anything? And then he does his thing and

[Dana Carvey]

they're like, huh, yeah, Bill, that Bill Clinton guy, you know, he, the only problem was he killed a guy, right?

[David Spade]

Didn't he rape that one girl? Everyone's like, hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Barbara Walters. Like, oh, I thought it was a

[Mark Normand]

matter of public record.

[Dana Carvey]

I, I once had a two hour phone conversation with Norm driving around. I was driving. And of course he, you know, put down his comedy kind of vibe, you know, and he had a lot of frustrations with his career, you know, really a lot of pilots didn't work out and this guy and that and so forth and so on, you know, so he's a little frustrated, you know, like, he's so charismatic and he's like, Norm MacDonald, you know, probably wanted a few more Norm movies or Norm TV shows, you know, Dana was the one.

[David Spade]

Was there a pilot with Lovett's and Norm for Happy Madison? Because it's on. We'll ask him because I think it was about a mayor. I do remember hearing this and, huh, Somebody pulled the Plug on it. But I think they wanted to do it. Something weird happened. But that's the hard thing is, like, Norm is tough. He was tough to book because he wouldn't. Sometimes he wouldn't come, or he would walk people. And, you know, as a manager, we have the same manager, Gervitz. Of course, he's Norms, too. He's like, norm, I don't know. You never know. Because one time he was. I told this story, but we were on the road with Sandler, and, you know, Mark, I think Sam did it. Moreau with us. You know, he rotates some people in just to make it more fun. So in the old days, Norman on. And then. And we're in Seattle or something, and he. And he just walks everybody. And then. Well, the ones that don't want to wait for Sandler, like, I can't take this. It's excruciating. And then when he gets off, Schneider's MC goes, there's Norm MacDonald. You never know which Norm you're gonna get. And tonight, you got that one. And then Norm is on the group chat going, hey, what the. Did Schneider just say?

[Dana Carvey]

Just so people. It's so true, though. Just so people understand. We're listening. If you say, how did the comedian do? He walked the audience that they. Well, what do you mean? Well, they left. They got up and left the room.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, yeah.

[Dana Carvey]

And.

[David Spade]

And they stopped laughing for a while. The comedian does not change gears at all.

[Mark Normand]

He keeps going.

[David Spade]

And they finally go, I can't take it. I'm forfeiting this and leaving voluntarily.

[Mark Normand]

Well, he's.

[David Spade]

If I see one person go to the bathroom. You see someone go to the bathroom, don't you go, oh, they're leaving.

[Mark Normand]

Of course I want to kill myself. It's the worst feeling ever.

[Dana Carvey]

Exactly.

[Mark Normand]

I don't have the. He was so strong. He was such a tough guy. He doesn't get his due. I mean, the whole cancer thing, he hid that for years. I mean, most people would have used that. They would have been like, here, I'm the victim. Let me spin this into a TED

[David Spade]

Talk, you know, end of life tour.

[Mark Normand]

Yes, exactly. He just kept it quiet. Like, the integrity that takes just being

[Dana Carvey]

very, very personal, at least online. I just notice how so. It's so monetizing. If you really share every disease or every negative, weird thing in your life and, oh, you got molested.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, aren't you special? Yeah, yeah. Move on.

[Dana Carvey]

Could you say. Could you say that? But say, well, isn't that special? You got molested? No, Norm Was just funny.

[David Spade]

He had a good joke about cancer. Remember that? When he says, oh, yeah, what was it? Everyone always says this guy lost the battle with cancer. He goes, I think it was a tie. I think cancer died with the guy.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[David Spade]

Cancer's not standing there going, right, I had something like that. And I was like, God, that's a smart way to look at it.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[David Spade]

His dad, while he has it, by the way.

[Mark Normand]

He's like, my dad. Your dad's in a better place. He's like, he's on the floor. But he was funny everywhere. And he's what a comedian is to me. So when the view is like, hey, Norm, what are you doing? I'm like, he's being Norm. He's the guy you booked.

[David Spade]

Yeah. That's the hard.

[Dana Carvey]

He's just got a bigger grin on his face. The manner they would get. He just has this huge smile.

[David Spade]

He's also his secret weapon. He's great looking guy. As a guy guy I didn't know. And all these women were like, he looks like Paul Newman. I'm like, he does. I'm not usually studying guys, but now I do. And he was really look maxing.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Hey, nice, nice. Way to hit the youth, Clav.

