Comedy ain't easy: Making 22 Minutes is 'really f--king hard'

Being younger than the show you're starring on can be a strange and challenging experience. 

That's the case with 27-year-old Aba Amuquandoh, who joined This Hour Has 22 Minutes as a full cast member in 2021, joining the ranks of cast Rick Mercer and creator Mary Walsh, Because News host Gavin Crawford, Colin Mochrie (Whose Line?) and Geri Hall, and correspondents Meredith MacNeill (Pretty Hard Cases, Baroness von Sketch Show) and Nathan Fielder (The Rehearsal, Nathan for You).

• Watch This Hour Has 22 Minutes on CBC Gem

Amuquandoh says that today the expectations in light of that history means the stakes for comedians are higher than ever.

"People are really putting comedians to test."

And add those expectations on top of a gruelling week-to-week schedule that has cast, creatives and crew working round-the-clock to bring the satirical series to Canadians. 

It's "Really f--king hard," she says. 

Susan Kent, who joined the show as a cast member from 2012-2020 and still finds time to pop in now and again, remembers the pressure they felt joining the show. 

"It was like an intense feeling of 'Don't f--k this up, don't f--k this up,'" she says. 

"There were many explosive emotions around." 

Like many Canadians, Kent's family were huge fans of the show, though she remembers they were a little wary about her participation. 

"My dad's like, 'You're not gonna make fun of any politicians are you?"

"I think he was afraid that I wouldn't be nice."

But at 30 years in, she says, the secret to the show's longevity is keeping it fresh. 

"[You need to] keep bringing in new people, you just have to keep refreshing the point of view," she says. "If you don't do that, then it's just like it's just a museum piece."

"Now they have Stacy [McGunnigle] and Aba who are killing it."

This Hour Has 22 Minutes airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem. This season the show will celebrate 30 years with two special episodes:

22 Minutes At Glenn Gould Studio (October 4), will be filmed in Toronto before a live studio audience of politicians, newsmakers and stars from the world of Canadian comedy.

This Special Has 30 Years (October 11), is a retrospective episode that will look back at 22 Minutes' history while exploring what has made the show such a groundbreaking cultural force over its 30 seasons, featuring interviews with cast, creatives, and collaborators including Rick Mercer, Mary Walsh and Peter Mansbridge.