Made in Canada


Made in Canada is a Canadian television comedy which aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2003. Rick Mercer starred as Richard Strong, an ambitious and amoral television producer working for a company which makes bad television shows. A dark satire about the Canadian television industry the programme shifted into an episodic situation comedy format after its first season.
It was created by Mercer, Gerald Lunz and Michael Donovan, produced by Salter Street Films and Island Edge, and filmed in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The programme was broadcast with Salter Street's satirical newsmagazine, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and drew its creators, writing staff, and much of its production staff from that programme; Made in Canada was filmed during the summer, and 22 Minutes during the fall. Mercer starred on both until he left 22 Minutes in 2001.
The programme received critical and popular recognition. It was particularly well-received by the industry it lampooned, attracting many guest stars. The programme received 23 national awards during its five-season run, including multiple Gemini, Writers Guild of Canada, and Canadian Comedy Awards. In the United States, Australia and Latin America, the show was syndicated as The Industry. In France, it was syndicated as La loi du Show-Biz.

Plot

A satire of film and television production, the series revolves around fictional Pyramid Productions – a company where greed and backstabbing thrive. Pyramid produces lucrative television and films for the domestic and international markets, with creative decisions made by non-creative people.
Company head Alan Roy is obsessed with appearances and staying ahead of trends, whether this means owning his own cable channel or having the largest yacht at Cannes. His often-idiotic decisions lead to extra work for his employees, who must fulfill his wishes or deal with the consequences. The employees – Richard, Victor, Veronica and Wanda – manipulate each other and sabotage each other's projects to earn more money, gain promotions or work on better projects. None of them appear to have issues with breaking the law, and they seem to have no sense of morality. They generally only cooperate when they have an opportunity to destroy another company or a mutual enemy. Each episode deals with one major problem, which normally does not carry over to the next episode.
Pyramid projects also provide storylines for the series, as the company's staff try to manage the inevitable complications created by the casts and crews of their film and television productions. Its cash cows are two series: The Sword of Damacles, a parody of mythological adventure series such as ' and ', and Beaver Creek, a parody of Canadian period dramas such as Anne of Green Gables and Road to Avonlea. The staff also face complications with their low-budget, poorly-made films, such as Vigilante's Vengeance. Many of their movies fail; they are not produced, or go direct-to-video in foreign countries.

Characters

Most people employed in Canadian television enjoyed the programme, which created a stir in the industry and attracted a number of guest stars:
Several Canadian media personalities made cameos as fictionalized versions of themselves, including Nicholas Campbell, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Moses Znaimer, Keifer Sutherland, Evan Solomon, Peter Gzowski, Ann Medina and Gino Empry.

Development and writing

The series was conceived by Mercer, executive producer Gerald Lunz and Salter Street Films co-chair Michael Donovan in 1994. Lunz had launched Mercer's career, producing his one-man shows and This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Mercer and Lunz formed Island Edge to co-produce Made in Canada and develop other projects for Mercer.
Donovon, Lunz and Mercer wanted to satirize office politics, starring Mercer as an ambitious man manipulating his way to the top in a parody of Shakespeare's Richard III. Instead of killing his rivals, the programme's Richard would kill their careers by ruining their reputations and seizing their power. Richard would address the audience directly, breaking the fourth wall to share his plans and ambitions. Although they realized this was a risk, they felt that Mercer could connect with the audience as he had in his monologues. Mercer had established himself as the first mainstream Canadian satirist to make scathing criticisms directly, without a comedic mask.
They had considered setting the satire in the federal bureaucracy in line with Mercer's political criticism, but Mercer was not sufficiently knowledgeable about the government's inner workings. Believing that satire required a firm understanding of its targets, they set the programme in a television and film production office; this would be understood by the audience and provide many egos to lampoon. Mercer described the programme in a later interview as having a "Dilbert reality" of an office, in which some have a "suck-up kick-down philosophy". In April 1998, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation approved a six-part series without seeing a script.
The first season was cowritten by Mercer and Mark Farrell over a two-month period. They had both written for 22 Minutes and had written sketches for several years, but neither had written episodic television before. Lunz, a self-described "Shakespeare nut", guided the theme and style. Farrell, Lunz and Mercer remained the show's creative force throughout its five seasons. Other writers for the series included Paul Bellini, Alex Ganetakos and Edward Riche.
The programme shifted from a dark satire to an episodic sitcom after its first season, and addressed the audience less frequently. This was often limited to the closing line – "I think that went well" or "This is not good" – which might be given to a character other than Richard, depending on who was behind that episode's schemes. The series' working title was The Industry, which was changed to The Casting Couch and then Made in Canada.

Production

CBC executive George Anthony, who had convinced Lunz and Mercer to come to the network years previously, recognized their talent and was firmly supportive of the production. The programme went from network approval to broadcast in a record six months. Executives ordered a thirteen-episode second season after viewing the first episode, which was unprecedented for the public broadcaster. Casting was done while scripts were still being written, and episodes were filmed out of sequence to accommodate the actors' schedules.
Filmed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the programme was produced by Salter Street Films. It used Salter Street's real offices as its main office set during the first season, shooting primarily on evenings and weekends from 17 July to 24 August 1998.
The first season was directed by Henry Sarwer-Foner, who had his hand in the programme's editing, scripting, and overall design. He shot with a long lens to achieve a film-like quality, and sought to give it a distinctive look. Sarwer-Foner directed 22 of the series' 65 episodes. Other directors included Michael Kennedy and Stephen Reynolds.
The programme used The Tragically Hip's "Blow at High Dough", one of Mercer's favourite songs, as its theme. The iconic Canadian band's first hit single, its title was taken from a Scottish phrase about being overambitious and taking on more than one could handle. The lyrics refer to a movie production which sweeps up a small town. Other Tragically Hip songs were featured including "Poets", "Courage", "New Orleans Is Sinking", "My Music at Work", and "Tiger the Lion".
Although Mercer took time off from 22 Minutes in January 1999 to concentrate on the second season of Made in Canada, he continued to appear in most episodes until he retired from 22 Minutes in 2001.
The programme continued to film during the summer, with 22 Minutes filming in the fall. The second season began filming in June 1999 at Electropolis Studios in Halifax. CHUM Limited vice-president Moses Znaimer allowed scenes for the second-season finale to be filmed at the CHUM-City Building in Toronto for authenticity. Season four began filming on 18 June 2001.
While the first season of the series was in production, two Canadian film and television studios merged to create Alliance Atlantis. This merger was parodied in Made in Canadas second-season premiere, when Pyramid merges with a company called Prodigy and becomes Pyramid Prodigy. Two years later, Alliance Atlantis purchased Salter Street Films.

Broadcast and home video

Made in Canada premiered on CBC Television on 5 October 1998, amidst Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission hearings on the country's broadcasting policy and Canadian content.
The series aired on Monday nights at 8:30 pm, after This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Both programmes were moved to Friday in fall 2001, leading into Royal Canadian Air Farce and The Red Green Show in a CBC move to create a comedy-programming block and boost already-strong ratings.
The first two seasons were sold to PBS in 1999 for distribution in the United States as The Industry. The series was also syndicated in France, Australia and Latin America; the French name was La loi du Show-Biz.
In 2000, DVD and home-video rights to seasons one and two were acquired by Koch International. Entertainment One released the first season on DVD in Region 1 in 2002; it is currently out of print. The series was telecast on the Canadian cable channel BiteTV from 2010 to 2015.

Reception

The series was popular and critically praised in Canada and the United States. The programme's 5 October 1998 premiere had 1,002,000 viewers, holding 75 percent of the audience from the lead-in This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

Critical response

Shannon Hawkins of the Ottawa Sun wrote during its first season that Made in Canada had "all the makings of a hit", with clever dialogue, plausible characters and a storyline for anyone who fantasized about ruining their boss. Antonia Zerbisias of the Toronto Star described the programme as "scary, cynical and biting", and felt that the production took huge risks in satirizing its producers and industry moguls and its choice of title in a country which looked down on domestic productions. According to Stephen Cole of The National Post, the first season was well-scripted, funny and clever with solid performances but never found a target worthy of its "savage and cutting" satire. Cole was disappointed that the series remained a sitcom instead of taking on more compelling issues specific to the Canadian industry. Rating the first episode 9 out of 10, a TV Guide reviewer said that the programme centred on Mercer's fresh and deeply-biting "satire with a smirk" complemented with an able cast; although the audience might miss some inside jokes, it was felt that the show should hold the 22 Minutes audience. For Saturday Night, comedy critic Andrew Clark wrote that the programme created an eerily-believable universe with its casting, filming location and fictitious shows, and appreciated Mercer's ability to find a satirical line and hone it to a cutting edge.
At the beginning of its fourth season, John Doyle of The Globe and Mail called the show "addictive", switching from absurdity to brutal satire accessible to every viewer. At the end of the series, Doyle wrote that most in the industry had enjoyed its "twisted, vague versions" of real stories and scandals.
Made in Canada has been compared to Ken Finkleman's satire, The Newsroom, in which Farrell, Keleghan, and Pinsent had roles. Although they share a documentary feel and were shot in real offices, Clark noted that their lead characters are distinctly different; Richard's ambition is all-consuming, and he wages "intergenerational warfare" against the likes of Finkleman's ineffective George Findlay.

