Rick Mercer stands tall as headliner for the Just for Laughs 40th anniversary special

After two summers of darkened stages in Montreal, Just for Laughs returns for its 40th-anniversary gala celebration with world-renowned comedians Jimmy Carr, Nikki Glazer, Katherine Ryan, Caroline Rhea, Russell Peters and a special headline set from Canada's homegrown talent, Rick Mercer.

Mercer describes the excitement of the crowd that night, saying "I'll never forget it. It was an incredible evening."

The special hits the CBC airwaves (and on CBC Gem) on the heels of Mercer's latest series Comedy Night with Rick Mercer in which the comedy legend performs standup material alongside up-and-coming Canadian performers.

Mercer is well known to Canadians from CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes (which recently celebrated its 30th season), Made In Canada and Rick Mercer Report. The St. John's native has also written four best-selling (and award-winning) books, and oh there are a couple of other small achievements: he's received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for lifetime achievement (he's 53), and in 2014 was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.

For Mercer, adapting to live shows meant starting to build material with his signature panache for storytelling, adding a few jokes, then "putting it on the stove and letting it boil right down to the humour."

Where does he put his talent after reaching all of these goals? Since he wrapped the Rick Mercer Report in 2018 (after 15 seasons on CBC), Mercer has been perfecting his standup, applying the skill and energy of his days ranting to the camera in Toronto's graffiti alley, to his live comedy shows.

Touring the country with a cadre of comedians was both an initiation for his tour-de-force live act, and the establishment for his series, Comedy Night with Rick Mercer.

'I was the student and they were the masters.'

"I wanted to bring these standups to a different audience," says Mercer. "They have their followings, but I wanted to bring them to mine."

For Mercer, adapting to live shows meant starting to build material with his signature panache for storytelling, adding a few jokes, then "putting it on the stove and letting it boil right down to the humour."

Mercer says the was in awe of the younger generation of performers, their ease on stage and their ability to captivate.

Fearless comedy

When he brought his comedy tour to St. John's, Newfoundland, he wasn't able to give his fellow comics a tour of his home turf. But that didn't keep them from striking out on their own.

Mercer was surprised when comedian Dave Merheje (who also appears in the 40th special), talked about his St. John's adventures on stage that night.

"Dave went off and just wandered around the town, then got on stage and just told the audience what he did in St John's. I was so nervous for him because Newfoundlanders are quick to hurt… and he killed! It was a level of comedy I'd never seen before!"  

For the button-down and practiced Mercer, he was in awe of Merheje's skill, especially how it is so different from his own.

"When I am on stage everything is so worked and rehearsed, to just go out on stage and tell people about your day and get a standing ovation… that's like a superpower!"

"I learned so much from all of those people being on the road. I was the student and they were the masters."

Catch Mercer's headlining act in the Just for Laughs 40th anniversary special, and take a look at his series Comedy Night with Rick Mercer below, and features an incredible lineup of the country's best new comedians, including standup performances from Mercer himself, and conversations between Mercer and Sophie Buddle, D.J. Demers, Dakota Ray Hebert and more.