Tag Archives: Eugene Levy

Link: Eugene Levy on Schitt’s Creek: It’s “The Straightest Thing I’ve Ever Done in My Career”

From David Kamp of Vanity Fair:

Link: Eugene Levy on Schitt’s Creek: It’s “The Straightest Thing I’ve Ever Done in My Career”
It was never quite enough, those intermittent doses of Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy administered every few years via Christopher Guest’s ensemble movies. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Link: Eugene Levy can’t get over ‘Schitt’s Creek’ success

From Bruce Kirkland of Postmedia Network:

Link: Eugene Levy can’t get over ‘Schitt’s Creek’ success
Canadian comic actor Eugene Levy is up Schitt’s Creek, with plenty of paddles at his disposal, so he could not be happier about the fate of his latest television series.

“It’s all kind of surreal,” Levy says over wine at the rooftop restaurant in the Montage Beverly Hills. “Everything about this is surreal.” Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Link: ‘SCTV’ 40th Anniversary Special May Happen, Says Eugene Levy

From Michael Malone of Broadcasting & Cable:

‘SCTV’ 40th Anniversary Special May Happen, Says Eugene Levy
With its 40th anniversary approaching, legendary sketch comedy show SCTV may be getting the reunion treatment, as Saturday Night Live did a year ago. Eugene Levy, an original cast member, says he’s been in talks with other SCTV principals about marking the milestone in style. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Schitt’s Creek’s focal family mixes with the locals in Season 2

The bloom is off the rose for the Roses. The rich family that saw their fortune seized by the government and cast out to live in their remaining asset—the town of Schitt’s Creek—tried desperately to sell the burg and escape. The Season 1 finale saw an end to that as the lone buyer died suddenly, leaving Johnny and his family stuck. What’s the plan for Season 2 of Schitt’s Creek, returning Tuesday at 9 p.m. to CBC? Lay low.

“They’re always looking to get out and if they had the opportunity they would,” co-executive producer and Johnny actor Eugene Levy says. “The reality is that they can’t sell the town, they can’t do much about their situation and they’re going to have to be there longer than they thought they initially would be. Now what do you do? You have to get on with your life.” That means—gasp—finding jobs. Johnny is on unemployment but trying to figure out how to make the best of the situation while kids David (Dan Levy) and Alexis (Annie Murphy) have to get work so they have money to spend, leading to interaction with the townspeople.

“David gets a job at a clothing store and [Robin Duke] plays Wendy, the manager of the store,” Dan Levy says. “The store is struggling, so she is balancing the reality of an unstable business with having hired David, who wants to redo the whole store. His ideas are not coming from a business mind.”

One of Schitt’s Creek‘s strengths has been the heart hiding behind the hilarity. There are cringeworthy and laugh out loud moments aplenty, but those are contrasted with scenes of genuine feelings, like those between David and Stevie (Emily Hampshire), Alexis and Mutt (Tim Rozon) and even Johnny and Roland (Chris Elliott). Elliott recalls the rookie season scene where Roland and Johnny bonded over a plate of really good ribs.

“And they were really good ribs,” Elliott says wistfully. “I have not been able to find them since. I kept hoping for another take so that I could keep eating them. Then I purged and we went back and ate more.” Roland, Elliott teases, is still a pain in Johnny’s ass this time around, but acknowledge to having more in common than they first thought.

That’s important to Season 2, adds Eugene.

“That’s key to building the relationships,” he says. “Rather than running into the townspeople and saying, ‘Ooo, I wish we weren’t running into you,’ there is a little less of that.”

“Though Roland does tend to show up when Johnny doesn’t want him to,” Elliott says. “It’s not necessarily him, just not now.”

“Which is still most of the time,” Eugene says.

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

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Schitt’s Creek expands in Season 2

One of the big surprises in Season 1 of Schitt’s Creek were the relationships. Far from being a formulaic comedy series hitting viewers with a rat-a-tat-tat of jokes, Dan Levy’s co-creation showed real heart among its characters … when they weren’t caught in cringe-inducing situations.

By the end of the rookie go-round, David Rose (Dan Levy) was speeding out of town in a stolen truck after breaking up with Stevie Budd (Emily Hampshire) and Alexis Rose (Annie Murphy) was trying to decide which man she wanted to be with: stoic, stable Ted (Dustin Milligan) or rough and tumble Mutt (Tim Rozon). Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy) and Moira (Catherine O’Hara), meanwhile, were plotting to get the family out of Schitt’s Creek. When Season 2 returns to CBC in January with two back-to-back episodes, three days have elapsed since David disappeared and Alexis decides to cut Ted loose.

“Ted returns a changed man after going on a honeymoon by himself,” Dan says with a smile while O’Hara cackles with glee. “Ted goes away to a sunny resort and learns a lot about himself.” The same is true of the other major characters; Johnny is plans to sell Schitt’s Creek but opens up an office in the meantime, Moira attempts to inject the town with some sophistication and David goes looking for a job. Now that the writers’ room members know more about the characters, they can interplay and explore other parts of the town.

“We definitely went into this season saying, ‘OK, let’s go with some different pairings,'” Dan says. “We see a really lovely episode between Moira and Alexis halfway through the season.”

“They wrote a great story,” O’Hara says. “Alexis gets sick and Moira doesn’t know how to mother her. There was always someone there to take care of Alexis when she was growing up. These are new experiences for Moira.” O’Hara is quick to point out Moira is forced into these mothering situations; there is no forethought or plan to make her a better mom. Or cook, as illustrated in Episode 2 of Season 2, when Moira’s attempt to re-create a Mexican dish from her own mom’s recipe turns into a fiasco in Jocelyn’s (Jennifer Robertson) kitchen.

David, meanwhile, goes on a job hunt, which leads to the introduction of a new character played by former Saturday Night Live and SCTV actress Robin Duke.

“David gets a job at a clothing store and she plays Wendy, the manager of the store,” he teases. “The store is struggling, so she is balancing the reality of an unstable business with having hired David, who wants to redo the whole store. His ideas are not coming from a business mind.” Also on tap? More Twyla (Sarah Levy), thanks to a group activity that starts happening in the town.

“Again, this was a way of showing our characters in different lights and providing a different through-line that was outside of the areas we’ve associated them with.”

Schitt’s Creek returns Tuesday, Jan. 12, at 9 p.m. on CBC.

Plus: Vote for Schitt’s Creek for Favourite Canadian TV Series of 2015.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail