Awards HQ May 16: ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,’ Norm Macdonald Special, Should the Golden Globes Return?

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeReach Michael on Twitter @franklinavenue or email [email protected]’s the end of May, which means Emmy campaigns have already been underway for months. Our first special stand-alone Emmy issue is already out (more on that later), our Awards Circuit Podcast has been churning out two — and sometimes three — episodes a week with TV talent for two months now, and our coverage is all booked.And yet, we’re still getting last-minute pitches from talent reps anxious to get some coverage for their clients.

Netflix released the comedy special Norm Macdonald secretly filmed before his death on May 30. The one-hour special features the last stand-up material Macdonald wrote and a discussion about the comedian from David Spade, Dave Chappelle, Conan O'Brien, David Letterman, Adam Sandler and Molly Shannon.

David Letterman, Dave Chappelle, Adam Sandler, Conan O’Brien, Molly Shannon and David Spade shared memories and reflected on the death of their friend Norm MacDonald at the end of the late comedian’s new Netflix special, “Norm MacDonald: Nothing Special.”After watching a screening of MacDonald’s performance, which was recorded in his home, friends of the late “Saturday Night Live” star, discussed his impact on the comedy world. During their conversation, several of them admitted they didn’t know the star, who died in September 2021 after a nine-year battle with cancer, was sick.“I don’t know how everyone else felt here, but Norm was sick for quite a while, and he got sicker and I didn’t know and I talked to so many people who I was sure knew,” O’Brien said.

In his final comedy special, Norm Macdonald gets candid about his mortality.

Norm Macdonald’s final stand-up special, filmed before the comedian’s death in September, has made its way to Netflix with fellow funny people paying tribute to the late icon.“We are honored to bring you Norm Macdonald’s last special, followed by reactions and commentary from a few of his special friends,” Netflix wrote in the opening credits for “Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special,” which was released Monday and includes appearances from David Letterman, Dave Chappelle, Molly Shannon, Conan O’Brien, Adam Sandler and David Spade.The special shows Macdonald, who died in September 2021 after a private nine-year battle with leukemia, wearing a baseball cap and headphones and talking into a mike, pandemic Zoom style, in a nondescript room where dogs can be heard barking.“Norm was working hard preparing material for his Netflix special — until COVID shut things down,” another title card read. “In the summer of 2020, he was scheduled to undergo a procedure and as he put it, ‘didn’t want to leave anything on the table in case things went south.’ “The special concludes with Letterman, Chappelle, Shannon, O’Brien, Sandler and Spade gathered together to watch “Nothing Special” and honor their longtime pal.Netflix said Macdonald “shot this in one take” while “at home, the night before going in.”“Hey everybody, it’s Norm Macdonald and this is my comedy special,” he began.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeI’ve never had to turn away so many pitches on worthwhile shows, performers and producers as I’ve had to this year. Sure, there are limited slots in most categories for Emmy nominations, but there’s also a limit to how many podcasts I can produce, how many features our team can write and even how many panels any of us can moderate.In TV, there didn’t used to be such a thing as an “awards consultant” or a “head of awards.” It just fell on someone in PR or marketing to make sure submissions were sent to the Television Academy and For Your Consideration ads were purchased.

potential acquisition of the Golden Globes. In the letter sent from Isaacs’ partner Yusef Jackson to HFPA president Helen Hoehne and exclusively obtained by TheWrap, the scandal-ridden organization was accused of creating a special committee to vet Pacific Coast Entertainment consisting of three advisers who have a “long-standing financial relationship” with current HFPA CEO Todd Boehly, who is making his own bid to acquire HFPA through his hedge fund, Eldridge Industries. “Ms.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Paramount Network’s “Yellowstone” turned into a bona fide Emmy contender, in its fourth season, as the show’s audience grew beyond its middle America base and managed to reach the coasts — including industry players and Hollywood awards voters. Last year, its only Emmy nomination was for outstanding production design for a narrative contemporary program (one hour or more).

TheWrap previously reported, the new bylaws would also open up Globes voting beyond the current 102 active members to a select group of “other individual non-members as the Board of Directors may invite to participate from time-to-time.” Interim HFPA CEO Todd Boehly has proposed inviting approximately 200 non-member voters to nearly triple the total pool to 300 — a step designed to gain the support of Netflix as well as other studios, streamers and networks. A rep for the HFPA did not comment on the bylaw amendments.

