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'Schitt's Creek' vets Sarah Levy, Tim Rozon reunite for 'Surreal' adventure

Sarah Levy (L) and Tim Rozon star in "SurrealEstate," which debuts on Friday. Photo courtesy of Syfy
1 of 3 | Sarah Levy (L) and Tim Rozon star in "SurrealEstate," which debuts on Friday. Photo courtesy of Syfy

NEW YORK, July 16 (UPI) -- Sarah Levy said she felt like she had a safety net when making the supernatural dramedy, SurrealEstate, with her former Schitt's Creek castmate, Tim Rozon.

"There are a lot of nerves involved with starting a new show and forming a character and making choices where you wonder if you are right and whether the [decisions] are right for the show," Levy told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.

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"Knowing that you have somebody else there that is going through it [too] -- that you've known and can talk to about it and build the blocks together -- is a total luxury."

Rozon agreed.

"The part was great. The scripts were incredible, and then I found out who the co-star was, and I was just immediately happy," the actor said.

"We were filming in a pandemic and we didn't have the comforts of home and, it was great to have the comfort of a great person, an actor, as your co-star.

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Debuting Friday on SYFY, SurrealEstate is about real estate agents who specialize in fixing and selling haunted houses.

Levy plays ambitious deal-closer Susan, while Rozon plays Luke, the face of the firm.

Their successful, stylishly dressed characters couldn't be more different from Twyla and Mutt, the ordinary, small-town folk they played on the sitcom, Schitt's Creek.

"I was put in jeans and paisley, flowy, ill-fitting shirts for so long that to be able to actually get dressed up to go to work was really such a joy," Levy said.

"To be able to sift through a beautiful wardrobe of suits and things being tailored just to you was something that I didn't experience on Schitt's Creek. It was lovely to start this new journey with a new character who was so particular about her wardrobe."

Rozon went from Schitt's Creek to Wynonna Earp, in which he played an immortal version of Doc Holliday, a legendary cowboy with a walrus moustache.

"I didn't know how much facial hair was going to come into my career!" Rozon laughed.

"Ever since Schitt's Creek, it has been a huge part of my career. Productions have to have meetings about facial hair. I remember the episode where Mutt shaves [his beard]. I had to let Dan [Levy] know how many days that would take to grow back," he explained.

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"The mustache [for Wynonna Earp] was a whole other thing. It was great for playing a cowboy. Walking around day to day, I would prefer to be Mutt Schitt to Doc Holliday. The moustache was a lot."

He has short hair and no facial hair as Luke in SurrealEstate.

"I was like, 'Oh, is this what it's like to have a haircut and be clean-shaven and wear a suit?'" Rozon joked.

Levy said the way SurrealEstate mixes genres sets it apart from other supernatural series.

"It has so many elements to it that it makes it hard to put it into one box, or type of show," she said.

"The procedural element to a supernatural show is something new that I haven't seen before, and also the comedy within the procedural and the horror adds a new element to that, as well. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what it is in a weird way. I think the wonderful thing is there is something for everybody."

The relationships between the characters and the cases that they work on are grounded in reality, Rozon pointed out.

"Supernatural shows are sometimes 'make believe' where SurrealEstate will make you believe," he said, referring to how the viewers will be able to relate to what they see on the screen because the ghost stories aren't so over-the-top.

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While reality shows that center on real estate exist, few mine that industry for dramatic material.

Levy said she enjoyed playing someone tasked with helping couples sell their gorgeous, but troubled properties.

"It was really fun, especially for me and my character, who is not so much of a believer in the beginning," the actress said.

As Susan sees more evidence that ghosts and demons exist, she has to find ways to calm the nerves of her clients and dispatch whatever unearthly entities are plaguing them without always telling them the complete truth.

"I'm lying now, which is going against everything my character stands for, which is being honest and real with her clients. It was an interesting balance," Levy said.

"She's a total problem-solver, and the only way she can solve any of these problems is with Luke and his team, and that's where she realizes how much she needs them to succeed."

The cast includes Adam Korson, Maurice Dean Wint and Savannah Basley. The show features episodes directed by Rozon's former Wynonna Earp co-star, Melanie Scrofano, who also guest stars in one episode.

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