Eugene Levy and Dan Levy Take a Softer Approach to Emmys Hosting Gig

Father-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy will take a “softer approach” for their Emmys hosting gig this Sunday. The TV stars said this week that they want to pay homage to television with their spotlight.

“I just want to pay tribute to television, certainly to the nominees, but also to the medium that gave us both our start,” Eugene said in an interview with Los Angeles Times profile he shares with his son. “It’s always struck me in a funny way when jokes are made at the expense of people who are nominated — they’ve worked hard for it, it’s really their night, and you have to have enough respect for the awards show itself. Otherwise, why are we here?”

Dan added that they both want the show to “feel festive” but still “keep a little bit of an edge.” On Sunday, he and Eugene will become the first father-son duo to host the big television night.

“People are, from what I’ve heard, pretty excited that we’re not hard-edged comics, that there’s going to be some warmth in the room,” Dan continued. “It’s an attempt to combine all those things without being boring, ultimately. But we’re getting there.”

Eugene said the combination of warmth and edge that Dan referred to will hopefully result in “a kinder, gentler approach.”

“It’s true, we’re not comedians, but we are funny when we work together,” Eugene added. “It’s a relationship that was forged on Schitt’s Creekand it seems to continue. It really works for both of us, and I think for the one who said, ‘Come on and do it.’”

Elsewhere in the profile, Dan shared that this wasn’t the first time he and his father had been asked to host the ceremony.

“We were asked before and it didn’t feel like the right time for whatever reason,” he said. “Then we were asked again this year and I guess we ran out of reasons not to do it. It seemed like a fun little challenge — not small, but actually quite big.”