Made in Canada (TV series)

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 (but profitable) 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.<ref name="AdilmanRazor"/> Pyramid produces lucrative (but terrible) television and films for the domestic and international markets,<ref name="LeeSatire"/> with creative decisions made by non-creative people.<ref name="ClarkJeer"/>

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.<ref name="WildeReunion"/> 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 (or event), 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 Template:Sic, a parody of mythological adventure series such as Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,<ref name="AdilmanRazor"/> and Beaver Creek, a parody of Canadian period dramas such as Anne of Green Gables and Road to Avonlea.<ref name="AdilmanRazor"/> The staff also face complications with their low-budget, poorly-made films, such as Vigilante's Vengeance.<ref name="AdilmanRazor"/> Many of their movies fail; they are not produced, or go direct-to-video in foreign countries.

Characters

• Richard Strong (Rick Mercer), the central character, is an ambitious, machiavellian employee trying to navigate, scheme and backstab his way to the CEO's chair; in the first episode, he makes his way from junior script reader to television producer by having his boss (and brother-in-law) Ray Drodge fired. Ruthless and amoral, he is better at his job than most of his colleagues. Richard has had relationships with Veronica Miller, Lisa Sutton and Siobhan Roy, but generally as an opportunity to manipulate rather than out of love. The character was partially inspired by Ian McKellen's performance in the 1995 film adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III.<ref name="AdilmanRazor"/><ref name="ColeFailure"/> He personifies human vice, unfettered by ethics.<ref name="ClarkJeer"/>
• Alan Roy (Peter Keleghan), the firm's Template:Abbr, is a charismatic but intellectually-questionable womanizer who often succeeds more by accident than skill and, much more often, fails miserably. He is frequently mystified that his management style – a combination of bad production ideas, offbeat health fads and half-understood slogans from management books – does not rouse office morale. Alan's career was launched with his first film, Prom Night at Horny High, which was a commercial success despite being lowbrow and indecent. (Keleghan had an early starring role in the 1983 sex comedy Screwballs.) Keleghan described the character as a cross between Alliance Communications head Robert Lantos and The SimpsonsTemplate:' Mr. Burns.<ref name="LeeSatire"/> Producer Michael Donovan joked that Alan reflected the showrunners' impression of him.<ref name="SaundersBiting"/>
• Veronica Miller (Leah Pinsent) is the firm's chief operating officer.<ref name="LeeSatire"/> Although she is generally overworked, doing the jobs of several other employees, she is still forced to do idiotic and degrading tasks for Alan.<ref name="ZerbisiasSitcom"/> Veronica occasionally becomes fed up with her poor treatment and sabotages a project or event, which usually spurs Alan to improve her working conditions and meet her demands.<ref name="BickleySuccess"/> The office problem-solver, she is generally an ally of Richard's in making the best of Alan's decisions but will double-cross him if necessary.
• Victor Sela (Dan Lett) is head of Pyramid's film division<ref name="LeeSatire"/> and a general office sycophant,<ref name="ODonoghueHumor"/> willing to do almost anything Alan asks of him (no matter how demeaning). He is usually very positive about Alan's schemes. In a test, however, Victor is the least loyal.
• Wanda Mattice (Jackie Torrens), Alan's assistant,<ref name="LeeSatire"/> uses her influence in the day-to-day workings of the office to obtain power beyond her role in the corporate hierarchy<ref name="WildeReunion"/> and knows when it is to her advantage to act less intelligent. Although she frequently dresses strangely and appears frumpy, Alan is attracted to her and they frequently have sex in the office.
• Lisa Sutton (Janet Kidder) is a producer<ref name="LeeSatire"/> and Victor's girlfriend. Richard considers her a threat to his power, and Alan dislikes her for ignoring (or spurning) his attempts to seduce her.
• Raymond Drodge (Ron James) is a producer. Formerly the head of television development, he is fired in the pilot after Richard and Siobhan frame him for sexually harassing Siobhan. He is later rehired in a much lower position<ref name="StGermainMercilessly"/> after Richard gets his old job. Due to Richard's manipulation, Raymond's marriage falls apart and he begins to believe that he is an alcoholic.
• Michael Rushton (Alex Carter) is the dimwitted, egotistical star of The Sword of Damacles.<ref name="StGermainMercilessly"/>
• Siobhan Roy (Emily Hampshire), Alan's daughter,<ref name="StGermainMercilessly"/> is one of the stars of Beaver Creek.<ref name="BickleySuccess"/> Fully aware that being the boss's daughter gives her job security, she freely schemes and manipulates to get whatever she wants.
• Brian Switzer (Chas Lawther), nicknamed "Network Brian", is an executive with the television network which airs Beaver Creek and its main liaison with Pyramid.