Sidley Austin, a law firm with offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific, is going big on sports law. Our sister site Sportico has learned that Charles “Chuck” Baker and Irwin Raij, most recently co-chairs of O’Melveny & Myers’ sports industry group, are joining Sidley as co-chairs of its Entertainment, Sports and Media industry group. The move will bring expertise in ownership transactions, stadium construction, media rights and international deal making.Baker has negotiated on behalf of buyers and sellers of pro teams.

(CNN)Of course he did. Late comedian Norm Macdonald has left audiences an opportunity to hear him tell a few more jokes.In a tribute to Macdonald for CTV News, his sister-in-law Joyce Napier (the CTV National News Ottawa bureau chief) revealed that he recorded a new hour of material before his death from cancer in September at age 61."It turns out Norm left an hour of new material behind, recorded in his apartment during the lockdown," Napier wrote. "It'll be a Netflix comedy special soon.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large“I remember damage.” That haunting quote, from the novel “Station Eleven,” by Emily St. John Mandel, becomes an ongoing theme in the TV series of the same name, adapted by Patrick Somerville for HBO Max.

One final Norm Macdonald comedy special is coming to Netflix.

proposed partnership with former AMPAS President Cheryl Boone Isaacs and her Pacific Coast Entertainment to improve the “tarnished” image of the HFPA.The HFPA on Friday also announced that Boehly’s proposal and any alternatives would be reviewed by a special committee make up of producer Sharlette Hambrick, veteran nonprofit executive Jeff Harris and C-level communications marketing executive Joanna Massey — who were all named as independent members of the HFPA board last September. The three will work with financial and legal advisers from Houlihan Lokey to evaluate Boehly’s proposal as well as any others.

Eldridge Industries boss Todd Boehly may own the Premier League’s Chelsea now, but the Golden Globes continues to elude the HFPA interim CEO, for now.

Netflix on May 30.The comedian, who died on September 14 aged 61 after a nine-year battle with cancer, privately shot a one-hour stand-up special the night before he went into hospital for a procedure in the summer of 2020.Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Macdonald’s longtime producing partner, Lori Jo Hoekstra, said: “His test results were not good, so during the heart of COVID-19 pandemic and literally the night before going in for a procedure, he wanted to get this on tape just in case – as he put it – things went south.“It was his intention to have a special to share if something happened.”The special was shot entirely in Macdonald’s living room in a single take, with his illness preventing him from filming the material in front of a live audience.Hoekstra said Macdonald “ended up watching it before he passed away” and suggested the title, Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special.The special will also feature clips of Adam Sandler, Conan O’Brien, Dave Chappelle, David Letterman, David Spade and Molly Shannon discussing the comedian at the recent Netflix Is A Joke festival.Macdonald was part of the Saturday Night Live cast from 1993 to 1998, where he became known as the anchor of the show’s ‘Weekend Update’ segment for three seasons.After leaving SNL, the comedian starred in 1998 film Dirty Work and his own sitcom The Norm Show from 1999 to 2001. In 2018, he received his own talk show on Netflix titled Norm Macdonald Has A Show.Paying tribute following his death, actor Jim Carrey on Twitter wrote: “He was one of our most precious gems.

Norm Macdonald hasn't finished making people laugh. Netflix announced on Thursday that the late comic's final, posthumous stand-up special will soon be hitting the streaming platform later this month.The special,, was recorded in the comedian's living room, according to a press release from Netflix. The celebrated comic recorded the performance alone, and delivered the entire thing in one take.Macdonald had been preparing material for some time, but due to the pandemic, venues were shuttered across the country, which left the alum without a place to perform.

Wilson Chapman editorNorm Macdonald may now be in the running for a posthumous Emmy. Netflix pulled a May surprise on Thursday, revealing that a final stand-up special from the legendary comedian, who died in September, will launch on May 30.

Norm Macdonald is going to have a last laugh.

CTV article about Netflix’s May 3 “Celebrating Norm “event, his sister-in-law, Joyce Napier, wrote that Macdonald recorded a comedy special in his apartment that will now be released by the streaming giant.“Oh, wait: there was an Easter egg. It turns out Norm left an hour of new material behind, recorded in his apartment during the lockdown.