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Schitt’s Creek says goodbye with tear-filled Best Wishes, Warmest Regards

“It’s a double cry night.”

That’s the promise delivered by Amy Segal, describing Tuesday’s series finale of Schitt’s Creek at 8 p.m., on CBC and the one-hour documentary that follows it, Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt’s Creek Farewell, at 8:30 p.m. Segal knows of what she speaks since she’s been working on Schitt’s Creek from Day 1, having produced and directed all 52 scripted webisodes, as well as Behind the Episodes. 

Segal, who got her start on CTV’s etalk before segueing to The Hills Aftershow, met and became friends with Schitt’s Creek co-creator Daniel Levy. Now, with the final episode of six seasons upon us, we spoke to Segal about her experiences working on Schitt’s Creek, and what fans can expect when they tune in to Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt’s Creek Farewell.

What are the unique challenges that you run into when you’re filming the Behind the Episodes segments?
Amy Segal: The Behind the Episodes were fun. We ended up shooting them all day, and by the end, we were exhausted. But they talked for a solid 20 to 30 minutes for each show, and I had to pare it down two and a half, three minutes. I know, it’s difficult, but it’s fun. I always have a good time.

Are you making notes while they’re talking and saying, ‘OK, I think this might make for a good soundbite or short conversation.’ Or do you wait until you’re in the editing suite after? How does that work?
AS: I’m always listening and I’m asking them questions and leading the conversation a little bit. I definitely take notes, but I think it comes down to see how it flows in the edit. I edit everything myself, so it’s sort of picking and choosing what I like and having to get rid of things that I do like because it’s too long. But I’m just really making sure that I know I have content before we finish wrapping up. I definitely take notes and I go in with, so I know what parts I want to highlight.

What were some of the logistics behind filming Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt’s Creek Farewell? How much filming did you do for that?
AS: So much. I originally wanted to do the 44-minute version, and then an actual documentary length version. I’m hoping that will maybe find its way somewhere, eventually, because like I do with the behind the episodes, I had to cut so much gold and it crushed me. You want to get in the important things, but it doesn’t leave a lot of room for longer moments and pauses, and that was hard for me to get over.

It’s a celebration of the show and the fans and the cultural impact that the show has had. So there was a lot to say, and at the same time, I really wanted to show what it was like to make a final season of a show. Because it’s not easy. We started in the writer’s room in Los Angeles, in their incubation room in November 2018. And then we shot for almost a year and a half.

Who floated that idea of there being a farewell documentary?
AS: It was Dan and I. It’s always been my dream to make a documentary and we were talking and I said, ‘What if we do something for the last season?’ Because we were fans of Girls and they did a miniature, not really a documentary, but like a little clip show kind of thing. Originally, the intention was a look back, interviewing the cast and just their favourite moments, highlights, whatever. And then it ended up turning into a much bigger beast, a celebration of the show and just seeing the process of it.

You’ve been with the show since Day 1. How does it feel to be for this all to be ending on Tuesday?
AS: Oh gosh. It’s devastating. It’s a huge part of all of our lives. And it’s weird because now is the time we usually go back to set and start prepping for the next season. And it is sad. The last shows started airing, and I’ve been so preoccupied with making this that I haven’t really had a moment to think. But now that it’s winding up, it’s kind of a surreal moment. But, yeah, very sad.

I’ve been a fan of Schitt’s Creek from the very beginning and have been getting a lump in my throat as we get closer to the end and to the wedding. What’s the cultural impact from your standpoint that Schitt’s Creek has had on us?
AS: That was another reason I wanted to make the documentary. In Canada, we’re so removed from Hollywood and that world and the first four seasons were just like any other television show that we’ve worked on. The fan base just started to get really into it. Dan would show me messages that he had gotten from fans and people even messaged me, which is so nice.

The fans are just so lovely and there were so many stories that were so positive and beautiful … kids coming out to their parents … and then I met fans on the tour … their parents have embraced them because they watched Johnny and Moira embrace David.

Amy, can you pretty much guarantee that if you’re a fan of the show, that someone like myself is going to cry after watching this special?
AS: You will 110% be bawling at the end. A good, therapeutic cry. You’ll cry at the end of the episode as well. It’s a double cry night.

Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt’s Creek Farewell airs Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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Sarah Levy says goodbye to Schitt’s Creek

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It’s the beginning of the end for Schitt’s Creek. The CBC series, which has garnered acclaim in Canada and the U.S.—where it airs on Pop TV—bows its final episodes beginning Tuesday at 9 p.m. on CBC.

To say Schitt’s Creek, co-created by and starring Daniel and Eugene Levy, has been groundbreaking is an understatement. What began as a snicker-worthy word gag because of its title has evolved into a truly wonderfully heartfelt series about acceptance, love and family. And, the characters have evolved with it, including Twyla. When we were first introduced to Twyla, she was friendly, but a little dim. Now, she and fellow supporting characters like Patrick, Ted and Ronnie have become fan favourites, equal to main characters David, Johnny, Moira (Catherine O’Hara), Alexis (Annie Murphy), Roland (Chris Elliott) and Stevie (Emily Hampshire).

We spoke to Sarah Levy about how she scored the role of Twyla, playing a beloved character, saying goodbye to the series and what her future holds.

I’m sorry that Schitt’s Creek is ending, but I respect Daniel deciding this would be the final season and concluding the series the way he wants to.
Sarah Levy: I think that’s exactly it. I mean, so often we see shows really just go for as long as they can. I admire that but on the other hand, I think that it’s necessary that when you’re telling a story, there is an ending to that story. And quality does decrease when you just kind of keep it going for the sake of keeping it going. So I give a lot of credit to Daniel and dad for ending a good thing while we’re on top.

Let’s go back to the beginning. In the first season, Twyla was introduced as a well-intentioned waitress who seemed a bit dim. How did you end up on the show in the first place? Did you have to audition or was it assumed you’d be a part of it?
SL: It was kind of insane. I had majored in theatre at university. I studied it and then I moved out to L.A. to pursue acting. So I had been here for a couple of years and then Daniel moved here once he finished up with MTV. [He and my dad] had this idea and they asked if I wanted to be a part of it if it was even something that I want it to be a part of. And of course, it was. The opportunity to work with my family seemed a really wonderful thing. And we obviously had no idea where it would go, but I went along for the ride gladly.

Twyla has grown over the last five seasons and become very much a beloved character, alongside Ronnie and Patrick. What has it been like seeing these characters evolve?
SL: I think it’s incredible and it’s a testament to the writing as well, that these characters aren’t getting lost. They’re all so well crafted and unique and well written and we have wonderful people playing those characters, Noah Reid and Karen Robinson. So it’s been incredible the support that we’ve gotten from fans when it comes to our characters because they aren’t necessarily onscreen all the time, but they make their mark and I think that’s the most important fan part.

The other thing that has been amazing is how the writing room has introduced LGBTQ storylines. Very often that can be done very heavy-handed in primetime television. I’ve loved the way that it’s just been subtle; this is just the way the people are.
SL: That was something, again, that Daniel had been very strategic about. We’re so used to seeing these relationships on television being made a huge deal out of it and drawing attention to it, and is it good or is it bad and everybody kind of has a say in it. He was so adamant about it just being another relationship on television. We’re not trying to make it anything more than just a beautiful love story between two people.

We saw Patrick and David the proposal happened and the acceptance. Is it safe to assume that there’s a wedding in this final season?
SL: I think it’s safe to assume that there’s something of a wedding.

Are you happy with the way that the show ends? Do you think that fans will be happy?
SL: I’m more than happy with how it ended. I still love watching it like everybody else, all the fans, I don’t like to see anything really before it airs and I watch each episode as it airs. I think everyone is going to be so satisfied with this ending. I think that’s the beauty of being able to end it when you want that you can craft it in a way that ties everything up in a beautiful bow without cutting anything short before its time. And of course, it’s bittersweet, it was a sad day but we can’t deny that is a beautiful ending and I really think that everyone’s going to just cry some happy tears.

What can you say about Twyla’s storylines for the sixth season?
SL: It’s more of advice-giving. One of my favourite things about Twyla and Alexis is they’ve developed this really wonderful friendship where they give each other advice … more Twyla giving Alexis advice on things that she should probably do or not do. We get into a couple of those scenarios. I think everyone is going to be thrilled and excited and so pleased with her future.

