Mark Normand

Stand-up comedian, podcast host, actor.

Respected by peers, adored by audiences, Mark Normand is one of the most popular young comedians in the world. His idiosyncratic style has earned him praise from some of the most influential comics, described by Jerry Seinfeld as “the best up-and-comer” of his class. Over the years, Normand has appeared on numerous late-night shows, including The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Conan. He released his critically acclaimed hour-long special Out to Lunch on YouTube in 2020, following it up with the similarly lauded Netflix exclusive Soup to Nuts in 2023. Today, he continues to perform stand-up and co-host the ferociously popular podcasts Tuesdays With Stories and We Might Be Drunk.

Why did we invite him on?

Mark’s been on the show before, appearing back in 2022 for a hilarious conversation about comedy and how the scene lost its sense of humour. Three years later, the world’s a very different place, and the comedy landscape has utterly reshaped itself. We wanted to catch up with Mark and see what he makes of the lay of the land, and get his hilarious, one-of-a-kind take on it all.

What did we talk about?

We find Mark in a different frame of mind; marriage and fatherhood will do that. He reflects on how shaping a new life has caused him to reflect on his own, how it displaced his deep-rooted selfishness and ushered in a new capacity for empathy. Marks ponders whether the youth’s disinterest in raising children is connected to its narcissism, and if reckoning with a life outside one’s one is the key to a wiser world.

Of course, the moment doesn’t last long. A sweet conversation about the legacy of ‘dad comics’ is quickly derailed, as we discuss whether Bill Cosby did it. Back on safe ground.

It’s no secret that comedy had a rough decade. On both sides of the Atlantic, comedians endured an onslaught of censorship attempts, some more successful than others. Careers were lost, opportunities cost, and we saw the onset of a chilling effect that only just started to break. But the grip of wokeism seems to be loosening. Shock is valuable, words don’t hurt, and nothing matters more than funny.

Mark shares the sentiment, but he’s not willing to forget. Perhaps “cancel culture is a myth now”, but we shouldn’t forget how bad things got.

”I hate when people [say] ‘cancel culture, it’s not real’. Don’t gaslight me! It was scary for a while, let’s not pretend that wasn’t a thing. I was [even] scared of other comedians … It was horrible.”

So what changed? Mark has a few theories. Firstly, we just got used to it. Cancellation attempts came and went, and once people worked out how to weather the storm, the big stick didn’t seem so big. Even when it feels like the whole world’s coming down on you, if you can look to another example and see that things are going to be alright in the end, you hang in there. Let the internet talk - ”Even if you do get some shit, just keep going. Don’t let it phase you.”

But that’s not the only reason.