Dan Levy opens Saturday Night Live with Schitt's Creek shout-outs, surprise appearance from dad

Dan Levy's opening monologue onSaturday Night Livewas filled with references to Schitt's Creek, COVID-19 safety precautions and a surprise cameo from his father.

"Somewhere, my 13-year-old self has fainted in like a really needy, melodramatic way," Levy said before discussing the positives and negatives that came with the surge inpopularity ofSchitt's Creek.

"The good: I have been getting stopped on the street by all different kinds of people, which is new and fun and different," Levy said. "The not so good: those people are mainly screaming 'Ew!' at me, which was a line I wrote for the show that will now haunt me for the rest of my life.

"But in all seriousness, for all the good and the not so good, I have somehow found myself here on this iconic stage standing in front of all of you. And trust me when I say this, it has only been good here at SNL."

Levy, the Emmy Award-winning actor and director who co-createdSchitt's Creekwith his father, Eugene Levy, began Saturday's show with a tour of the famed New York City studio before stumbling upon his father in a see-through box.

"You flew all this way just to watch the show from a weird box?" Levy asked his father, who replied:"I didn't know about the box at the time."

Levy's first sketchfeatured him as a Universal Studios Orlando tour guide who reveals some unconventional insights about famous movies.

He then appeared asa guest at a Super Bowl party with partygoers who misunderstand pandemic protocols and subsequently eatchili bare-handed.

Levy also featured in a sensual twist on a commercial for real estate websiteZillow and as an obtuse ally discussing his activism on BET before introducing musical guest Phoebe Bridgers.

Levy and longtime cast member Cecily Strong also portrayed bartenders with Broadway aspirationswho coax patrons at a sports bar into a Super Bowl-themed musical number.

Levy also appeared alongside Kate McKinnon as wedding guests who initially objectto their friend's choice of groom before changing their minds. Levy's turn as host concluded with a sketch that featured a satiricallook at the It Gets Better Project.

Schitt's Creek,which aired on CBC and Pop TV, ended its sixth and final season last April. The Ontario-shot sweptthe comedy category at the Emmy Awards last fall and is nominated for five Golden Globes, including best TV musical or comedy series.

Ahead of Levy'sSaturday Night Liveappearance, his mother, Deborah Divine, took to Twitter to celebrate her son's accomplishment.

The Toronto-raised Levy will also feature in an M&M's commercial that will air during the Super Bowl on Sunday.