Father-and-son performers Eugene and Dan Levy injected a good dose of Canadian politeness into the Emmy Awards as they took the reins with an opening monologue that riffed on their family dynamic.
The stars and co-creators of CBC’s “Schitt’s Creek” said it was a “cruel joke” that two Canadians were put in charge of playing actors off during their acceptance speeches.
Eugene said Canadians “don’t like interrupting anybody” while Dan cautioned the star-studded audience that his father could die from the anxiety.
Several Canadians were competing Sunday for trophies, including Toronto’s D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai of “Reservation Dogs” and Hamilton’s Martin Short of “Only Murders in the Building,” who both lost the best comedy actor award to Jeremy Allen White of “The Bear.”
Other nominated Canadians included Fort Erie, Ont.‘s Matty Matheson for the culinary dramedy “The Bear,” which he executive produces.
The Levys swept the 2020 Emmys when “Schitt’s Creek” claimed the best comedy trophy and they each earned acting trophies, while Dan also scooped hardware for writing and directing.
Eugene helped kick things off Sunday by announcing: “If things go south, my name is pronounced Martin Short.”
“In what can only be described as a cruel joke, two Canadians have been put in charge of playing you off tonight,” Dan noted later to an audience of celebrities including Catherine O’Hara, Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston.
“Canadians don’t like interrupting anybody. It goes against our nature,” agreed Eugene.
Canadian nominees included Toronto’s Lorne Michaels, the executive producer of NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” and Montreal’s Barry Julien, the co-executive producer of CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” in the best talk series category.
Michaels was also up for best scripted variety series as executive producer of “Saturday Night Live.”
Ahead of the bash, Woon-A-Tai said he’s “honoured” his Indigenous-led show — also up for best comedy Sunday — was being recognized by the television academy after being snubbed for its first two seasons.
”(Indigenous people) are great storytellers and we’ve been telling stories and been in the film industry since the beginning,” he said.
“We’re finally pushing that button and we’re finally pushing ourselves through that door.”
The Emmy Awards aired from Los Angeles on ABC and CTV2.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
