Ron James has a great take on the difference between having a TV show and plying his trade as a standup on the lonely road.

"To come to work and actually go up an elevator, instead of walking into a motel room, is a treat, trust me," the veteran Canadian comedian said.

"I feel grown up."

Not so grown up that he can't be funny, though.

The Ron James Show, which is a mix of standup and sketch comedy, debuts tonight on CBC. It really is a dream come true for the affable funny-man, who quite frankly has worked his butt off to get here.

"I remember when I came to Toronto 30 years ago this January," said James, a native of Nova Scotia. "I knew I wanted to do this (comedy) and you answer your calling.

"Starting in those days at Second City I learned the fundamental equation of comedic structure, and everything you aspire to was on TV every week with John (Candy) and Eugene (Levy) and Joe (Flaherty) and the rest of the them (on SCTV).

"And then subsequently three years in Los Angeles and hitting the wall of reality there, and coming back and starting over. So it has been 15 years with standup."

The past decade and a half of doing standup gigs across Canada gave James plenty of time to hone his skills and reflect on things.

"What I learned over those years is, it's all about the work," James said. "This show, if it's anything, is a boon that came from hitting the road and following your bliss."

The Friday night slot for The Ron James Show on CBC is a tad curious, given that Air Farce was a Friday institution on CBC up until the end of 2008.

There always were rumblings and rumours that, despite the good ratings Air Farce got, it skewed too old for CBC's liking, and the corporation wanted to move in the direction of something more "cool."

Now, at first glance, we could see the exact same Air Farce audience embracing The Ron James Show. And that's not a criticism -- heck, we're sure James would be thrilled with those numbers. But it's just kind of an odd situation, in terms of what the CBC was thinking.

"It's big shoes to fill," said James, referring to Air Farce. "Have I thought about the tone I'm going to hit? I really haven't, other than I'm honoured to have this time slot. All I've been focused on is doing what I do. I never set out to imitate anybody a long time ago."

James describes the tone of his show as "affably subversive."

"Small-p political," he said. "I'm not venturing into the big-p political territory that others do so well, like Rick Mercer Report and This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

"But with all comedy, there's a contempt for authority. You have to have it. It's not my job to ride in the apple cart, it's my job to tip it over. But without losing the room. That's important."

Perhaps this is the best way to sum up James' comedy:

He recalled that one of his most gratifying moments doing standup was when he looked out into the audience one night and saw three generations of the same family -- kids, parents and grandparents -- sitting together and all laughing hard.

"I want to have a Parker Brothers demographic," James said. "Fun for kids from 8 to 80."