If you have never seen Schitt’s Creek before, you probably felt like you did by the end of the Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sep. 20. But in case you still don’t know much about the show, it’s about the Rose family. The Roses are a cold, wealthy family who loses everything and ends up having to move to a town in the middle of nowhere called Schitt’s Creek. It is a fish out of water story about love, family, community and learning the art of appreciation. It just wrapped its final season after a six-year run. While the show is about a family, it is also created by a family — specifically, the Levy family. Daniel Levy and Eugene Levy are a father-son duo who dreamed up, created and shaped the world of Schitt’s Creek. They also star in it along with their sister and daughter Sarah Levy.
Schitt’s Creek was nominated for 19 Emmys and won nine. Seven of the wins that the Schitt’s Creek team won were in the main comedy categories presented at the beginning of the award show. As each award recipient walked up to the mic to accept their award, they broke a new record:
1. First comedy show to win all four acting categories in one year.
2. First directing duo to win Outstanding Directing of a Comedy Series since 2004.
3. Third comedy to win its first Emmy for its final season.
4. Fourth live-action series in which all the main actors won Emmys.
5. Fourth show to win Best Comedy Series, Actress and Actor in the same year.
6. Sixth straight year of Best Comedy Series and Best Actress in a Comedy matching.
7. Most awarded comedy in a single year.
You could tell by the cast and crew’s faces that churning out win after win was a complete shock to them. They just finished up their last season after six years of no Emmy Awards and only getting nominated for the first time in 2019. And their road to critical acclaim wasn’t an easy one. Daniel and Eugene Levy recall pitching the show to several major studios and being rejected. They finally sold the show to the Canadian Broadcasting Network, partnering with the Pop network in the United States. For some, Pop isn’t an accessible channel, and Eugene Levy remembers this causing some bumps in the beginning. Eugene Levy stated, “Not everybody knew how to get Pop. So, the awareness factor in the States was not, I would say, extremely high. In fact, I wouldn’t say it was high at all. In fact, I would say it was kinda low.” This made the show’s sweep on Sunday even more unexpected. Recently, it’s been picked up by Netflix, which has contributed to the show’s rise in fame. Even still, it was the Canadian underdog that gave every other show this year a run for its money.
These historic wins were not taken without controversy. Daniel Levy said in his acceptance speech for his third win, “The internet’s about to turn on me. I’m so sorry!” And he was right. A lot of people felt like the “Schitt’s Creek Sweep” ended up snubbing a lot of other great performances and comedy shows from the past year. Indie Wire speculates that a comedy show has never swept like this year because there is rarely one show that is so drastically better in every way than all of the other shows that it deserves to sweep. They don’t believe Schitt’s Creek is the exception to this rule. They go on to say that the comedy categories were weaker this year than in previous years because of the absence of repeat winners, like Veep, Fleabag and Barry.
Fans, on the other hand, are ecstatic. The show really struck a chord with viewers. This sentiment from the article “Love You Forever Schitt’s Creek” by Emily Burack sums it up, writing about the show’s ending and stating, “I am going to miss Schitt’s Creek so much. I am going to miss the sense of comfort the Rose family brings me, and the unadulterated joy and love at the heart of the show. But I know, I know, it was the right moment to end it. Plus, I will still be able to go back to Schitt’s Creek, because the show will be there waiting for me to re-watch, whenever I need it most.”
And the cast feels the same way as their fans. Based on their Toronto-based Emmy party, the cast (although some of them are legitimately family) is a tightknit group that has really become a work family. When asked about the sweep of awards on Sunday night, Daniel Levy said, “What an absolutely wonderful way to end our series. I don’t think you could ask for a better conclusion to a story than [this] tonight. So, we are thrilled.”
Want to see more HCFSU? Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest!