The show starred Rick Roberts as Jake Crewe, an American television news host who was forced, after beating up his station manager, to accept a job in Calgary, Alberta as co-host of the lowest-rated morning news program in the city.
[1] The show found its comedy in Crewe's attempts to adapt to Canadian culture, as well as his interactions with coworkers such as producer and love interest Judy Surgick (Hélène Joy) and egotistical host Dennis McIlvane (Stewart Francis).
[1] An American in Canada was loosely based on the real-life experiences of Jebb Fink, an American comedian who moved to Canada after marrying a Canadian woman, and did become a morning television host on CKAL-TV, Calgary's A-Channel station.
The show's pilot aired as a special in January 2002 as part of the CBC's early-2000s strategy of airing comedy pilots to test viewer reaction before ordering the production of a full series.
[6] It has also aired on Australia's The Comedy Channel with the title Frostbite, and in syndication on Showcase in Canada and HDNet in the USA.