[David Spade]

Dude, clavicle.

[Mark Normand]

So now are you guys worried about AI with all this?

[David Spade]

Yeah, we're not here. No. What are we doing with AI? What do you. Oh, I had a question about the moon. I heard you talking about the moon.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, I got shit for that one.

[David Spade]

What did you say?

[Dana Carvey]

Let me hear it. Let me hear the joke.

[Mark Normand]

I mean, I just went the. I was riffing on stage about the moon and somebody brought it up in the crowd. And I said, well, they had a first black astronaut. This is so cool. But they're just going around the moon. They're not letting them on the moon. Which I thought was messed up, but it might hurt the property value. And then I said, of course they make the black guy do a drive by. And I say, let him on the moon. I want to see that guy jump. Can you imagine that? Moon jump? And then I call it moon team. So we had some good times.

[Dana Carvey]

You got grief for that how? Online?

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. The black community was pushing back. And I said, I'm just joking around. I think it's great he's on the moon. I'm a comedian. I'm just zinging and zanging. I make fun of honkies. I make fun of Jews, you know? Now it's your turn.

[David Spade]

I don't like it when you make fun of Honky. So I get it.

[Dana Carvey]

Sorry.

[David Spade]

You're like, any joke where I don't say a specific race, it's a honky. So just know they're taking the most beating. Yeah. I saw the moon drive by. I guess it was just a slingshot, because I saw a funny meme where it goes. The moon's like this. And you hear. Hey. You hear a rap song, and it goes away. Like it's just someone driving by. And you go. And the moon's like this. Wait, it's been 20, 40 years, 50 years. And they're just driving by and beeping or something.

[Mark Normand]

That's funny.

[Dana Carvey]

Five years from now, those astronauts are going to be at a cocktail party, and the conversation will be like, no, seriously, dude, you did. You didn't land on the moon.

[David Spade]

Right?

[Mark Normand]

Right.

[David Spade]

The big question is, does that get you any pussy? And I know everyone's thinking this, but going to the moon. Yes. Driving by, is it a shoulder shrugger or do people go, hey, you know, that's cool. That's. It's like the girls that went up in space and they go, no, no, no, it's not. No, we went farther. And they're like, right. All you guys went up and came down.

[Dana Carvey]

Yeah.

[David Spade]

Like, quit. Quit putting us with the origin.

[Mark Normand]

Right.

[David Spade]

They're like, you, Katy Perry, you guys all. Were they on your flight? He's like, no, these are two different things.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Why did Katy Perry need to go to space? I mean, we tried to send Lizzo. We didn't have the fuel.

[Dana Carvey]

But don't put your hand in your chin. That was funny.

[David Spade]

We didn't have the fuel. Anyway.

[Dana Carvey]

Brian Regan. Do a whole album. I Walked on the Moon or something.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. No, it's all fun. It's all fodder. That's what's great about the news. It's. You could do 18 gay ayatollah jokes. It never ends well.

[Dana Carvey]

A comedian, he can't be offended.

[David Spade]

We.

[Dana Carvey]

We're incapable of being offended, I think, because we know it's a joke. We've heard everything. We understand it. When comedians are off camera or hanging out, trying to top each other with the most foul, politically incorrect thing you can say. That's. You know, so we're. We can't.

[David Spade]

It leaks out. Dana's right. It leaks out. But, like, if I said something, you guys. And you guys laughed, like if we were at lunch and I go, oh. And then I say it, my act, everyone goes, what the fuck? And then you go, right. Oh, those guys. I just. This was funny a minute ago. And then they go, no, that's. What's your filthy comedian friends? I'm like, oh, yeah, I guess so, right?

[Dana Carvey]

Do you have bits you do only for other comedians that are so foul you don't have to repeat? But I used to do Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas having sex, and that was the writers room at SNL would say, can you come in here and do that for us again? Just to kind of 2am

[Mark Normand]

Patrice said it years ago. He said, any. Any man who tells me something is inappropriate to talk about, I immediately have lost respect for. And I find it weird that some comedians don't like, you know, whatever problematic humor. But I'm like, it's just us. Like my text thread. If you saw my text thread with a couple comics, I would go right to the gulag.