Notable guest stars

Most people employed in Canadian television enjoyed the programme,<ref name="DoyleFinale"/> which created a stir in the industry and attracted a number of guest stars:<ref name="BickleySuccess"/>

• Gordon Pinsent as Walter Franklyn, star of Beaver Creek and "Canada's most beloved actor".<ref name="LeeSatire"/><ref name="AthertonPyramid"/> Pinsent returns in the last episode as a dairy mogul who buys the company.<ref name="DoyleFinale"/> Mercer considered Pinsent's work to be a major influence on his career,<ref name="OuzounianInterview"/> and was extremely pleased to have him in the cast;<ref name="LeeSatire"/> during the series' production, Mercer narrated a biography of Pinsent.<ref name="ODonoghueHumor"/>
• Peter Blais as Geoff, an actor who comes out and subsequently wants Parson Hubbard (his character on Beaver Creek) to be gay<ref name="StGermainMercilessly"/>
• Andrew Bush as a young method actor who plays Blind Jimmy on Beaver Creek
• Mary-Colin Chisholm as an actor who plays Nurse Melissa on Beaver Creek
• Maury Chaykin as Captain McGee, a kiddie entertainer who is caught in a sex scandal<ref name="BickleySuccess"/>
• Andy Jones as Fritz Hoffman, a German TV executive who believes that Beaver Creek is a sexier version of Dawson's Creek<ref name="BickleySuccess"/>
• Sarah Polley as the head of the Church of Template:Sic cult<ref name="StGermainMercilessly"/>
• Shirley Douglas and Margot Kidder appeared as fading Hollywood actresses making guest appearances on Beaver Creek.<ref name="BickleySuccess"/>
• Megan Follows (the real-life star of Anne of Green Gables) as Mandy Forward, the former "Adele of Beaver Creek", who returned for a reunion movie<ref name="RyanThird"/> and discovered that after her previous Beaver Creek movie, Alan kept the sets up to produce a pornographic knockoff.
• Mark McKinney as Dean Sutherland, a released convict who wants to sell his story<ref name="RyanThird"/>
• Don McKellar as Adam Kalilieh, an independent art film director<ref name="RyanThird"/>
• Joe Flaherty as a mayoral candidate who hires Pyramid to smear his opponent<ref name="RyanThird"/>
• Cynthia Dale and C. David Johnson as a husband-and-wife motivational team<ref name="RyanThird"/>
• Colin Mochrie<ref name="WedgeHistory"/> as Frank Roy: Alan's mentally-handicapped brother who, as part of an elaborate tax dodge orchestrated by Alan, is revealed as the actual Pyramid CEO.

Several Canadian media personalities made cameos as fictionalized versions of themselves, including Nicholas Campbell, Ann-Marie MacDonald,<ref name="AthertonPyramid"/> Moses Znaimer, Keifer Sutherland, Evan Solomon, Peter Gzowski, Ann Medina and Gino Empry.<ref name="AdilmanMade"/>

Development and writing

The series was conceived by Mercer, executive producer Gerald Lunz and Salter Street Films co-chair Michael Donovan<ref name="HawkinsCanadian"/> in 1994.<ref name="AdilmanMade"/> Lunz had launched Mercer's career, producing his one-man shows and This Hour Has 22 Minutes<ref name="AthertonPyramid"/> (the latter of which was made by Salter Street).<ref name="LeeSatire"/> Mercer and Lunz formed Island Edge to co-produce Made in Canada and develop other projects for Mercer.<ref name="DinoffLunz"/><ref name="PlaybackFlourish"/>

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.<ref name="AthertonPyramid"/> 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.<ref name="TVGuideReview"/><ref name="AthertonPyramid"/><ref name="MazeyQuality"/> Mercer had established himself as the first mainstream Canadian satirist to make scathing criticisms directly, without a comedic mask.<ref name="ClarkStand"/>Template:Rp

They had considered setting the satire in the federal bureaucracy in line with Mercer's political criticism (known as the country's "unofficial opposition party"),<ref name="ClarkJeer"/> 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".<ref name="AthertonPyramid"/> In April 1998, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) approved a six-part series without seeing a script.<ref name="AthertonPyramid"/>

The first season was cowritten by Mercer and Mark Farrell<ref name="AdilmanReal"/> over a two-month period.<ref name="AdilmanMade"/> They had both written for 22 Minutes<ref name="LeeSatire"/> and had written sketches for several years, but neither had written episodic television before.<ref name="LeeSatire"/> Lunz, a self-described "Shakespeare nut", guided the theme and style.<ref name="LeeSatire"/> Farrell, Lunz and Mercer remained the show's creative force throughout its five seasons.<ref name="WildFarrell"/> Other writers for the series included Paul Bellini, Alex Ganetakos and Edward Riche.<ref name="WedgeHistory"/>

The programme shifted from a dark satire to an episodic sitcom after its first season, and addressed the audience less frequently.<ref name="DoyleFinale"/><ref name="StGermainMercilessly"/> 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.<ref name="StGermainMercilessly"/> The series' working title was The Industry,<ref name="KlassenPBS"/> which was changed to The Casting Couch and then Made in Canada.<ref name="LeeSatire"/>

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.<ref name="GodkinAnthony"/> The programme went from network approval to broadcast in a record six months.<ref name="AthertonPyramid"/> Executives ordered a thirteen-episode second season after viewing the first episode,<ref name="AdilmanMade"/> which was unprecedented for the public broadcaster.<ref name="HawkinsCanadian"/> Casting was done while scripts were still being written,<ref name="AthertonPyramid"/> and episodes were filmed out of sequence to accommodate the actors' schedules.<ref name="LeeSatire"/>

Filmed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the programme was produced by (and a parody of) Salter Street Films.<ref name="SaundersLeaving"/> It used Salter Street's real offices as its main office set during the first season, shooting primarily on evenings and weekends<ref name="AdilmanRazor"/><ref name="LeeSatire"/> from 17 July to 24 August 1998.<ref name="AdilmanMade"/> The first season was directed by Henry Sarwer-Foner (also of 22 Minutes), 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.<ref name="HoffmanSarwer"/> Sarwer-Foner directed 22 of the series' 65 episodes.<ref name="WildeReunion"/> Other directors included Michael Kennedy and Stephen Reynolds.<ref name="WedgeHistory"/>

The programme used The Tragically Hip's "Blow at High Dough", one of Mercer's favourite songs, as its theme.<ref name="AdilmanRazor"/><ref name="AdilmanMade"/> The iconic Canadian band's first hit single,<ref name="UsingerHip"/><ref name="CanconHip"/> 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 (Speedway, starring Elvis Presley) which sweeps up a small town.<ref name="ColangeloHip"/> Other Tragically Hip songs were featured including "Poets",<ref name="epGirlsNightOut"/> "Courage", "New Orleans Is Sinking",<ref name="epNAPTE"/> "My Music at Work", and "Tiger the Lion".<ref name="epRichardReturns"/>

Although Mercer took time off from 22 Minutes in January 1999<ref name="AdilmanMade"/> to concentrate on the second season of Made in Canada,<ref name="HawkinsCanadian"/> he continued to appear in most episodes until he retired from 22 Minutes in 2001.<ref name="OuzounianInterview"/><ref name="FuhrmannMinutes"/> The programme continued to film during the summer, with 22 Minutes filming in the fall.<ref name="SlotekTalks"/> The second season began filming in June 1999 at Electropolis Studios in Halifax.<ref name="CameronPlans"/> 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.<ref name="BickleySuccess"/> Season four began filming on 18 June 2001.<ref name="PlaybackFlourish"/>

While the first season of the series was in production, two Canadian film and television studios (Alliance Communications and Atlantis Communications) merged to create Alliance Atlantis.<ref name="AdilmanRazor"/> This merger was parodied in Made in CanadaTemplate:'s second-season premiere, when Pyramid merges with a company called Prodigy and becomes Pyramid Prodigy.<ref name="RichardBiting"/> Two years later, Alliance Atlantis purchased Salter Street Films.<ref name="CanadianSalter"/>

