Longtime fans of Pop TV's surprise smash Schitt's Creek know that the cast has a really special bond. They also know that the show, which aired for six glorious seasons before ending its run, didn't really receive the celebration it deserved until this year. Between everyone spending more time at home and the Emmys deciding to bless the show with 15 nominations for the final season, a whole lot of people are realizing what a unique bit of television the show is.
One of the show's stars and co-creators, Eugene Levy, was recently honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival. However, Eugene wasn't able to receive his award in person, and his family and friends weren't able to congratulate him at a big party or event, which they probably would have preferred.
However, they had another plan: The people closest to Eugene got together and organized a secret congratulatory message made up of individual videos. The entire video is really sweet, especially the moment when Eugene realizes what's happening and starts to cry.
Eugene created the show with his son, Daniel Levy. Dan shared the video of his dad receiving his award to Instagram, writing, "If this doesn't warm your heart then I don't know what. Watch my Dad try to hold back the tears when he is surprised by his friends and castmates in this little tribute video for his Lifetime Achievement Achievement Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival. Love you, Dad! You deserve it all."
Eugene began his career in 1970, when he starred in Cannibal Girls. He shortly thereafter joined a comedy sketch series called Second City Television and quickly became well-known for his spot-on impersonations of people like Sean Connery and Henry Kissinger.
Eugene continued to work throughout the following decade, often securing supporting roles in films like National Lampoon's Vacation and Splash.
Eugene also has a lot of experience working as a producer, writer, and director. His career received a surprise boost in the late 1990s, when he wrote the script for Waiting for Guffman and then starred as Jason Biggs' father in the American Pie movies.
Schitt's Creek has turned out to be the gift that keeps on giving for both Eugene and his son, Dan. The two dreamed up the show together, and it debuted on Pop TV in January 2015. Eugene and Dan play father and son on the show, and alongside Catherine O'Hara and Annie Murphy, they are members of a wildly wealthy family that suddenly discovers they've lost everything. As a result, the family is forced to move to a tiny town they own because Eugene's character bought it as a joke.
The family ends up living in a rundown motel, and they begrudgingly begin trying to rebuild their lives.
Dan also acts as the showrunner, which is a brand-new role for him. Prior to Schitt's Creek, he had very little experience acting or showrunning. His dad has been surprised by (and proud of) his son's natural ability.
"It's almost like he's been doing this for years and years before we started the show, but that's not true—this is the first time he's ever had this kind of responsibility."
Catherine O'Hara, who plays Dan's mom, Moira, on the show, has also been impressed by him. "It's crazy how comfortable he is doing this, how calm and confident he is running the show."
The show covers a lot of territories, including sexuality. Viewers initially assumed Dan's character, David, was gay, until he hooked up with his friend Stevie … who is female. David tells Stevie that he's pansexual by explaining, "I do drink red wine, but I also drink white wine, and I've been known to sample the occasional rosé, and a couple summers back I tried a Merlot that used to be a Chardonnay. I like the wine and not the label."
In fact, one of the more beautiful aspects of the show for Eugene and Dan is that their family has been able to make something that helps other families.
GQ described a particularly touching story Dan revealed in a recent interview: "Recently, a mother wrote Levy to say that she worried coming out would make her son's life harder, until David and Patrick showed her that it could actually make it more fulfilling. When Levy first got the message, he says he broke down. 'She's been able to feel like he's going to be okay,' he says, his voice wobbling slightly, 'because these characters are okay.'"
Eugene's daughter and Dan's sister, Sarah Levy, also stars on the show as Twyla, who works at the town's cafe. Eugene has noted that while he and his wife did a lot to try to dissuade their children from going into the industry, it's really not a surprise that both kids thrive in television.
"Dan went to film school, Sarah studied theater. It was all right there in front of him, despite what some might consider Eugene's best efforts to prevent this: When he and his wife, Deborah Divine, decided to start a family, they moved from Los Angeles to Toronto to give their children normal childhoods—which included making them get regular jobs."
When Dan first came up with the idea for the show, he knew he would need his dad's help. Not because he couldn't do it on his own, but because having his dad involved would be enriching in a real way. Eugene was thrilled, noting, "I said, 'Absolutely,' and it really wouldn't have mattered what the idea was."
However, fear began creeping in. "The very first couple of days of of brainstorming, I would wake up at night in a cold sweat thinking, What if he doesn't have it? In the beginning, I just felt that I had to mentor him, but over the first season, I found myself going 'Wait a minute, I don't have to be here, he's got a pretty strong handle on what he's doing."
