It took him 33 years, but Rick Mercer finally got around to directing. The multiple Gemini-winning writer/ actor – busy these past five seasons with Made in Canada and, before that, This Hour Has 22 Minutes – recently got behind the camera to shoot the final episode of his popular comedy series, the preceding season of which is up for another best comedy Gemini.

‘[Producer] Gerald Lunz figured for the last episode, I might as well give it a shot,’ he says, on the phone from his East Coast office. ‘Because if worse came to worst, we couldn’t get thrown off the air. But I loved it. Gordon Pinsent was a costar and there’s probably no other actor in Canada I admire more for his career.’

Mercer has kept busy at Made in Canada (Salter Street Films/Island Edge), starring as bull-headed producer Richard Strong and fronting the writing team, but had been reluctant to direct. ‘I’ve been wearing a lot of hats on that show. The story department is run my myself and Mark Farrell and Gerald, and we have been the story department on every single show for 65 episodes. And we work those scripts like bastards. That, and I’m probably in 75% of the scenes.’

Solid writing, he says, has always been the show’s top priority. ‘Consistency is really important. Mark, God love him, did every single season, and when you have a department like that people have a proprietary interest in the show. It’s absolutely imperative that the tone of the show remains the same.’

The show is a lock in the best writing in a comedy, variety program or series category, nabbing all five noms. Among its other series-leading 14 noms is best ensemble performance in a comedy program or series for three individual episodes.

Viewers often think that the show’s characters or plots are based on actual goings-on in the Canuck film and TV biz. Not so, says Mercer. ‘The show was never intended for, say, only the readers of Playback. It was never intended as an expose. It’s a network TV show. It’s kind of fun when people think that, but we’ve got more important things on our minds than trying to make our friends laugh,’ he says. ‘People tell me, ‘You should really go after Telefilm,’ and I say, ‘It’s a comedy. It’s not my job to bore the shit out of everyone.”

The real audience, he adds, is anyone who thinks their boss is an idiot. ‘And that’s a very big audience.’ Made in Canada is now seen in the U.S. on Bravo!, in France on Canal Plus and is airing ‘over and over again’ on Australia’s Comedy Channel.

If they get a nod from the Academy, it will be the second win for Mercer and his team. He tries not to think too much about the awards – ‘It’s nice to win, sure. It’s nice to win a three-legged race, too’ – but is pleased that average Canadians still get excited. ‘People actually watch [the Geminis],’ he says. ‘The ratings are pretty good, which shows that the industry is healthy. There’s a reason why when the Made in Canada DVD gets released it says ‘Gemini Award winner’ across the top. If it didn’t matter we wouldn’t put it there.’

Much like his departure from 22 Minutes, deciding to shut down the popular series was difficult but necessary. ‘It was just time to move on. We’ve had a good run and you could try to keep going, but you’ve gotta go with your gut and say, ‘Okay, it’s time to do something else.’ None of us got into this business for job security.’

It’s always tempting to stay, he says, especially if the money is still coming in. But it’s more important to go out on a high note.