Schitt's & Giggles

HOW SCHITT’S CREEK, A LITTLE FEEL-GOOD TV SHOW, BECAME A GLOBAL SENSATION – AND TURNED ITS CAST INTO THE TOAST OF TINSELTOWN

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“If you told me last year what my schedule was going to be like these past few weeks, I never would’ve believed you,” says Annie Murphy, 33, who, for six seasons, has played the lovably vapid former wild child Alexis Rose on hit Netflix show Schitt’s Creek. Recent events for Murphy and her castmates, Catherine O’Hara, 65, Eugene Levy, 73, and the show’s co-creator (and Eugene’s son) Dan Levy, 36, include the Critics’ Choice Awards (where Nicole Kidman hit them up to gush about how much she loves the series) as well as appearances on Ellen, The Tonight Show and at the SAG Awards, where they were nominated for Best Ensemble in a Comedy, and O’Hara for Best Female Actor. “It’s been amazing to see how the philosophy, the joy of the show, has found people,” Dan says of its rising popularity. When Schitt’s Creek – the story of a rich family who lost all their money and had to move to a small town they’d once bought as a joke – debuted in 2015, it had a small-but-steady fan base, but it’s now a worldwide sensation getting ever more popular, and celebs like Elton John and Jennifer Lawrence openly rave about it. Fans are so diehard that Dan says they’re already asking for a reboot. “It went from people finding it entertaining and saying, ‘Yeah it’s a funny show,’ to saying, ‘I need this show.’”

The four stars opened up to WHO about the history of Schitt’s – and what it was like to be on a comedy series that proves humour, humanity and the love of family are more important than ever. When Dan and Eugene first shopped the idea for the show, everyone passed except CBC in Canada and Pop TV in America. For that they’re grateful.