TV underdog Schitt’s Creek just made Emmys history
Only two years ago, the Emmys didn’t want a bar of the beloved comedy and now it’s just made history.
“The internet is going to turn on me!”
Dan Levy, ever the wit, on accepting his third Emmy in a row for beloved comedy Schitt’s Creek knew the overwhelming wins was almost embarrassing.
The beloved Canadian underdog is now properly a behemoth. No other comedy series has won all seven categories on the night.
That’s what is called a real SWEEEEEEEEEP.
Schitt’s Creek won all seven televised categories. And they happened to be the first seven categories of the night, so its dominance was screaming.
For those of you counting at home, the seven categories were Best Comedy, Best Actor in a Comedy for Eugene Levy, Best Actress for Catherine O’Hara, Best Supporting Actor for Dan Levy, Best Supporting Actress for Annie Murphy, Best Writing for a Comedy and Best Director for a Comedy.
It’s an embarrassment of riches.
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It’s particularly notable because Schitt’s Creek, which ended earlier this year after six seasons, was completely ignored for its four years and then picked up four nominations in 2019 but wasn’t able to meet the might of Fleabag.
If you’ve been on Mars for the past six years, Schitt’s Creek is a Canadian series created by Dan and Eugene Levy, real-life father and son.
It tells the story of the rich Rose family who loses their entire fortune, leaving them with only Moira Rose’s collection of wigs and a hicksville town named Schitt’s Creek, which they once bought as a joke.
With no choice but to decamp to the town, it’s a new life for the Roses, who struggle to adjust to the change in their circumstances, which includes engaging with the oddballs of their new home.
Over the six years, the series morphed from a show whose humour was caustic and awkward to something more heartfelt and warm.
Originally commissioned by the Canadian broadcaster CBC and run on the US on a small cable network called PopTV, Schitt’s Creek found worldwide adoration after its streaming rights were picked up by Netflix, where it streams in Australia.
And then the meme queen Moira Rose was born.
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Schitt’s Creek’s late success is an Emmys quirk in which many acclaimed series are only recognised by Emmys voters in its later years.
Across both the high-profile televised categories and the creative arts categories, Schitt’s Creek won nine of its 15 nominations this year. Nine is its total haul for six years.
Another recent example is drama series The Americans, which was a critical success but only nominated in its final years, with lead actor Matthew Rhys winning in 2019.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag was also completely ignored in its first season and went onto to win six of its nine nominations for its second season.
But, nothing else has managed to be as dominant as Schitt’s Creek which will go down in the annals of TV history.
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