[David Spade]

Go to prison. Yeah.

[Dana Carvey]

Oh, yeah. Because part of being funny or what's funny is saying the thing you're just can't possibly say. Yeah, don't. No one should ever say that. So of course a comedian wants to say, say it. But, you know, well, you want to

[David Spade]

outdo the other comedian. You want to be like, I. This is. Isn't this horrible?

[Dana Carvey]

What I just thought, yeah, we're messing around.

[Mark Normand]

We're not doing the things right.

[Dana Carvey]

You know, we're not doing the things.

[David Spade]

Sometimes it's never, like, against you. If there was any hate under it, it would be different. But you go, I'm just saying, stupid to try to be funny.

[Mark Normand]

I made a pedophile joke. But Bill Clinton is. Is reminiscing over old photos. He's having a great time. So, like, let's get more mad at Bill.

[David Spade]

It was funny that he was. He was giggling, looking like it is memories on his iPhone.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[David Spade]

He's like, these are the days.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Dana Carvey]

No, and the picture of him, was it the hot tub or the swimming pool? And, oh, that was him leafing through the photo book. I was only in there for about five minutes. I just swam around a little bit and nothing happened.

[David Spade]

I farted. We were laughing at the bubble symbols.

[Dana Carvey]

Just. At some point, can we. Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

Will it ever end?

[Dana Carvey]

I mean, Hillary is just like, dude,

[David Spade]

I like when they talk about the Epstein files and I look and they go, and about every day on Instagram, someone's reading another email. That's so horrible. And I go, where's that guy? Like, yeah, I don't know if it's, like, illegal. Write an email or that there's something where you go, this guy. Something was going on. The they say. And then you never Hear, like, did they. Did he get scolded? Maybe a slap on the wrist? Anything? No, no.

[Mark Normand]

And you gotta hand it to Hillary, because Bill Gates's wife left Toot sweet. She was like, you're involved in this guy. I'm out of here. Hillary's like, hold my beer. I mean, I'll tell you about Monica. I'll tell you about everything.

[Dana Carvey]

I'm gonna take 80 billion and get the hell out of Doc.

[David Spade]

She goes, I'm the bravest woman you've ever seen. Me, my backpack and 70 billion.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[David Spade]

My own.

[Mark Normand]

I think all the richest women in America, it's all divorced.

[Dana Carvey]

What was her name? Bezos's ex.

[David Spade]

Look at your jar glass. Jesus Christ.

[Mark Normand]

I don't want to keep refilling. So I just get a giant. The. The bullet.

[David Spade]

Oh, it's the upside down bullet.

[Mark Normand]

Yes.

[David Spade]

What a good eye. Spade. Good eye. Is that a cue card on your door?

[Mark Normand]

Oh, yeah, that's an old Conan. I have all those. Look at. Look at this wall I got here. I'll walk you around.

[David Spade]

Look at the wall fame.

[Dana Carvey]

Look at this. Oh, it's.

[David Spade]

What is that?

[Dana Carvey]

When he did Burt Reynolds.

[Mark Normand]

Yes, yes. And then this is me with Carlin.

[David Spade]

Oh, you saw Carlin? Wow, George.

[Mark Normand]

I met him at a book signing. Nice. Joan Rivers there.

[David Spade]

You ever seen Blue Food?

[Dana Carvey]

Joan Rivers,

[David Spade]

Liz Taylor. Can we talk dog?

[Dana Carvey]

Everybody needs

[David Spade]

that.

[Mark Normand]

Your set list? Yeah.

[David Spade]

Oh, you missed it.

[Dana Carvey]

I saw gay porn in the middle there. That's Alice. Okay?

[Mark Normand]

I got a bunch of them.

[David Spade]

Oh, that's so funny.

[Dana Carvey]

Functioning alcoholic.

[David Spade]

I used to say this. No, this Mark. I go. My friend goes.

[Dana Carvey]

Who's that?

[Mark Normand]

Fallon.

[David Spade]

Is that Fallon coming in? Hey, Soon.

[Dana Carvey]

Hey. You're being insane.

[David Spade]

How many Falins do we got?

[Mark Normand]

Four.

[David Spade]

Okay, I have a legitimate question. You have gone in Rogan how many times?

