‘Kevin Can F**k Himself’ First Look: ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Star Annie Murphy Tears Down Sitcom Tropes in AMC’s New Show

AMC released the first sneak peek of  Kevin Can F**k Himself during their Winter TCA Press Tour presentation today. The series stars Schitt’s Creek actress Annie Murphy as Allison, a woman who finds herself stuck as the long-suffering housewife in a traditional multi-cam sitcom world focused on her man-child husband Kevin (Eric Petersen). However, all is not what it initially appears. Kevin Can F**k Himself toggles between the multi-cam sitcom world and a single-cam drama. In the latter scenes, we discover that Allison is on the verge of exploding with rage and sorrow.

The series was created by Lodge 41 writer Valerie Armstrong who told journalists that she wanted audiences “to reconsider a woman you thought you knew.” That is, the stereotypical sitcom wife who is totally fine being the butt of everyone’s jokes. Armstrong added that she first wrote the pilot three years ago — before #MeToo and well before the pandemic crunched the ambitions of millions of working mothers — and since then, the show’s message has only gotten more relevant. Armstrong said all she wants is for one woman to watch Kevin Can F**k Himself and say, “It’s not just me!”

Annie Murphy said she was drawn to the role of Allison because it’s a “complete 180” from the vapid, goofy Alexis Rose of Schitt’s Creek. Murphy not only showed off her very different footware on Kevin Can F**k Himself, but said that Allison is a woman who gets to do a lot of things “angrily,” from making eggs to kicking glass to doing cocaine in an alley. Like Armstrong, Murphy felt that Allison would feel relatable to audience members used to suppressing their rage and frustration instead of expressing it. “I think so many women are going to be able to identify themselves in this character,” Murphy told a reporter.

Kevin Can F**k Himself is produced by creator Valerie Armstrong, showrunner Craig DiGregorio, and EPs Rashida Jones and Will McCormack. It will premiere on both AMC and AMC+ in summer 2021.

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