Asking executive producer Michael Donovan to explain the success of This Hour Has 22 Minutes is like asking an expert surfer to describe an ocean wave.

Can’t say for certain, Donovan replies.

Could be the talented people working in front of and behind the cameras on the popular satirical series, now in its tenth year on the CBC, or the sensibility of appreciative Halifax audiences that the 22 Minutes cast feeds off, he ventures.

It could also be the quirky Newfoundlanders filling the series’ writing and production teams. ‘I don’t know, but there’s something in the water or air that oozes creativity’ Donovan suggests. ‘It’s really unbelievable, given Newfoundland’s small size, that it could produce so many intelligent and really creative people.’

A case in point: Rick Mercer.

‘He’s unbelievably talented and hardworking and smart,’ Donovan says of Mercer, who last year left 22 Minutes to devote himself entirely to another comedy series produced by Salter Street, Made in Canada.

That departure propelled Colin Mochrie behind the show’s news desk alongside series veterans Cathy Jones, Greg Thomey and Mary Walsh, all of whom are nominated for best ensemble performance in a comedy program or series.

Perhaps the political satire of 22 Minutes comes from comic writers skewering politicians well away from the seats of power in Toronto, Ottawa or Quebec City.

‘It may be true that satire is easier to do for people who are outside the centre than for those who are on the inside,’ Donovan wagers.

Besides the series’ cast, other current writers on 22 Minutes are Mark Farrell, Kevin White, Peter McBain, Paul Mather and Scott Feschuk.

Maybe it’s that most people at work on the show are dedicated to their craft and home in Halifax, rather than looking to the satirical series as a launching pad to work in Toronto or Los Angeles.

‘Virtually there is nobody on the show who is thinking, ‘Oh well, this is a stepping stone to Hollywood.’ That’s not part of the reality,’ Donovan says proudly.

Or just possibly it might be that most Canadian politicians believe it prudent to smile as they are mocked by a 22 Minutes cast member, rather than turn on their heels and flee the TV camera.

Mary Walsh as the irrepressibly cranky Marg Delahunty afflicting the great and comfortable in the land immediately comes to mind. Or there was the episode where Walsh hosted a ‘sleepover’ for top Canadian female politicians.

Again, Donovan just can’t be certain. ‘Very rarely do we get turned down [by politicians]. It could be that they think that turning us down could be more negative than just to go with the flow.’

Yet another reason for the success of 22 Minutes, according to Donovan, is ensuring that its biting satire is topical by appealing to Canadian news junkies.

‘Because we are of the moment – the show is shot on Friday and broadcast on Tuesday – its currency comes from being current,’ he says.

Not that This Hour Has 22 Minutes hasn’t earned a Gemini before. The show’s volatile mix of news parody, sketch comedy and scathing editorial commentary has earned cast and crew nearly 20 trophies in all, including the Gemini for best comedy series for four years running, between 1995 and 1998, and successive Geminis for the best writing in a comedy series between 1995 and 1999.

Donovan is not discouraged by 22 Minutes having limited sales scope internationally due to its topical Canadian content.

‘Our approach is to focus on the Canadian audience and to try to make shows for a relatively low price so it’s possible to work for Canadian audiences,’ he explains.

Of course, 22 Minutes would suffer for want of comic material and ratings if Canadian politicians, as Donovan puts it, ‘stopped doing silly things.’

But, wisely, he’s not betting on that anytime soon.

-www.salter.com