Awards

The series was nominated for more than three dozen Gemini Awards during its five-season run, winning ten. Made in Canada was nominated for fourteen awards at the 2002 Geminis, the first time a sitcom led dramatic programmes and miniseries in nominations. Its wins included two for Best Comedy Series and three for Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy.
The show won nine Canadian Comedy Awards out of twenty-six nominations, leading the nominations in 2000, 2002 and 2003. It received four Writers Guild of Canada Awards and a Directors Guild of Canada Award. After the series ended, Mercer won the 2003 Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award at the Banff Television Festival, and a 2004 National Arts Centre Award for outstanding work of the previous year.
YearCeremonyCategoryNominee or recipientResultRef
199914th Gemini AwardsBest Comedy Program or SeriesMichael Donovan, Gerald Lunz, Linda Nelson, Marilyn Richardson
199914th Gemini AwardsBest Direction in a Comedy Program or SeriesHenry Sarwer-Foner
20001st Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Performance by a Male – TelevisionRick Mercer
20001st Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Performance by a Male – TelevisionPeter Keleghan
20001st Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Performance by a Female – TelevisionLeah Pinsent
20001st Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Direction in a SeriesMichael Kennedy
20001st Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Direction in a SeriesHenry Sarwer-Foner
20001st Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Writing in a SeriesRick Mercer
200015th Gemini AwardsBest Direction in a Comedy Program or SeriesHenry Sarwer-Foner
200015th Gemini AwardsBest Comedy Program or SeriesMichael Donovan and Gerald Lunz
20012nd Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Performance by a Male – TelevisionRick Mercer
20012nd Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Performance by a Male – TelevisionPeter Keleghan
20012nd Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Performance by a Female – TelevisionLeah Pinsent
20012nd Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Writing in a Special or EpisodeMark Farrell
20012nd Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Writing in a SeriesMark Farrell, Rick Mercer, Ed Macdonald, Edward Riche, Alex Galatis, Alex Ganetakos, Raymond Storey
200116th Gemini AwardsBest Comedy Program or SeriesGerald Lunz and Michael Donovan
200116th Gemini AwardsBest Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or SeriesRick Mercer, Jackie Torrens, Dan Lett, Peter Keleghan, Leah Pinsent, Emily Hampshire
20015th Canadian Screenwriters' AwardsTop 10 ScreenplaysRick Mercer
20015th Canadian Screenwriters' AwardsTop 10 ScreenplaysEdward Riche
20023rd Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Performance by a Male – TelevisionRick Mercer
20023rd Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Performance by a Male – TelevisionPeter Keleghan
20023rd Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Performance by a Female – TelevisionLeah Pinsent
20023rd Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Performance by a Female – TelevisionJackie Torrens
20023rd Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Direction in a SeriesMichael Kennedy, T. W. Peacocke, Stephen Reynolds, Henry Sarwer-Foner and Jerry Ciccoritti
20023rd Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Direction in a Special or EpisodeHenry Sarwer-Foner
20023rd Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Writing in a Special or EpisodeBob Martin
20023rd Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Writing in a SeriesRick Mercer, Mark Farrell, Alex Galatis, Alex Ganetakos, Ed Macdonald, Bob Martin, Edward Riche, Raymond Storey
200217th Gemini AwardsBest Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or SeriesRick Mercer, Jackie Torrens, Dan Lett, Peter Keleghan, Leah Pinsent
200217th Gemini AwardsBest Direction in a Comedy Program or SeriesJohn Greyson
200217th Gemini AwardsBest Writing in a Comedy or Variety Program or SeriesRick Mercer
200217th Gemini AwardsBest Comedy Program or SeriesMichael Donovan, Gerald Lunz
200217th Gemini AwardsBest Picture Editing in a ComedyAlan MacLean
20034th Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Performance by a Male – TelevisionDan Lett
20034th Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Performance by a Male – TelevisionPeter Keleghan
20034th Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Performance by a Female – TelevisionLeah Pinsent
20034th Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Direction in a SeriesMichael Kennedy, Stephen Reynolds and Henry Sarwer-Foner
20034th Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Direction in a Special or EpisodeHenry Sarwer-Foner
20034th Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Direction in a Special or EpisodeMichael Kennedy
20034th Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Writing in a SeriesRick Mercer and Mark Farrell
20032nd Directors Guild of Canada AwardsOutstanding Achievement in a Television Series – ComedyMichael Kennedy
20032nd Directors Guild of Canada AwardsOutstanding Achievement in a Television Series – Comedyepisode "Best Seller"
200318th Gemini AwardsBest Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or SeriesDan Lett, Jackie Torrens, Peter Keleghan, Rick Mercer, Leah Pinsent
20036th Canadian Screenwriters' AwardsTop 10 ScreenplaysMark Farrell
20036th Canadian Screenwriters' AwardsTop 10 ScreenplaysEdward Riche
200419th Gemini AwardsBest Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or SeriesDan Lett, Jackie Torrens, Peter Keleghan, Rick Mercer, Leah Pinsent

Reunion

A 15th-anniversary Made in Canada reunion, attended by Mercer, Keleghan, Pinsent, Lett, Torrens, Lunz, Sarwer-Foner, Riche and Farrell, was held at the Canadian International Television Festival on 16 November 2013. The reunion included a screening, followed by a question-and-answer session.