Coming off of her award-winning stint portraying Alexis Rose on Schitt's Creek, Annie Murphy is now the leading star in AMC's Kevin Can F**k Himself. While Murphy excelled in her first major acting gig, she made an effort not to be typecast in a role that can be viewed as similar to Alexis. So how exactly does playing Allison McRoberts in Kevin Can F**k Himself compare to Murphy's time as Alexis?
Murphy's breakout role as Alexis began in 2015 when Schitt's Creek debuted on CBC. The actress starred in all six seasons of the Canadian sitcom, playing the daughter of Johnny (Eugene Levy) and Moira Rose (Catherine O'Hara) and the sister of David Rose (Dan Levy). After the Rose family lost their fortune, they were forced to move to the small town of Schitt's Creek, where they all encountered a reality check living amongst the middle and lower class of society. Though Alexis wasn't so bright during the onset, she eventually embraced the situation to overhaul her life while greatly maturing in the process. That said, Alexis never gave up her behavioral quirks and mannerisms that became synonymous with her personality.
On the surface, Alexis does share a few aspects in common with Kevin Can F**k Himself's Allison, seeing as the two women start out with a journey in transforming their lives for the better. Both characters are in tough situations at the start of their respective series, but when diving deeper, Allison couldn't be more different than Alexis. In Schitt's Creek, Murphy embodied a character with a history of jet-setting and living a lavish lifestyle. In contrast, Allison seemingly never left Worcester, Massachusetts, as she finds herself in a neverending rut. She also lives in a house with her husband, trying to make a living through a low-paying job. Even though Alexis was living with her family in a motel, attempting to build a PR career, the Schitt's Creek character seemed to be in a better mindset than Allison is at the start of the AMC series.
There was no question Alexis encountered her fair share of struggles, but Schitt's Creek was also a comedy. On the other hand, Kevin Can F**k Himself uses its comedic sitcom elements to gloss over misogynistic moments as a way to drive in the dramatic aspects of Allison's suffering. In an interview (via EW), Murphy explained why she took the role of Allison, stating, "[it] was really important to me that I find a character that's worlds away from Alexis." She reiterated how much she loved her Schitt's Creek character, but it was time to tackle something different.
Instead of brightening the screen with her fashionista style like Alexis, Allison dons ripped sweaters or Bill Belichick cutoff hoodies as she argues with her man-child husband, Kevin (Eric Petersen), about their lack of savings. Despite being involved in the sitcom multicam moments equipped with laugh tracks, Allison usually isn't in on the fun occurring onscreen. Her true tale comes in the shape of the darkened side of the story outside of the sitcom world, deciding whether or not killing her husband would make her problems go away. The subplots certainly never got that dark in Schitt's Creek over the course of six seasons.
As for performances, it was no question Murphy excelled her career by playing Alexis. Like the rest of the starring cast, Murphy won an Emmy Award for her work in Schitt's Creek's sixth and final season. With Kevin Can F**k Himself, Murphy has another chance to shine, but this time it's through a highly complex role, blending comedy and drama. Allison is very different from Alexis, but Murphy shows she was correct in avoiding a typecast situation, as the actress proves her range of genres isn't limited to pure comedy.
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June 23, 2021 at 12:00AM