Template:AnchorBroadcast and home video

Made in Canada premiered on CBC Television on 5 October 1998,<ref name="LeeSatire"/> amidst Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) hearings on the country's broadcasting policy and Canadian content.<ref name="AdilmanMade"/> The series aired on Monday nights at 8:30 pm,<ref name="HawkinsCanadian"/> after This Hour Has 22 Minutes.<ref name="LeeSatire"/><ref name="BickleySuccess"/> Both programmes were moved to Friday in fall 2001,<ref name="FuhrmannMinutes"/> 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.<ref name="PlaybackLaunches"/>

The first two seasons were sold to PBS in 1999 for distribution in the United States as The Industry.<ref name="KlassenPBS"/> The series was also syndicated in France, Australia and Latin America;<ref name="MontrealerComedian"/> the French name was La loi du Show-Biz.<ref name="Allocine" />

In 2000, DVD and home-video rights to seasons one and two were acquired by Koch International.<ref name="PlaybackNATPE"/> Entertainment One released the first season on DVD in Region 1 in 2002; it is currently out of print.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The series was telecast on the Canadian cable channel BiteTV from 2010 to 2015.<ref name= "BaileyBite"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The first and second seasons began streaming on the CBC Gem platform on 12 March 2020.<ref name="CBCstreaming1">Template:Cite press release</ref><ref name="CBCCanadiana">Template:Cite web</ref> In October 2022, it was announced that additional seasons would become available,<ref name="CBCstreaming2">Template:Cite press release</ref> with all five seasons streaming on Gem as of 2023.

Reception

The series was popular and critically praised in Canada and the United States.<ref name="ODonoghueHumor"/><ref name="RyanThird"/> 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.<ref name="MathurRatings"/>

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.<ref name="HawkinsCanadian"/> 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.<ref name="ZerbisiasSitcom"/> 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.<ref name="ColeFailure"/> 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.<ref name="TVGuideReview"/> 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.<ref name="ClarkJeer"/>

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.<ref name="DoyleGlam"/> At the end of the series, Doyle wrote that most in the industry had enjoyed its "twisted, vague versions" of real stories and scandals.<ref name="DoyleFinale"/>

Made in Canada has been compared to Ken Finkleman's satire, The Newsroom,<ref name="SaundersBiting"/><ref name="TVGuideReview"/> in which Farrell, Keleghan, and Pinsent had roles.<ref name="AthertonPyramid"/><ref name="LeeSatire"/><ref name="ClarkJeer"/> 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.<ref name="ClarkJeer"/>

Awards

The series was nominated for more than three dozen Gemini Awards during its five-season run, winning ten.<ref name="WildeReunion"/> Made in Canada was nominated for fourteen awards at the 2002 Geminis,<ref name="MacDonaldCullen" /><ref name="DillonGemini2002n"/> the first time a sitcom led dramatic programmes and miniseries in nominations.<ref name="WildeReunion"/> Its wins included two for Best Comedy Series<ref name="PostmediaGemini1999w"/><ref name="CanadianGemini2001"/> and three for Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy.<ref name="Posner2001"/><ref name="MacDonaldCullen"/><ref name="DixonMiniseries"/>

The show won nine Canadian Comedy Awards out of twenty-six nominations, leading the nominations in 2000,<ref name="CCA2000"/> 2002<ref name="CCA2002"/> and 2003.<ref name="CCA2003"/> It received four Writers Guild of Canada Awards<ref name="WGCawards2001"/><ref name="WGCawards2003"/> and a Directors Guild of Canada Award.<ref name="PlaybackDGC"/> 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.<ref name="GGPAA2004"/>

