No place like home for the holidays
Stars of ‘Schitt’s Creek’ can’t wait for quiet time with family in Canada
One of the few bright spots in this so far unbelievably bleak year was when “Schitt’s Creek” swept the Emmys comedy category in September with a historic nine wins. It was a moment of pure joy and celebration — and Canadian pride we all shared for the off-beat characters (and actors) who had stolen our hearts five years ago in a run-down, small-town motel. In another moment of Canadian pride, two of those beloved actors, Catherine O’Hara and Annie Murphy, are bringing their abundant quirky charm to Hudson’s Bay’s A Call to Joy holiday campaign. We spoke to them about the joy of their show, finding joy in COVID times and what’s on their holiday wish lists this year — number one: being home.
“Schitt’s Creek” brought so much joy for being so funny but also so groundbreaking and meaningful for so many. Can you talk about the joy of being a part of that?
Murphy: Yes, I would love to! Being part of this show, I say over and over and I will continue to say over and over, that it has been the six best years of my life. Being able to work with people who have now become lifelong friends, on a show that was so much fun to make, and so funny, but was also that was about many things that are very important like love and kindness and inclusivity. I think one of the reasons that the show is as popular as it is, is because people are very much looking for those things, especially in these unstable and scary times. So it’s been a true honour to be part of a show that values those things so highly.
O’Hara: Hear, hear! Daniel, with his father, created and wrote a show about a world that he wants to live in and that I want to live in, and along the way, wrote some great jokes and made a lot of people happy including us every day on the set. They gathered a great group together, the cast is beautiful, the crew is beautiful. Everybody was at the top of their game and encouraged each other to be at the top of their game. It was really a joyful thing to be part of. Then, oddly enough we became sort of a good example of how a family can survive and learn to know each other better and love each other more while being holed up in a couple of rooms together for a long time, which has turned out to be a lot of people’s situation.
What was joyful about playing this fraught and fragile mother-daughter relationship and building it to a more loving place?
Murphy: From a personal standpoint, anytime I got to be in a scene with Catherine just by myself was a wonderful career moment and I really absorbed every second I possibly could. But then to see Moira and Alexis figure out how to be a mother and a daughter respectively and figure out that even though they had so many things that were dissimilar there were a lot similarities about the two of them, and those similarities were what made them butt heads a little bit. To watch those characters manoeuvre their way into a truly loving mother-daughter relationship was so much fun to be able to play.
O’Hara: I agree. I loved all of my scenes with you. I think Moira thought she was a great mother before all of this happened. She didn’t ever really try to become a mother during this story but became one in spite of herself because of these wonderful young people that she got to know and had the great privilege of being with and great privilege of being a parent, but there was no agenda. But it’s really hard to let go of wanting your kids to live a life that you want to live or the life that you wish for them. It’s really hard to let go and just let them be. In her own weird way, I think Moira allowed her kids to be who they really are, and it turns out they’re beautiful, beautiful and the most lovable people in the world. Especially played by Annie and Daniel. And I like that we did have our differences as mother and daughter, but I’m happy that Daniel and the writers didn’t try to go the way of women not getting along because I was just as bad a mother to David as I was to Alexis ( laughs). I remember the nervousness of our characters in one of our first big scenes together, in the restaurant, when we had lunch and how awkward it was. They made the effort of writing questions ahead of time ( laughs).
Murphy: Ya, ha! ‘( robotically) How is your job?’ That was a really special scene.
You must be missing the joyful set. How are you finding joy in the day-to-day?
Murphy: I’ve been doing my best to keep in touch and regularly talk to the people that make me happy and the people that keep me hopeful and laughing. In an ideal world, I would say that I haven’t been paying that much attention to the news but that is an absolute impossibility right now.
Just trying to be around positive, funny, hopeful people as much as possible.
O’Hara: I’m in Canada, so number one I’m in the right place. Sorry, Annie!
Murphy: Don’t make me more jealous than I already am.
O’Hara: I know, sorry. I had to leave Ontario cottage country a couple of days ago, and now I’m in beautiful Vancouver, so I’ve gone across the country and I’m very grateful to be here. Same as what Annie just said, just trying to be in contact with people I love and people that make me happy as much as possible. Later today, my husband and I will be on Zoom with our friends from all over for our weekly cocktail. And you go out walking, keep your mask on, and smile with your eyes to everybody.
Where will you be spending the holidays?
Murphy: I will be getting out of America and going home to Canada, which I’m very much looking forward to already. Hopefully, things will be safe enough to go and spend some time with my parents in Ottawa and eat a bunch of food and drink wine and watch old movies. That’s kind of what I’m keeping my fingers crossed for.
O’Hara: My plans don’t exist ( laughs). I don’t know where I’ll be. We’re in Vancouver now and we’re definitely here till mid-December and after that, I don’t know. I think I’m going to be affected by a lot of things like pandemic statistics and fires and U.S. elections, and maybe where my siblings are. So I hope to be with as many family members as possible. I’ll definitely be with my husband and kids, and I hope I will be with my siblings and friends. But, much like a lot of people’s live, it is all up in the air. We can celebrate the holidays in whatever way makes us happy and celebrate each other and just show a little respect for everyone, a little love. Let people know how much you love them and I guess we can do that anywhere. So that’s my plan; I guess I do have a plan!
Catherine, if you could buy Moira any gift what would it be?
O’Hara: Oh, wow! A production company, I suppose. Or a theatre. No, a production company. And perhaps an acting school where she would grace everyone once in a while with her presence.
And you, Annie? What would you buy Alexis?
Murphy: I’d buy her a ticket to the Galapagos. Just for a couple of weeks. A two-way ticket, just for a little visit.
What other character on “Schitt’s Creek” would you each want to play if you could?
Murphy: Well, mine’s Bob. That limp-wrist action. And I think I’ve nailed the slow Bob entrance. I think I could really knock it out of the park.
O’Hara: ( Laughing) That’s great. OK, then I’m going with Ronnie. Cause Ronnie’s just very cool and intimidating. Love to be that character.
What’s on your wish list from the HBC holiday collection?
O’Hara: I love all the HBC stripes! And I swear it’s what motivated me to get a Canadian credit card a few years ago, because I couldn’t order anything online with my American one. I love the umbrellas, the robes, the mittens, the teapots, the puffer coat, the beach towels, everything! And I know it’s all based on the Hudson’s Bay point blanket, but I just love all the HBC stripes.
Murphy: I’m in an apartment right now with a coffee machine that I cannot for the life of me figure out. It just ends up spitting out tarlike substances every morning. So I’d say a nice coffee machine would be a treat. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just something that makes coffee, as opposed to some kind of thick gunk.