The Royal Canadian Air Farce, one of Canada's longest-running comedy troupes, will be grounded after next season, CBC announced on Tuesday.

The venerable weekly sketch comedy TV show, known for its topical mix of political and social satire, will produce nine regular episodes in the fall before ending with its traditional New Year's Eve gala special.

The cast of CBC-TV's Royal Canadian Air Farce will perform the season finale on Friday.
(Russ Martin/CBC)

"It's just time," original cast member and producer Don Ferguson told CBC News on Tuesday afternoon.

"We've done pretty much everything we wanted to do. The ratings are still good. I want to be in charge of my own exit."

Ferguson also said he didn't consider what day had been chosen for the announcement.

"I didn't even realize it was April 1 that we were doing this, that it was going to come out…. It's not a joke, but it's a great date for us to announce it. April Fool's Day, why not?"

The secret to the show's long run, he added, was keeping the audience the main priority.

"We've only ever worried about [each] week's show and how the audience is going to respond to it," Ferguson said.

"If we can make real, living, breathing Canadians laugh about what's going on in Canada and the world and life in general, it's a great gig."

Radio beginnings

Originating with a Montreal comedy troupe in 1970, Air Farce debuted on CBC Radio in December 1973, eventually producing more than 600 broadcasts over 24 years.

The show was introduced to CBC-TV audiences in 1980, after which came a 10-episode series and several once-a-year TV specials over the next few years.

After the 1992 New Year's Eve special proved popular with viewers, Air Farce became a mainstay of CBC-TV beginning in October 1993. After running on both CBC Radio and CBC-TV, the show moved exclusively to television in 1997.

Last year, to celebrate its 300th episode, the producers, cast and crew staged an hour-long, live-to-air show.

They subsequently decided that, beginning this season, all shows would continue with the live format. In addition to original members Ferguson, Roger Abbott and Luba Goy, the current cast features Penelope Corrin, Jessica Holmes, Craig Lauzon and Alan Park.

Air Farce's current season finale airs Friday.

"We remain in discussions with [producers Abbott and Ferguson] about upcoming projects," said CBC spokesman Jeff Keay.