A dark satire about the Canadian television industry, the programme shifted into an episodic situation comedy format after its first season.
[2] Pyramid produces lucrative (but terrible) television and films for the domestic and international markets,[3] with creative decisions made by non-creative people.
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 [sic], a parody of mythological adventure series such as Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,[2] and Beaver Creek, a parody of Canadian period dramas such as Anne of Green Gables and Road to Avonlea.
Most people employed in Canadian television enjoyed the programme,[12] which created a stir in the industry and attracted a number of guest stars:[9] Several Canadian media personalities made cameos as fictionalized versions of themselves, including Nicholas Campbell, Ann-Marie MacDonald,[13] Moses Znaimer, Keifer Sutherland, Evan Solomon, Peter Gzowski, Ann Medina and Gino Empry.
[16] The series was conceived by Mercer, executive producer Gerald Lunz and Salter Street Films co-chair Michael Donovan[17] in 1994.
[16] Lunz had launched Mercer's career, producing his one-man shows and This Hour Has 22 Minutes[13] (the latter of which was made by Salter Street).
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.
[3] 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.
[31] Other Tragically Hip songs were featured including "Poets",[32] "Courage", "New Orleans Is Sinking",[33] "My Music at Work", and "Tiger the Lion".
[37] 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.
[50] 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.
[8] 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.
[20] 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.
[4] 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.
[51] At the end of the series, Doyle wrote that most in the industry had enjoyed its "twisted, vague versions" of real stories and scandals.
[12] Made in Canada has been compared to Ken Finkleman's satire, The Newsroom,[7][20] in which Farrell, Keleghan, and Pinsent had roles.
[13][3][4] 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.
[64] 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.