Trump nudges schedules of comedy news shows, says comedian working on 22 Minutes
Former Calgarian Trent McClellan joined This Hour last year and says the pace is unreal
In a time of U.S. President Donald Trump dominating the news cycle, comedy shows based on the news have had to up their game, a former Calgary-based comedian now working on CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes says.
"They shot the show differently before," Trent McClellan told The Homestretch on Tuesday, referring to 22 Minutes.
"They would shoot it on a night, there would be a bit of a break and then it would air. But now, you can't afford that gap because by the time it airs that might not even be a story anymore. There is this pressure to be as current as we possibly can and that happens right up until stuff goes out the door."
McClellan joined the 22 Minutes team last year, working alongside veterans like Mark Critch, Shaun Majumder, Rick Mercer, Mary Walsh and Cathy Jones.
"I had a freak-out moment. I was in the loading bay for the first show and they were about to do the introductions. That's when it really hit me, 'Oh, this is actually happening. You are going to deliver jokes on 22 Minutes.' I had to reel myself back in. It was kind of out-of-body," he said.
McClellan says the team has been supportive given there really is no job that prepares you for something like this.
"They were so good. They realized they had all been in my position at one point, so it was like, 'just enjoy the ride, relax. You are here for a reason,'" he said.
"We write so many things, sketches and jokes, and a lot of it goes in the garbage. You say goodbye to your babies and you move on."
McClellan is back in Calgary for a one-night performance at the Bella Concert Hall at Mount Royal University on Wednesday. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.
"Ridiculous observations about life in general," McClellan says of the new material.
"My dog is in there quite a bit, because he's just a boss. I am in the backyard, that beautiful time a year in the spring when the crop is ready, as they say. I think my dog invites other dogs over, that's how much [dog poop] was back there this year. There is no way one dog did all of that."
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With files from The Homestretch