Mark Normand’s always had a special brand of brutally funny, quick-fire comedy. From his New Orleans roots to establishing himself in New York, Normand has built a reputation as a relentless joke writer whose material is spiked with hilarity through somewhat twisted interpretations. The result is laughing while your jaw is on the floor.
Normand’s drive does not stop onstage. He also co-hosts two widely followed podcasts with close friends in comedy. “Tuesdays With Stories!” with Joe List and “We Might Be Drunk” with Sam Morril. His partnership with Morril also led them to start Bodega Cat Whiskey, keeping the “cheers” going beyond the stage and studio.
Normand’s work ethic shows up again with his latest project, “None Too Pleased,” premiering Tuesday on Netflix. Filmed at the Boulder Theater in Colorado, it touches on marriage and fatherhood, and not in a family friendly way. The comedian talked about his willingness to chase a joke wherever it goes, his new special and more.
Not to contradict the title of your special, but I screened “None Too Pleased,” and it’s super pleasing and so funny.
Wow, that means a lot. I appreciate you watching. Nobody wants to watch anything now. I’m really excited. The special is a joke every, I don’t know, 15 to 20 seconds. So if you hate a joke, just remember there’s one right after it. And it’s all jokes and a lot of it isn’t even real so if you get too upset, just realize half of this stuff is just made up for the sake of humor. Just try to enjoy it and don’t yell at me.
Yeah, in 2026 you have to put a disclaimer on it. “None Too Pleased: I’m kidding!” I’m always trying to find a correlation, and I’m wondering if your special comes out on St. Patrick’s Day because it’s such a huge thing in New Orleans?
Oh my God, I wish we put that much thought into it but no, we’re idiots. That was just the date they gave me, and I’m too scared to push back because everybody wants to be on Netflix. I actually recorded my last special on St. Patty’s Day in Chicago and that was a huge mistake. It’s like this weird curse now.
No way, it’s your date now! I was reading about how New Orleans gets down at the St. Pat’s parade and did you know they throw onions and cabbage at people?
Oh yeah, I’ve gone to the parade at the Irish Channel and it’s pretty wild. As you know, they are the drunkest people, so it gets crazy. But New Orleans throws down for Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, Ramadan … I mean, we’ll get drunk for any reason.
“The special is a joke every, I don’t know, 15 to 20 seconds. So if you hate a joke, just remember there’s one right after it,” says Mark Normand about his new show.
(Matthew Salacuse)
I might have heard that. At the very beginning of your special, a tape goes into a VCR and it’s called “Best of Gay Porn.” Were there any other working titles for that VHS tape?
No, my dumb friend edited it and put that in himself as a little Easter egg. He thought it’d be funny, so I had nothing to do with that. I was a big skateboarder in my youth, and I told him I wanted a tape in the VCR like an old skate video. So that’s what he did. Thanks for catching it!
It was the first laugh before we even got into the special so shout-out to your dumb friend! Something else I caught, you love to throw a fist in the air. Is it a tribute to Rocky?
I don’t know where I got it from, there’s really no story behind it. I just get so pumped up to do comedy! I’m so excited that just the thought of it makes my fist go in the air out of sheer fun, excitement and gratitude. It just goes up there, like a boner, I can’t control it.
Something resonated with me in your special, no spoilers, but I learned to swim the same way. Is that a white person thing?
I mean, it’s gotta be. I think it’s the white person version of letting your baby bird jump out of the nest. I grew up in a Black neighborhood and there was a lot of “I can’t swim, I can’t swim” from all of the other kids, so I assumed it was a white guy thing. I gotta tell you, I’m still doing that joke, and it’s gotten so much better and so much longer that it kills me that I taped it already. But I thought of a million other annoying things white people do. Those are the best too, when you watch something and you go, hey! It’s not just me! That’s the most relatable fun stuff.
Along with his new special and touring, Mark Normand also co-hosts podcasts and co-founded a whiskey brand.
(Matthew Salacuse)
Fully agree! Sometimes when comics become parents, their material goes straight to “kids say the funniest things,” but yours feels still pretty horned up and not overly kid-heavy.
Listen, that’s news to me! No, I was conscious of that. I didn’t want to be the aww shucks dad, “kids are so crazy” comic, so I appreciate you noticing that. I don’t know about the charged-up part though, maybe my kid turns me on? I have no idea. I don’t want to be put on a list! You know, Louis CK is the best with that. He has a ton of kids stuff, but it’s still, you know, throwing your kids in the dumpster and all of that, so that was kind of my North Star.
You have so many things going on, wife and kid, touring, Bodega Cat Whiskey, podcasts, a new special — how are you managing?
I’m a weirdo and I like to work. I used to be a janitor, and I used to move furniture, so podcasting and stand-up is not so bad when you talk about having a job. It is a lot, and I have no free time, but I don’t mind it. I hang out with my two friends, and we do a pod together each, so that’s how we get to hang out now. We monetize it, so that’s something! And then the stand-up, I just actually love doing it. Love of the game! If I wasn’t doing it, like during COVID, I wanted to put a gun in my mouth. I felt like I had no self-worth, and I just started drinking every day and doing drugs. Comedy gives me some meaning, which is kind of sad, but that’s how I’m wired. If I have nothing to work towards, I will just collapse in on myself.
I’m glad you have comedy! Good God, that got dark. Now that you’re pretty seasoned, what’s standing out with the newer comics coming up?
Well, I get a lot of it. Like, I think comics are chasing going viral. I get it though, everybody wants the followers, everybody wants the views, but they’re not really chasing good jokes or quality comedy. I would say that’s a big thing, but it’s not even young comics’ fault because you hear these clubs say stuff like, “We need a comic with a lot of followers, or we won’t book you.” So they’re scrambling to get followers. But I’m old fashioned, and young comics are going to probably make fun of me, but I think the cream tends to rise. So if you’re killing, you’re writing good stuff, and you’re getting up, the right people will notice you eventually. I think the old guard, like Louis CK and Seinfeld, these guys are all very against the internet. They’re like, oh, get off the internet, and I’m saying no! Clips sell tickets! Both extremes, the young and the old. I think we just need a little bit of readjusting towards the middle.
