‘Witness Protection’ Will Let ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Star Annie Murphy Try Out Her Movie Star Chops
Alexis Rose would be proud. The woman who portrays that character onSchitt’s Creek,Emmy winnerAnnie Murphy, is set to star and executive produce a movie calledWitness Protection. Murphy has been busy with TV and streaming work, but this is her first starring role in a feature film.
Discovering Your Identity While Hiding It
Witness Protectioncenters on a woman who spent her life defining herself by her romantic relationships. When she’s forced to enter witness protection, she has to try to figure out who she really is without a significant other to guide her. Oh, and she has to do it while maintaining her cover and dodging the bad guys.Yeesh.
The movie reunites Murphy with writersRupinder GillandDavid West Read, who worked with her onSchitt’s Creek. The original conceit for the project was developed by Alloy Entertainment, and the film will be produced by MRC Film’s female-driven comedy label, headed byPalm SpringsproducerBecky Sloviter.
This won’t be the first time Murphy has helped spearhead a project. In 2015, she wrote, produced, and performed inThe Plateaus, a web series for the CBC about an indie rock band whose lead singer is killed in a freak accident. The series also features fellow funny CanadiansElisha CuthbertandJay Baruchel, and isstreaming free on YouTube.
Everything’s Coming Up Annie
Murphy played the jet-setting, bubbly Alexis onSchitt’s Creekfor 80 episodes, winning Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the role at the 2020 Emmys. The series would go on to win nine Emmy awards in a single year, an Emmys record. She currently stars on AMC’s dark comedy seriesKevin Can F**k Himself, about what it would really be like to be a beleaguered housewife trapped with a sitcom husband. (Spoilers: you might consider murder.) She’s also set to have a featured role in thesecond season of Netflix’s time loop dramedyRussian Doll.She’s also recently performed guest voices on the cartoon comediesFamily Guy, Robot Chicken, andAmerican Dad.
I’ve loved Murphy since I first saw her onSchitt’s Creek, and she’s killing it (no pun intended) onKevin Can F**k Himself.She has charisma for days and can play a wide variety of roles with nuance. (Seriously, there are worlds between Alexis and her world-weary character onKevin.) It only makes sense that her star is rising, and I hope this is just the beginning of a superstar career for Murphy. After all, like Alexis sings in her truly terribleSchitt’s Creeksong: she’s a Lamborghini and a Hollywood star.
