Canadian actor Eugene Levy has revealed that early episodes of Second City Television (SCTV) cost just $7,000 each in a new Netflix documentary about the sketch comedy series.
Levy explained that the amount covered an entire episode’s production, rather than payments to individual performers. Recalling the original sets, the late Catherine O’Hara joked, “And it was cheap-looking!”
Fellow cast member Dave Thomas agreed that the production had limited resources. However, he explained that the inexpensive sets suited the show’s fictional low-budget television station.
Levy remembered filming at Global Television, a small studio that primarily produced news and lunchtime talk programmes.
The revelations appear in SCTV: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard Of, a documentary produced by Jimmy Kimmel.
It reunites Levy, O’Hara, Thomas, Martin Short and Andrea Martin to revisit their performances and discuss the show’s early years. The Canadian sketch comedy series ran from 1976 to 1984.
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Thomas admitted that some of the original material now seemed dated, while Eugene Levy recalled how the performers developed their comedy together.
The documentary also features interviews with Tom Hanks, Conan O’Brien, Bob Odenkirk and Kathryn Hahn about the series.
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Odenkirk revisits sketches including “High School High Q” and “Half Wits”, which featured performances by O’Hara, Levy and Short.
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O’Hara died in January 2026. The documentary includes one of her final on-screen appearances. SCTV: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard Of is now streaming on Netflix.
With additional input from People
