As long as I live, I will never not be disappointed that the world was deprived of the Norm Macdonald Reality Show, which Shandling had signed onto and which, almost certainly, would have been terrific (how could a show with Norm and Shandling be anything but great?).
For those unfamiliar, as well as those of you who might have forgotten, this was the show Norm wrote and was working on for FX around 2009ish. Filming was about halfway through when FX pulled the plug, but they kept it in development for another year or so, at which point Shandling was added to the cast. Eventually the whole thing fizzled and Norm went over to Comedy Central to do the Sports Show.
While it was in production, Norm did an interview for some local paper in Milwaukee where he was asked about the show. To the best of my knowledge, this is the most detailed response he ever gave on the subject:
"Oh yeah, speaking of things that I'm not actually good at, I'm doing a television show on the channel FX, which will actually be funny, or it might be. I wrote it. Have you ever seen "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia?" I like that show, and I think that's FX's only comedy, so they wanted a companion. I really like FX a lot; they don't give you very many notes or anything. So they're finally going to let me do something I want to do. It's called "The Norm Macdonald Reality Show." The premise is my career has fizzled into oblivion, so they give me a reality show, which I reluctantly take. So I have to date the Barbie twins and do all this weird, retarded stuff. Now I don't know how to drive in real life-my actual life-so in the show they teach me to get a license, but maybe they get Lee Ermey to teach me; you know, some twist. Anyway, so during the driving lesson, I accidentally kill the teacher. And then all hell breaks lose. I start to become famous again, and the show becomes a hit, and the trial starts. I get my fame that I didn't want in the first place. But there's a lot of funny stuff in it. I guess I'm telling it like it's not funny."
See what I mean? How could that not have been awesome? Then you add in Shandling and...what an opportunity lost.
Thanks a lot, FX.