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In a year defined by “self-isolation” and “physical distancing,” Canadians of 2020 were due for a dose of that which brings us together — a sense of unity, an inside joke.
Perhaps it’s partially on account of this heightened state of solitude that when we found our adhesive, it cemented us all the swifter. Crazy glue for the country’s healing heart. One needed to look no further than social media feeds populated with “Ew, David” memes, to know something special was happening.
The simplicity of that word-pairing was evidence that, while the world adjusted to COVID-related loss, Canada had something uniquely ours to make us laugh. Those who got it, got it — and there are millions of us who did (and still do). We fell head over heels and, in doing so, claimed homegrown uber-success Schitt’s Creek as our own.
With each episode over six seasons somehow funnier, smarter, and more endearing than the last, over time Schitt’s Creek awoke in Canadians that rarely seen propensity to chest-thump. (Look at our talent! Look at our relevance!) As Canuck-types, we’re more likely to apologize than self-aggrandize. But with the growing global appetite for all things Schitt’s Creek, those norms went flying out the motel room window.
While citizens planet-wide were advised to stay home, hunker down, and — to quote current jargon — Netflix-and-chill, five years after its initial release the rest of the world caught on. They too fell hard — like, tipping-point hard.
So when I learn I’ll be profiling Schitt’s Creek executive producer — and Allisonian, to boot — Andrew Barnsley, I do what any self-respecting member of the 21st-century would: I Google him.
His Instagram handle identifies him as a TV producer (we’ll get to that), a dad — he and wife Christine are parents to 15-year-old Olivier and 11-year-old Raphaelle — and a bon vivant. As for that last bit, suffice to say he’s had plenty of reason to pop the Moët. With nine Emmy wins in 2020 alone and two Golden Globe wins (with five nominations), the cast and crew are doing what Twyla, the waitress on Schitt’s Creek, does after a shift at Café Tropical. They’re cleaning up.
As is often the case as it pertains to 鶹Ƶ Allison, when I see his photo I recognize him. I know we’ve met. But the details I place as having been at a party in 1992 are blurred. (This has more to do with age than with Barbarian cooler intake.) Nearly 30 years later, without the distinctly 鶹Ƶ A soundtrack of the Tragically Hip blaring in the background, we meet today over Zoom.
We laugh about the early 1990s and he talks fondly about life at Thornton House.
“Those are very special moments,” he tells me. “You don’t realize you’re going to miss them, but you do. The innocence of it all. The closeness.”
I agree, on all fronts.
While the Andrew Barnsley I speak with in 2021 is clearly whip smart, kooky accomplished, and wonderfully personable, former 鶹Ƶ Allison president (1991–2001) and long-time Barnsley family friend, Dr. Ian Newbould, confirms this is nothing new.
“He was a really positive person, always smiling and happy,” he tells me. “It isn't a surprise that he has done so well. Andrew's success has been exceptional.”
This is, after all, the guy who was an integral part of the team behind the first Canadian program to join the ranks of iconic shows like I Love Lucy, MASH, All in the Family, and Seinfeld as recipient of the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. So, yes. Exceptional.
Not unlike the TV program that has filled his trophy case, so too is Barnsley as Canadian as they come. Born in Alberta, he moved to Nova Scotia when he was 12, ultimately crediting his love for comedy as being partly due to that chapter.
“When I moved across the country, it was a tough time,” he says. “Having the ability to laugh when you’re sad… I knew how healing it could be.”
In high school, he was active in student leadership, serving as both grad class president and organizer of the inaugural Nova Scotia Secondary School Students’ Association conference with co-founder and