Year	Ceremony	Category	Nominee or recipient	Result	Ref
1999	14th Gemini Awards	Best Comedy Program or Series	Michael Donovan, Gerald Lunz, Linda Nelson, Marilyn Richardson	Template:Won	<ref name="PlaybackGemini1999"/>
		Best Direction in a Comedy Program or Series	Henry Sarwer-Foner	Template:Won
2000	1st Canadian Comedy Awards	Best Performance by a Male – Television	Rick Mercer	Template:Won	<ref name="CCA2000"/>
			Peter Keleghan	Template:Nom
		Best Performance by a Female – Television	Leah Pinsent	Template:Nom
		Best Direction in a Series	Michael Kennedy	Template:Won
			Henry Sarwer-Foner	Template:Nom
		Best Writing in a Series	Rick Mercer	Template:Nom
	15th Gemini Awards	Best Direction in a Comedy Program or Series	Henry Sarwer-Foner	Template:Won	<ref name="PlaybackGemini2000"/>
		Best Comedy Program or Series	Michael Donovan and Gerald Lunz	Template:Nom	<ref name="Honey2000n"/><ref name="DoyleTiny" />
2001	2nd Canadian Comedy Awards	Best Performance by a Male – Television	Rick Mercer	Template:Nom	<ref name="CCA2001"/>
			Peter Keleghan	Template:Nom
		Best Performance by a Female – Television	Leah Pinsent	Template:Nom
		Best Writing in a Special or Episode	Mark Farrell	Template:Won
		Best Writing in a Series	Mark Farrell, Rick Mercer, Ed Macdonald, Edward Riche, Alex Galatis, Alex Ganetakos, Raymond Storey	Template:Nom
	16th Gemini Awards	Best Comedy Program or Series	Gerald Lunz and Michael Donovan	Template:Won	<ref name="PlaybackGemini2001"/><ref name="Posner2001"/> <ref name="PlaybackGemini2001w"/>
		Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series	Rick Mercer, Jackie Torrens, Dan Lett, Peter Keleghan, Leah Pinsent, Emily Hampshire	Template:Won
	5th Canadian Screenwriters' Awards	Top 10 Screenplays	Rick Mercer	Template:Won	<ref name="WGCawards2001"/>
			Edward Riche	Template:Won
2002	3rd Canadian Comedy Awards	Best Performance by a Male – Television	Rick Mercer	Template:Won	<ref name="CCA2002"/>
			Peter Keleghan	Template:Nom
		Best Performance by a Female – Television	Leah Pinsent	Template:Nom
			Jackie Torrens	Template:Nom
		Best Direction in a Series	Michael Kennedy, T. W. Peacocke, Stephen Reynolds, Henry Sarwer-Foner and Jerry Ciccoritti	Template:Won
		Best Direction in a Special or Episode	Henry Sarwer-Foner	Template:Won
		Best Writing in a Special or Episode	Bob Martin	Template:Won
		Best Writing in a Series	Rick Mercer, Mark Farrell, Alex Galatis, Alex Ganetakos, Ed Macdonald, Bob Martin, Edward Riche, Raymond Storey	Template:Nom
	17th Gemini Awards	Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series	Rick Mercer, Jackie Torrens, Dan Lett, Peter Keleghan, Leah Pinsent	Template:Won	<ref name="PlaybackGemini2002"/>
		Best Direction in a Comedy Program or Series	John Greyson	Template:Won
		Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Program or Series	Rick Mercer	Template:Won
		Best Comedy Program or Series	Michael Donovan, Gerald Lunz	Template:Nom	<ref name="MacDonaldGemini2002n"/>
		Best Picture Editing in a Comedy	Alan MacLean	Template:Nom
2003	4th Canadian Comedy Awards	Best Performance by a Male – Television	Dan Lett	Template:Nom	<ref name="CCA2003"/>
			Peter Keleghan	Template:Nom
		Best Performance by a Female – Television	Leah Pinsent	Template:Nom
		Best Direction in a Series	Michael Kennedy, Stephen Reynolds and Henry Sarwer-Foner	Template:Won
		Best Direction in a Special or Episode	Henry Sarwer-Foner	Template:Nom
			Michael Kennedy	Template:Nom
		Best Writing in a Series	Rick Mercer and Mark Farrell	Template:Won
	2nd Directors Guild of Canada Awards	Outstanding Achievement in a Television Series – Comedy	Michael Kennedy	Template:Won	<ref name="PlaybackDGC"/>
			episode "Best Seller"	Template:Nom	<ref name="PlaybackDGCnoms"/>
	18th Gemini Awards	Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series	Dan Lett, Jackie Torrens, Peter Keleghan, Rick Mercer, Leah Pinsent	Template:Nom	<ref name="DinoffGemini2003n" /><ref name="DunfieldEleventh" />
	6th Canadian Screenwriters' Awards	Top 10 Screenplays	Mark Farrell	Template:Won	<ref name="WGCawards2003"/>
			Edward Riche	Template:Won
2004	19th Gemini Awards	Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series	Dan Lett, Jackie Torrens, Peter Keleghan, Rick Mercer, Leah Pinsent	Template:Won	<ref name="DixonMiniseries"/><ref name="McKayCargo"/>

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 (CITF) on 16 November 2013. The reunion included a screening, followed by a question-and-answer session.<ref name="WildeReunion"/>

External links

• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 0172754

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