Dan Levy’s series Schitt’s Creek was a Canadian show that became a worldwide sensation, and his comedic brilliance is on full display again with the new series Big Mistakes on Netflix. Co-created with Rachel Sennott, starring Levy, along with Taylor Ortega, Jack Innanen, Laurie Metcalf, Abby Quinn, Boran Kuzum and Elizabeth Perkins, it’s a comedic crime show meets family drama.
The series begins with a bickering family gathered around a dying grandmother. And with that start, you’ll be hooked right away.
“Normally when you’re filming something, you’re really not rehearsing, and I wouldn’t say we did a lot, but we shot that first scene and we did run it through, me and Dan and Abby and Laurie,” Ortega told Yahoo Canada in Toronto. “And that was kind of nice, because people got to contribute beats they thought were funny. And it was sort of like establishing all of us working together, and we had that nice little private moment.”
“Then we brought in our director, Dean [Holland], and showed him how we thought maybe it should look, … and it just felt very collaborative and comfortable.”
Nicky (Levy) is a pastor with a secret boyfriend, Morgan (Ortega) is a school teacher with a golden retriever boyfriend, Max (Innanen), and Natalie (Quinn) is the golden child in the family. Their mother, Linda (Metcalf), is tending to their dying grandmother while also gearing up to run for mayor in their New Jersey town.
While there’s an infectious, chaotic energy to this family, things take a turn when Morgan steals a necklace for their grandmother, which draws a visit from a low-level gangster, Yusuf (Boran Kuzum), who’s desperate to get it back for his boss. And that results in Morgan and Nicky getting involved in the world of organized crime.
“The pilot that they wrote, … those characters were very clear to me,” Ortega said. “I remember thinking, … it’s not often that you’ll read a character breakdown and you’ll think, well, that’s kind of me. We’re from the same place. Our families are so similar. Our personalities are, in some ways, very similar.”
“I read it and I thought, god, this is the most close to home thing I’ve ever read. I think I really understand it.”
(L to R) Taylor Ortega as Morgan and Jack Innanen as Max in Episode 106 of BIG MISTAKES (Spencer Pazer/Netflix)
(Spencer Pazer/Netflix)’I really tried to tap into as much manchild patheticness that I could’
While there’s so much star power on this show, one of the highlights of the comedy in Big Mistakes is how Max is just completely oblivious to so much of what’s going on.
“He’s just so in his own world, or just so focused just on Morgan and making sure that she’s happy,” Innanen said. “But that’s been the most fun part of watching the show, is that I wasn’t involved in a lot of those scenes, and so getting to watch how it actually played out, and just how oblivious my character is, it’s really fun.”
And an extension from that is seeing Max’s relationship with his mother, Annette, played by Elizabeth Perkins.
“I really tried to tap into as much manchild patheticness that I could, and then really just reacted off of how great Elizabeth was at being almost an enabler, … but also quite an intimidating character,” Innanen said. “Thinking [about] the authority that she has in my life to enable how pathetic my character is in many ways was just a really fun little pocket to play in.”
“I can just be a mama’s boy who’s gone through so much therapy, and be a little whiny baby.”
(L to R) Laurie Metcalf as Linda, Elizabeth Perkins as Annette, and Jack Innanen as Max in Episode 103 of Big Mistakes (Netflix)
(Courtesy of Netflix)
One of the best scenes in the whole season is when Morgan and Linda sit down with Max and Annette to talk about Morgan and Max’s relationship, with Max telling Morgan that he believes having this conversation with their mothers will make them both “nicer” to each other.
“I was so excited for that day, and my real mom came to work to set that day,” Ortega said. “I was like, you’re in for a treat. We’re with the girls today.”
“And Laurie and Elizabeth have known each other for so long, and they’re so comfortable with each other, and their characters are so realized for each of them that I knew it was going to be really good, and really fun to watch and also perform.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 09: (L-R) Jack Innanen, Abby Quinn, Dan Levy, Taylor Ortega and Boran Kuzum visit the BIG MISTAKES Necklace Installation in Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal on April 09, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Netflix)
(Jamie McCarthy via Getty Images)’A Canadian heritage moment’
While Levy’s comedic voice is incredibly sharp, blending that with Rachel Sennott’s storytelling is an incredible combination. It’s resulted in a show with such a unique tone and layered characters, with a great navigation of the most outlandish comedic scenes and perfectly placed grounded moments for these characters.
But for Innanen, it was incredibly celebratory to work with fellow Canadian Levy, who is so accomplished and beloved.
“He’s an expert at what he does and represents the country so well,” Innanen said. “It was a Canadian heritage moment.”