You’ve signed on to a new series. Tell me about it.
SL: It’s called Best Intentions and it’s for Pop TV. We don’t know exact dates of when that starts, but sometime in the spring and it has a great cast and it’s written by Adam Herz who actually wrote American Pie. So we’re in wonderful hands and it’s very full circle for me actually because we shot the pilot last year, which marked the 20th anniversary of American Pie. And it was very surreal to now have my own working relationship with Adam because he works so closely with my dad. So it was a really fun shoot and hopefully, we can continue that.

Finally, you released a Christmas song just before the holidays. How did ‘Big Christmas’ come about?
SL: I’ve been writing music for as long as I can remember and I play piano and guitar and music has always been a huge part of my life growing up. My grandmother was a great singer, my mom is a great singer, songwriter and dad won a Grammy for songwriting. So maybe it’s this subcategory of our family dynamic that not many people know about. I’ve been working with a writing partner, a woman named Shevy Smith, who’s a fantastic writer and producer and singer. We’ve been working through the fall just writing some stuff. And I went to her and said, ‘Should we really be writing a Christmas song?’ I’ve always thought it was a really daunting challenge because Christmas is so saturated.

We just tried to write something that we loved, and that was really the point of it. Something that had a positive message and was about being together with the people you love, whoever those people are, whether it be family or friends or someone you love. And we just wrote it in about a session and a half and then it took no longer than a week before we recorded it and put it out. So it all happened very quickly but we’re so thrilled, it’s so exciting.

Download Sarah’s single, “Big Christmas” on Spotify or iTunes.

Schitt’s Creek airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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Jann: Co-creator Leah Gauthier and showrunner Jennica Harper on developing the series and Jann Arden’s star power

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During the same week that Daniel and Eugene Levy broke our hearts by announcing the end of their genius mega-hit comedy Schitt’s Creek, another stellar, and very Canadian, comedy debuted.

CTV’s Jann stars iconic singer-songwriter Jann Arden as a mostly fictionalized version of herself. In this alternate universe, Jann is a self-absorbed, down-on-her-luck musician who is desperate to claw her way back into the spotlight—and to get the best of her musical nemesis, Sarah McLachlan. Meanwhile, she’s also dealing (quite badly) with her recent split from long-time girlfriend Cynthia (Sharon Taylor) and her mom’s (Deborah Grover) increasing forgetfulness, a situation that echoes Arden’s real-life experiences with her mother, who passed away from Alzheimer’s in December.  The show is sharp, genuinely funny, and at times, deeply moving. It’s also a show fans of Schitt’s Creek might want to check out to help ease their anticipatory grief.

During a visit to Jann‘s Calgary-based set in October, we spoke with series co-creator Leah Gauthier (Motive) and showrunner Jennica Harper (Cardinal, Motive) about developing the comedy—which airs its second episode, “Go With the Flowga,” on Wednesday—pitting Jann against Canada’s sweetheart McLachlan, and Arden’s immense star quality.

Leah, you co-created the series with Jann Arden. How did that come about?
Leah Gauthier: I’ve worked in television for 10 years, on the factual and reality side of TV, and between two shows, I went on the road with Jann as part of her production team. So we met through work but became fast friends. I did three tours with her, and we’ve always talked about one day when we were both ready, we would pitch a show. It’s changed a lot over the years, and she’s been approached a lot to do television, but it was never the right format. Everyone always wanted her to be like a version of Ellen [DeGeneres] and do a daytime talk show. But we knew we wanted something scripted.

So about three years ago, we sat down in her kitchen and we just wrote it out. It started weird. She was very different versions of herself—she lived in a trailer park or she ran a strip mall—and we kind of pared it down to what it is now. We wrote it together on her kitchen island, and then we flew to Toronto and pitched it, and here we are. It’s almost insane. It took a long time, but now it feels like it happened overnight. It took three years.

What were some of the biggest roadblocks you experienced over that three-year period?
LG: I knew I had obviously something super special with Jann because the country really loves her, so I had a foot in the door because of her. I’m aware that this opportunity would have never have happened for me if not for her being my champion. So my biggest roadblocks were all of the things. Jann busted the roadblocks down, and now I get to do this, and I’m eternally grateful.

You and Jann chose Jennica as your showrunner. What was it about her that really stood out to you?
LG: We interviewed a bunch of different people for the position of showrunner and talking to her on the phone, it was just immediately apparent that she had all of the things that we were lacking. You know, together we made just a perfect, complete human. And she also came into the interview pitching great ideas, like there’s a whole rivalry with Sarah McLachlan that was Jennica’s idea. When she came up with that, we were like, ‘This woman gets us.’ She has the right sense of humour for us, she’s clearly talented and very smart and professional, ‘You’re hired.’

