Producer Ben Feigin, the “architect” behind hit sitcom Schitt’s Creek, has died aged 47.
The executive producer’s former employer United Talent Agency confirmed his death to Variety, adding that he had died on Monday (24 October) of pancreatic cancer.
Feigin was described as a driving force behind Schitt’s Creek, the Canadian TV show that became a huge international hit, and won multiple Emmy Awards for its final season.
With his company Equation Unlimited, Feigin was responsible for both the development and launch of the series, as well as garning interest for the show overseas.
He received the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2020, while all four of the show’s lead cast members (Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Dan Levy, Annie Murphy) also received acting awards.
Before Schitt’s Creek, Feigin worked at Warner Bros, where he oversaw shows such as Friends and The West Wing.
Feigin is survived by his wife Heidi and their 11-year-old daughter, Ellie.
Schitt’s Creek aired for 80 episodes from 2015 to 2020, and was written by father-and-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy.
The show centres around a wealthy family who find themselves caught up in an embezzlement scandal and are forced to relocate to a motel in the small town of Schitt’s Creek that they once purchased as a joke.
The series received a significant bump of interest in its later seasons largely due to Netflix, which syndicated the show internationally.
In 2020, they broke the record for the most Emmy nominations received by a show in its final season with 15, of which it won nine.
