It was a Schitt’s-krieg at the 72nd Annual Emmy Awards Sunday night as the LGBTQ-themed Schitt’s Creek swept the major comedy categories winning a record-breaking 9 Emmys, the most ever for a comedy series in a single year.
It was quite the capper for the sixth and final season of the show which has become beloved by straight and queer audiences alike, drawn in by the series’ celebration of inclusivity and diversity. The series spent much of the season on the touching, and often hysterical, same-sex love story between Dan Levy’s ‘David Rose’ and Noah Reid’s ‘Patrick.’
Catherine O’Hara was the first cast member to be honored on Sunday night as she scored for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. The win marked O’Hara’s first at the Emmys.
“This is so cool,” said O’Hara from a viewing party in Toronto. “I will forever be grateful to Eugene and Daniel Levy for the opportunity to play a woman of a certain age—my age—who gets to fully be her ridiculous self.”
Eugene Levy followed that winning Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as the show’s patriarch, Johnny Rose.
His son and series co-creator Dan Levy and his co-star Annie Murphy both picked up statues for their performances in the Outstanding Supporting Actor and Actress categories.
At that point, an overwhelmed Dan Levy tweeted out, “What the actual f*ck!”
https://twitter.com/danjlevy/status/1307896065199230976
Can't get enough of this tender father/son moment between @danjlevy and @Realeugenelevy! @SchittsCreek made official #Emmys history tonight by sweeping all 7 Comedy categories! pic.twitter.com/dJLVuPEgxm
— Television Academy (@TelevisionAcad) September 21, 2020
But wait! There’s more!
Dan Levy was also honored for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series.
And finally, the show took home the top honor, Outstanding Comedy Series.
In accepting the award, Dan Levy took a moment to encourage viewers to get out and vote.
“Our show at its core is about the transformational effects of love and acceptance and that is something that we need more of now than ever before,” said Dan Levy as he accepted the award. “I just wanted to say that for any of you who have not registered to vote, please do so, and then go out and vote because that is the only way we are going to have some love and acceptance out there. Please do that. I’m so sorry for making this political, but I had to!”
His dad chimed in thanking his son for taking “our ‘fish out of water’ story about the Rose family” and transforming it into “a celebration of inclusivity, a castigation of homophobia, and a declaration of the power of love.”
Earlier in the week, Schitt’s Creek also won Emmys for casting and costumes at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
It was quite the reversal of fortune for the show which was shut out of contention during its first four seasons. Last year, the Pop TV series garnered four nominations, including one for Outstanding Comedy, but went home empty-handed.
In other queer Emmy news, RuPaul’s Drag Race won 6 awards including the show’s third-in-a-row Outstanding Competition Program Emmy Award and Mama Ru’s 5th straight win for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program.
Former Disney Channel star Zendaya (24) also made history as the youngest actress to win in the Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for her compelling work as complicated queer teen ‘Rue’ on HBO’s Euphoria.
For a list of all of Sunday night’s winners, head over to Emmys.com.