[Mark Normand]

Well, we have a thing called Protect Our Parks where we go on and just get drunk with Shane and Ari and just joke around for four hours. So I think we've done 11 of those. Or 12.

[David Spade]

Hilarious. That's a great idea.

[Dana Carvey]

You, Shane? Who else?

[Mark Normand]

Ari, Shafir and Joe. And it's just it. We used to listen to Open Anthony and all these other crazy radio shows, and those have kind of gone away. So he said, let's just dick around, be idiots, say horrible things, get drunk, do mushrooms, smoke cigars, and just be a bunch of dudes.

[David Spade]

That should be the number one rated show. It probably is, actually.

[Dana Carvey]

You actually do mushrooms when you go

[David Spade]

on, Does Joe move the needle? Do you plug gigs? Or is it that's got to be at least some push for something because

[Mark Normand]

it's the biggest one that sells crazy tickets. And we're, we're just literally making fun of each other. Gay jokes, fat jokes and mushrooms. And you know, one Ari puked on one. Joe whipped it out on one. You know, I, I had a meltdown on mushrooms and puked all over the mothership. So yeah, it's, it's a while.

[David Spade]

I Love Lucy.

[Mark Normand]

What?

[David Spade]

It's a long way since I love Lucy. That was entertainment.

[Dana Carvey]

So I understand you take a hallucinogenics, you vomit and expose yourselves to each other. Sounds like a great time, Ed.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Dana Carvey]

Oh yeah.

[David Spade]

Ed, can I see your I haven't seen your dick recently

[Dana Carvey]

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[Dana Carvey]

So when you're 8, 10 years old, are you one of those young people? Is like seeing comics on television or whatever and thinking, maybe. Or did it come to you later? When did it hit you, maybe I'm gonna do this?

[Mark Normand]

Well, I got no self worth, so I was obsessed with comedy. I was obsessed with Groucho and Bill Murray and Carlin. And then I never thought I could do this. It was like you'd see Steve Martin on tv, you'd see Bill Cosby, and you're like, that's like an astronaut. I can never get there.

[David Spade]

Of course. Of course. Agreed.

[Mark Normand]

Failed out of college three times. Three different colleges. And I had such little going on that I said, screw it, I'll try an open mic. And I immediately fell in love with it and I moved to New York and the rest is history. Got mugged three times, got bedbugs. That city tries to spit you out.

[David Spade]

But then the bedbugs mugged me. Jesus.

[Dana Carvey]

Was it after doing a club date, like 1am or something? I lived there eight years. I never got mugged.

[Mark Normand]

Really.

[Dana Carvey]

Mugged? You're saying someone's gonna beat you up, take your money and.

[Mark Normand]

What.

[Dana Carvey]

What's. What was it exactly?

[David Spade]

What is a mugging?

[Mark Normand]

Well, three times. But again, I lived out in Brooklyn, like way out. And I was also an alcoholic, so I was in a blackout. Most two of the three times I got mugged, I was blacked out, drunk, sleeping on the street.

[Dana Carvey]

So now I understand. Thanks for the clarification.

[David Spade]

Would they pull a knife on you or do they just beat you up and say, give us your.

[Dana Carvey]

If you're blacked out? They just.

[Mark Normand]

It was bad. I was like Tiger woods without the car. I was just stumbling down the street. But I just. One time I fell asleep on the subway and I woke up and a guy had cut my pockets with an X acto knife. So that was. That was pretty harmless. He got my keys, my Wallet. My joke book. It was crazy. My phone. One time.

[David Spade]

What if he's doing your act?

[Dana Carvey]

Yeah, that's what I was gonna say.

[Mark Normand]

I know. Yeah.

[Dana Carvey]

I can't believe Jake Johansson would do that, too.

[David Spade]

Wait, what's your. What was the third time you said one time? Something.

[Mark Normand]

Well, one time, I fell asleep. I was drunk at a bar called Rudy's. And I walk home, or I'm walking down 8th Avenue in Hell's Kitchen, and I see a little alcove, like a doorways, three steps down. And I said, let me just take a nap there for, like, half an hour, and then I'll go home. Because I lived way out in Brooklyn. It was a long ride. So I fell asleep in this little alcove, and I woke up to three guys going through my. So I tried to be like, what doing? And then one of them goes, he's waking up. And he hit me. And I went out again, took everything.

[David Spade]

Hey.

[Mark Normand]

And then one. The craziest is the third time. Fell asleep on the train, woke up way past my stop. And I said, screw it. It's a nice night. I'll walk it back to my apartment. Deep Brooklyn. I see five guys on the corner shooting dice, drinking 40s. Listen to music out of a. Out of a central casting.

[David Spade]

This is like a movie. You walk up like, Steve Martin. Hey, black guys, what's happening?

[Mark Normand]

Hey, jive brother. And I see them, and I cross the street. I'm like, I'm gonna walk on the other side of the street. They look pretty shady. And an older guy comes up to me, and I had an ipod at the time. And he goes, give me that radio. And I was so drunk, I was like, it's not a radio. It's an MP3 player. And he goes, all right. And he yanks it. So I'm. Yay. We're both yanking the cord. He picks me up, starts slamming me against the business with the. The metal gate that closes and freaking out, and before I know it, those five guys run over and beat the hell out of them.

[David Spade]

Oh, really?

[Dana Carvey]

They did?

[Mark Normand]

You can't.

[David Spade]

Saviors don't judge.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. And I grabbed my ipod, I said, thank you, and I ran home.

[David Spade]

Wow.

[Dana Carvey]

What is your height and weight? I mean, you look pretty big on stage. I mean, for someone to just pick you up there must be pretty.

[David Spade]

Pretty. You're skinny, though.

[Mark Normand]

I'm skinny. I'm five, ten. I'm not that big.

[David Spade]

You know, It's a good noise when they hit you against that steel.

[Mark Normand]

It goes, yeah, it's Thunderous, I think. I talked to a cop later and he said those were drug dealers and they can't have a white kid getting killed in the neighborhood. That's bad for. Really, they picked him.

[David Spade]

Oh, I love it. They don't want any trouble in there. Oh, I love it.

[Dana Carvey]

They don't want. I did have one experience a little bit like that in New York and I was, you know, upgrade. And this guy was grabbing me and like that. And I said, lauren, please.

[David Spade]

So it was lauren, I'll do church lady.

[Dana Carvey]

You're really not, you're, you're he. Lauren's nickname for me was he's a show pony. Because I'd be out there. Guilty as charged, sir.

[David Spade]

Well, it works.

[Mark Normand]

Hey, you're special. That the, what was the special called where you did the. Every time a guy changes chords, he makes a different face? The Ross Perot.

[Dana Carvey]

Yeah. I don't know, what was that title?

[Mark Normand]

Come on.

[Dana Carvey]

Well, I did the first one was Comedy Central, critics Choice. And this was before online stuff. So my sister, every time it would come on, she'd go, you got critics Choice again. She thought it was an award that I got. And then there was one, it was a ridiculous title. Squatting Monkeys Tell no Lies. And then the most recent one, I don't know why I named it this was stupid. But straight white male, 60.

[Mark Normand]

That's because no industry wants that.

[Dana Carvey]

Put those three together and then we would have the 1/3 the amount of jokes you landed in. None too pleased.

[Mark Normand]

That special was huge for me.

[Dana Carvey]

Absolutely. Well, that's good. I, I, you know, there's people, there's 15 year olds, men and women watching, or boys and girls watching your special right now. Yeah, going, I might want to do that. It still is a fever dream. Just that this is your job.

[David Spade]

Yeah.

[Dana Carvey]

This is what you're doing. Your dreams came true. You're making good money. I looked at your, you know you're

[David Spade]

making good money bank account.

[Dana Carvey]

This is your job. Well, it's all about the next thing, the next special. I remember the first time I made a million dollars. And with all the agents and managers and they're like, okay, he made a million, now let's go on to these tour. I go, wait a minute. Can we just take a second to say, yeah, I made a fucking million dollars. So if you talk to your younger self, you know, your 23 year old self, you know, you'd be like, it's gonna be okay, man.

[Mark Normand]

All right, thank you. It feels like being a mailman, where you, you put the mail Out. Then you show up the next day and they're like, we got a lot more mail. Like, God, it never ends.

[David Spade]

You never. It's like Groundhog's Day. Yeah. You just go, I didn't. Did I get anything done today? And you feel like you're always. Feel like you're getting too old. I used to, of course, every day when I was 30, I'm like, I didn't even do enough when I was 5, 30, I'm like, I want to do more and more and more. And everything takes so much time. And every agent says, it's pretty slow right now. They're not doing much.

[Dana Carvey]

Our job is. Part of our job is when people see you on a screen or something, it kind of looks like you're not really working.

[Mark Normand]

Right.

[Dana Carvey]

A lot of the work is when you're not on camera. And it's this weight. I mean, I felt it. I talked to Dennis Miller about that when I first sort of committed to this, and it was my job. I was making 600amonth. Just this little bit of weight, and I still have it. Like, I gotta write another joke or I better. David and I are gonna play this theater and it's just. It's just an interesting mind game.

[David Spade]

And you always want to do good or you might be out.

[Mark Normand]

Yes. So it's this double whammy of, like, gotta have content quality, but also content. And now everybody wants more content than ever. The. The hunger for content.

[David Spade]

Do you. Do you do crowd stuff online on, like, Instagram?

[Mark Normand]

I only. I hate where you're from. What do you do? How long you guys been together? I can't stand all that, so I just do.

[David Spade]

What race are you?

[Mark Normand]

What's your least favorite race? I just do shout out some new stuff, so then moon, or they shout out Iran and I can go off on that. And that's my clip.

[David Spade]

And so you do want clips to push gigs to get people in the door. Okay, that.

[Mark Normand]

That's the name of the game now. It's. It's a nightmare. But the clips really sp. Like herpes and that. That can save your tickets because we can't put out a special every week

[David Spade]

material to get them to see your special.

[Mark Normand]

Right, right.

[David Spade]

Horrible. Yeah.

[Dana Carvey]

Damn. So let's talk about none too, please. Because that's why you're here. It's on Netflix. It's number six or seven or eight. I mean, it's. I looked at it. It's something. The comedy or whatever, it's doing extremely well.

[Mark Normand]

Hey, thanks. We got lucky.

[David Spade]

Yeah.

[Dana Carvey]

Got Lucky.

[Mark Normand]

I can't take a compliment.

[Dana Carvey]

And now today I'm like, I understand. You're. That's why you're gonna. You're gonna keep getting better.

[David Spade]

I know. The next day, they're like, congratulations, you're in the top 10. You got a new act yet.

[Mark Normand]

Exactly.

[David Spade]

Tell some jokes.

[Dana Carvey]

I thought it looked good. I like the lighting. I like the way it was shot in the size of the theater.

[Mark Normand]

Thanks. Yeah. Boulder Theater. It was a New Orleans themed. That was the.

[David Spade]

From New Orleans. And it was in Boulder.

[Mark Normand]

Well, the. The green, yellow, and purple is all New Orleans colored. It was New Orleans music. So I tried to show a little love to the hometown, but. Yeah. Thank you. I. I really pinched some pennies on the last one, and I think it hurt me, so. So this one, I really put some money into it.

[David Spade]

The money that no one sees.

[Mark Normand]

Yes.

[David Spade]

They're like. They're like, do you want to pay for a big blue light? I'm like, I don't give a. Give me a black curtain. How about that?

[Mark Normand]

I know, I know.

[Dana Carvey]

Okay, we have 11 cameras.

[Mark Normand]

What?

[Dana Carvey]

Yeah, we're gonna have 11 angles on you.

[David Spade]

You know, usually, Dana, they go, here's how much you're gonna get. And I go, that's good. And now you have to go pay for it.

[Mark Normand]

Yes. They got us by the balls. It's pretty impressive. It's. It's genius because they know the. They have the eyeballs.

[David Spade]

Yeah.

[Dana Carvey]

Did you have a moment in your career so far where afterwards you were just high as a kite? Because I know you're kind of self deprecating and you're pushing yourself, like, better, better, more, more, more. Do you have any kind of moment? You're like, I landed that.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Yeah, for sure. You get the little wins because everybody thinks, oh, you got a Netflix special. You must be ecstatic. And I'm like, now. Now I'm worried about it doing well. I'm worried about killing and.

[David Spade]

Oh, did you work on a movie that you might do with Sam?

[Mark Normand]

Oh, yeah. Well, we're all over the place now. Hold on. Yeah, me and Sam wrote a movie and we got a backer. We got financing, so we're hoping to shoot this summer.

[Dana Carvey]

Interesting. Because, you know, David has a movie coming out that he did, Bus Boys,

[Mark Normand]

that's gonna be big.

[David Spade]

I think it's the same director, so that's why I knew about it.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, Jonah.

[David Spade]

Jonah. Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

He's a good egg.

[David Spade]

So I think. I think he told me it would be probably around New York. Is that what it is?

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, we're gonna shoot in New Jersey to save a couple bucks, but.

[David Spade]

Oh, that's better than.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[David Spade]

No, that. That's okay. Everything's about saving and what's the best way? Because all people want to do is really focus on, are you guys funny at the end of the day? Same with busboys. Is the movie funny? I don't care what the dishes are in the background. I don't. It's just. Just go. Try to be funny. And it's even. That's really hard. And. But it's a. It's a fun thing to do because it's. You guys. I think you'll have fun doing it because it's just one more challenge.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. And we didn't get the money we wanted. We wanted this amount of money. We got about half of that. So we just went back into the script and made. All right, let's make the warehouse on the sidewalk. Let's make the yacht in a cab. Let's make the, you know, the airplane in an Uber.

[Dana Carvey]

Let's make Fresno, Afghanistan.

[David Spade]

Let's make the statue a little.

[Dana Carvey]

These are kind of tent pole things. I would say one is make sure you have some. Some things that would work if the sound was broke. You know, funny with the sound off. Make sure.

[Mark Normand]

Good point.

[Dana Carvey]

That you're. It's tracking that no one has to think, where are we now? You know, the clarity of each. What the. What's going on? That's all clarity. Funny with the sound off. And then, you know, when you have your final read through, make sure you click off Surefire Killers and you got six of them set pieces.

[Mark Normand]

That's good advice.

[David Spade]

But everyone in the trailer and then the movie will just go flat. Now, that's a hard part. I mean, even doing ours, we think we're so hilarious, but it's so hard to make scenes work. Then you're. You're a slave to the fucking plot. And, like, our plot is as wispy as you can get. So understand, they want to be waiters, but they're losers. It's like, we got it. So turn down the volume. And then just go, okay, it looks like they're doing something funny here. I'll turn it up again.

[Dana Carvey]

I have one more piece of advice. Originality. This is not an absolute. Originality is the death of creativity. You want to make sure that you let the Hangover or whatever or Tropic Thunder or these classic Will Ferrell comedies, let them wash over you. You know, they're not starting from scratch. It's not copying, but allow yourself to be influenced by things that you loved and then you do it in your own way. But if you try to reinvent the wheel completely so you know, it's like if you were going to remake an Agatha Christie movie, but you wouldn't. It wouldn't be exactly like that. There'd be a murder, the lights go out. So just allow yourself to be influenced. Look back at those movies and don't think you're copying. Spend a lot of time looking at Wayne's World one that way.

[Mark Normand]

1. I watched all those. Re. Watched all those just to.

[Dana Carvey]

Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

Great taste.

[Dana Carvey]

Yeah.

[David Spade]

Also new eyes because you're going, why is this funny? When do they do an act break? How are they going to rebound together? I saw Anaconda on the plane with Jack Black and it was pretty, pretty well done because now I just did it and I was more involved. I'm like, how much is that set? Where are they going? Is that doubling for this? How much was this person? Oh, that cast member did this much stuff. And a lot of stuff was landing and it was pretty simple to understand and they had some twists. And I was like, oh, I didn't see that coming. That's good. So overall, I was like, this is pretty good. And it looked that had a bigger budget. Obviously they have big stars.

[Dana Carvey]

Yeah.

[David Spade]

But I thought it was good.

[Dana Carvey]

Yeah. I mean, it's like there this director, old time Gary Marshall, and did a movie because script supervisor was on Wayne's World. He did a movie and it just didn't work at all. He had started Happy Days. His next movie was Pretty Woman, which was a massive hit. And I said, how to the script supervisor, how did he get so much better? She goes, well, you know, just learned. So it's almost like you want to make the movie in your head or storyboard ahead of time, like learn. Because you always look back and go, oh, we could have done it that way or this way or that way.

[Mark Normand]

It's hard.

[Dana Carvey]

The first one. So I'm only telling you this because in case it's slightly useful, you probably thought of all of it.

[Mark Normand]

But no, we'll take anything.

[Dana Carvey]

It's fun. I mean, if you love movies, movies are just fun. I love hard work, but I love them when they work.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. And they're. They're falling by the wayside. We used to get like five, six comedies a year in the 90s, and now it's just like few and far rated.

[David Spade]

Is hard to come.

[Mark Normand]

Yes. I think tick tock and memes have picked Up a lot of slack. And I think executives are just nervous about making a certain movie or a certain theme. And so we're trying to go around them, but I think people are craving it. I mean, busboys is going to be a hit. I can tell. And you know, the Joe Dirts, all these movies we. We grew up loving. So like, I saw Wayne's World 2 in the theater.

[David Spade]

Yeah, yeah.

[Dana Carvey]

Big silly, silly movies. Yeah, I do think, and it's maybe pretty much a cliche, but people probably are craving it in a way. Yeah, I go in and just laugh my ass off and just relax and not escape.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, I think, well, we, we. The DVD sales are gone now, so you lose all that.

[David Spade]

And that.

[Mark Normand]

That hurt it. But I think executives are just like, they, they love an office space. They. You bring it up to them at a cocktail party, they go, I love that movie. And you go, you want to make one just like it? And they go, well, no one's gonna see that.

[David Spade]

So it is hard. I think they're frozen. They're like, they want to do it. No one wants to get fired. So no one's making big moves. They're like, like, I just, I could push it off or redevelop it and develop it until I just don't get fired. Because what if it comes out and offends people that I'm out? You know?

[Mark Normand]

Exactly.

[David Spade]

A little bit of it.

[Dana Carvey]

There's always the old fashioned mock documentary which costs like 5 cents.

[Mark Normand]

Yankee camera.

[Dana Carvey]

Yeah.

[David Spade]

Well, Mark, we appreciate you coming on, buddy.

[Dana Carvey]

None too pleased on Netflix. Check them out. It's been a pleasure. I'm going to keep an eye on you. I'm gonna watch your trajectory because you.

[Mark Normand]

Thank you. It's an honor. You guys are both big fans and Take the Hit was huge for me and all that, so. Don't forget Police Academy.

[David Spade]

I do know.

[Dana Carvey]

Yeah, I would love. No one's mentioned that before.

[Mark Normand]

That's great.

[David Spade]

So much fun. Oh, my God. I was innocent. Aaron Stone was in it.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, unreal.

[David Spade]

I was like, who? And she was so nice on it.

[Mark Normand]

Now she looks like you. But yeah, I'm just kidding. I'd still go down on it.

[David Spade]

We're both offended. Thank you.

[Dana Carvey]

See, that's your back pay. Of course. I'm just kidding then. Yeah, jokes.

[David Spade]

It's comedies.

[Mark Normand]

We gotta talk skateboarding one day. Spade. But.

[David Spade]

Oh, are you a creator? Okay.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, I skated for years.

[Dana Carvey]

Oh, fuck.

[Mark Normand]

Yes.

[David Spade]

Do you know Whitney's husband?

[Mark Normand]

Yes. Chris Cole. He's a killer. He rips.

[David Spade]

Yeah. Okay.

[Dana Carvey]

Buddy. All right.

[David Spade]

Hey guys, if you're loving this podcast, which you are, be sure to click follow on your favorite podcast app, give us a review, five star rating and maybe even share an episode that you've loved with a friend.

[Dana Carvey]

If you're watching this episode on YouTube, please subscribe. We're on video now.

[David Spade]

Fly on the Wall is presented by Odyssey, an executive produced by Danny Carvey and David Spade, Heather Santoro and Greg Holtzman, Maddie Sprung Kaiser and Leah Reese Dennis of Odyssey.

[Dana Carvey]

Our senior producer is Greg Holtzman and the show is produced and edited by

[David Spade]

Phil Sweet tech booking by Cultivated Entertainment.

[Dana Carvey]

Special thanks to Patrick Fogarty, Evan Cox, Maura Curran, Melissa Wester, Hillary Schuff, Eric Donnelly, Colin Gaynor, Sean Cherry, Kirk Courtney and Lauren Vieira.

[David Spade]

Reach out with us. Any questions be asked and answered on the show? You can email [e-mail] that's a U D a C-Y dot com.