Big Mistakes TV preview: Running in the family
Dan Levy leans into familiar sibling dynamics in this new family crime comedy
Like a nickname assigned in your early years that sticks around until the end of high school, some monikers are hard (even impossible) to shake off. Such is the case with Dan Levy. No matter what this talented actor does between now and the grave, he will always be ‘David’ (said in disgusted, Alexis-style tone, probably with an ‘eew’ preceding it). And Levy isn’t making it any easier for us to forget his Schitt’s Creek character with latest creation, Big Mistakes.
Billed as a ‘family crime comedy’ (surely a new genre), this eight-part series finds Levy once again multi-tasking as executive producer, writer, showrunner and star. It also sees him return to the role of snarky brother battling an equally combative sister. Only this time, Taylor Ortega takes on the sibling role, setting sparks flying each time she shares the screen with Levy. As school teacher Morgan and closeted gay pastor Nicky, Ortega and Levy have enough trouble handling their passionate Italian mother (played by Laurie Metcalf, whose award-winning talent has graced many roles across stage and screen but who, akin to Levy, will resolutely remain ‘Roseanne’s sister’ till death). But things really start to ramp up when they inadvertently anger the local organised crime boss.
Family clearly means a lot to Levy (with father Eugene and sister Sarah both heavily involved in Schitt’s Creek), for although Big Mistakes has crime as its centrepiece, familial relationships are the full plates surrounding it. Whether Morgan and Nicky’s sparring can replace Alexis and David’s tussles in the public consciousness, however, remains to be seen.
Big Mistakes is available on Netflix from Thursday 9 April.