Conversation with Eugene Levy takes a while to settle into. His deadpan delivery, buoyant trademark eyebrows and earnestness are all too familiar. They are all too Johnny Rose — the Schitt’s Creek patriarch and a character Levy has described as being “as close to me [in real life] than anything I’ve done in my career.” It’s hard to separate the man from the fictional motel mogul.
Schitt’s Creek is perhaps the most perfect TV show to have ever been created. In September 2020, during its sixth and final season, the life-affirming Canadian sitcom made history by sweeping up nine Emmy Awards — the most ever for a comedy in a single year. “I’ve definitely been on a comedown, though we were riding that high for quite a bit,” he tells me. “It was one of the most amazing nights in our lives, let alone our careers. It was truly a record-breaking night and it’s nice to have that under your belt.”