Jennica, you have worked on dramas like Cardinal and also have a background in kids comedy. How has it been working on a primetime comedy aimed at adults?
Jennica Harper: I was very grateful to be working in kids comedy for many years and then I had been developing a number of comedy shows, but it’s hard to get one going here. So I sort of interviewed and pitched my take on the show idea and sort of helped flesh it out. I know very well how lucky I am to be one of the people getting run an adult comedy, a primetime comedy in this country. There’s been very few. So I have no illusions about why I’m here. I’m here because I have the experience and because Jann got us a greenlight. Like, I know how our show got greenlit. I did my best with the scripts, I did my best with the story, but we’re here because we have a star and everyone was like, ‘This is a no-brainer. Let’s put this on TV.’ So I got to sort of ride the train, and now I’m sort of steering the train, but the train belongs to Jann.

I think Jann’s rivalry with Sarah McLachlan on the show is hilarious. Why does fictional Jann hate Sarah? 
JH: Right from the beginning, when I understood that the proposal was to do a fictionalized version of Jann and that she is super flawed and jealous and imperfect and a blurter who thinks about herself first, that immediately came to me. I was like, ‘This is going to be so much fun.’ Because that’s where the comedy is going to come from, it’s going to come from the conflict of her against the world. And sometimes that’s her versus her work, and sometimes it’s her versus her family. So I thought she needed a nemesis, and who is a better Canadian nemesis than, honestly, one of the most hard-to-criticize human beings in the world? Someone who is beautiful with an incredible songwriting ability and a beautiful voice and works for charities and creates music schools for children, that that would be somebody who—if you’re really having fun with a flawed person—you’re like, ‘I hate that perfect person. She’s terrible. How does she get everything and I get nothing?’ That kind of vibe.

The series is very funny, but it also has a serious side, particularly in its treatment of Nora’s dementia. Was it at all difficult to strike a tonal balance between those two elements?
JH: I know it’s going to be a big part of the conversation, so I’ve tried to think really hard about all of the aspects that go into finding that tone, but I think partly what’s helped us has been not to worry too much about it, to accept that we’re going to allow for some more serious moments and to not fight it, to embrace them.

We did know that we were kind of starting in a more comedic place and the season’s going to grow and build into more serious moments, and that was really helpful because we felt we were really earning some of them later, as opposed to trying in the pilot to start with really serious things. We’re not really doing that. We’re keeping it light up front and then hoping we’re bringing the audience along for a journey and that they’re going to come with us to a point where they really love these characters, they’re invested in their lives and they want to see what’s going to happen to them that’s not so perfect. And I also think that, even with the more serious moments in the show, we do allow for those responses that are imperfect and flawed and sometimes even funny. Life takes you to those places and you’re still yourself, you still respond the way you respond.

What has it been like working with Jann?
JH: On Day 1, we were kind of bracing ourselves: Is this going to be good? Is it going to work? It’s such a hard job. Can Jann do the job? And then there was a moment on Day 1 where I was watching and I almost cried because realized that it was so far beyond that. I looked at Leah and said, ‘Oh, my god. I think it might be really good. She’s really good.’ It was really exciting in that moment to realize that you were going to be a part of something special. It is an amazingly collaborative group, and we happen to have top-notch people, and I’m really proud of the scripts. I think that all of our writers have done a great job, they’re really strong scripts. But it would live or die with Jann—and it’s going to shine. She’s a star.

Jann airs Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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Schitt’s Creek: Annie Murphy promises more heart and Ew, David’s in Season 5

It was almost a year ago that Schitt’s Creek jumped from a show slowly growing in popularity to an overnight smash. It was last winter, during Season 4, when Patrick—played by Noah Reid—sang “Simply the Best” to David Rose (Daniel Levy), publicly professing his love during an open mic night, bringing worldwide attention to the comedy and donations to LGBT Youth Line in Canada and The Trevor Project in the U.S.  via iTunes and Spotify downloads.

Since then, Schitt’s Creek—which airs on Pop in the U.S.—was nominated for Best Comedy at the Critic’s Choice Awards. The cast will be attending the January 13 event. A special Christmas episode brought further attention to the program, ensuring it remains a holiday staple. Next, a theatre tour through February, culminating with a stop in Toronto.

But while awards shows and tours beckon, Annie Murphy says the focus of the series remains the same.

“Each season peels back a layer on the family and the people of Schitt’s Creek,” she says over the phone. “This season is no different. There is a lot of love, a lot of heart and lot of the goofy, wonderful laughs that we’re used to. And a lot of ‘Ew, Davids.’”

When viewers tune in on Tuesday at 9 p.m. on CBC, they’ll see a family that has truly become a part of the community. David and Patrick’s store, Rose Apothecary, is still in business, Alexis (Murphy) and Ted (Dustin Milligan) are still together and the Rosebud Motel is still standing thanks to Stevie (Emily Hampshire), Roland (Chris Elliott) and Johnny (Eugene Levy). Only Moira (Catherine O’Hara) is absent but that’s because she’s in Bosnia filming a movie. David, worried things are getting stale between he and Patrick, agrees to accompany Alexis and Ted on a double date that involves nature and heights, two things surely on David’s Must Avoid list.

“[We filmed] in a ropes course that I never knew existed,” Murphy says with a laugh. “I was feeling very confident going into it because I’m not afraid of heights. But once they strapped us in and we were up there on the platform with no barrier around it, we all had a bit of a moment up there. It was way higher than it looked, I can assure you of that.”

Murphy hints that changes are in store for Alexis in Season 5. Aware of what she’s put Ted through over the past few seasons—including cancelled wedding engagements—the fashionista realizes she has to devote more to their relationship than before. She puts herself into a scenario we haven’t seen her in.

And though the actions by Milligan, Murphy, Reid, O’Hara and Daniel Levy are all great in Tuesday’s return, it is Eugene Levy’s scenes that grabbed my attention. Levy has made a career out of being the straight man and leaving it up to his co-stars to grab the spotlight. He turns in the most sensitive performances I’ve seen from him, making for a commanding presence. They actually carry over from “Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose,” an emotional storyline in which Johnny tried to bring his family together for the holidays. It brought a tear to my eye. Turns out I wasn’t alone.

“Eugene really, really grounds all of the characters that surround him,” Murphy says. “In the Christmas episode especially, watching him play such a sad guy. When he’s releasing the tree and when he goes off to the café by himself, I had a hard time holding it together when we were shooting. I looked over and saw Dustin wiping away a tear. He’s such a wonderful human being and that really comes across in his acting.”

Agreed.

Schitt’s Creek airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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Schitt's Creek

CBC renews Schitt’s Creek for Season 5

From a media release:

CBC has renewed the critically acclaimed hit comedy series SCHITT’S CREEK, created by and starring Eugene Levy and Daniel Levy, for a fifth season (14 x 30). Returning winter 2019, season 5 sees an increased order from 13 to 14 episodes.

Airing Tuesdays at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC, the SCHITT’S CREEK season 4 finale airs April 10 in Canada.

Currently in its fourth season, SCHITT’S CREEK is one of the top 10 Canadian entertainment programs, drawing a total reach of more than 1.4 million weekly and an average audience of 742,000 (2+ AMA) on CBC so far this season, with 41% of viewers in the 25-54 demographic.*

Related: Read our interview with Noah Reid regarding David and Patrick’s relationship

Since its debut in 2015, the series has been recognized with more than 50 award nominations and 18 wins to date, including Canadian Screen Award wins for Best Comedy Series (2016), Best Writing in a Comedy for Daniel Levy (2016), Best Comedy Performance for both Eugene Levy (2016) and Catherine O’Hara (2016, 2017) and Best Supporting Actress, Comedy for Emily Hampshire (2016, 2017).

SCHITT’S CREEK is a half-hour, single-camera comedy starring Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Daniel Levy, Annie Murphy, Chris Elliott, Emily Hampshire and Jennifer Robertson. The series follows a wealthy family who suddenly find themselves broke and forced to live in Schitt’s Creek, a small town they once bought as a joke.

Commissioned by CBC, SCHITT’S CREEK is produced by Not A Real Company Productions Inc. and created by Eugene Levy and Daniel Levy. The executive producers are Eugene Levy, Daniel Levy, Andrew Barnsley, Fred Levy, David West Read and Ben Feigin. SCHITT’S CREEK is produced in association with CBC and PopTV and distributed internationally by ITV Studios Global Entertainment.

 

 

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