NEW JERSEY — Dan Levy was filming his new Netflix sitcom "Big Mistakes" in New Jersey ahead of the show's April 9 debut. The series, co-created by Levy and Rachel Sennott, is his first television project since "Schitt's Creek," which he starred in and co-wrote with his father, Eugene Levy.

"Big Mistakes" follows a New Jersey pastor and his sister, a teacher, who accidentally become involved with organized crime. The show was based on Levy's fear of being trapped and his desire for freedom. "I just know that if I ever were tasked with helping a criminal organization, I would be the biggest liability. So that, to me, felt like a very funny place to start," he said. Taylor Ortega portrays the pastor's sister, and Laurie Metcalf plays the siblings' mother.

Levy said he avoids letting comparisons to "Schitt's Creek" influence his writing on "Big Mistakes." The earlier series followed Johnny Rose, a video store magnate, and his family who lost their fortune and moved into a motel in a small town. Catherine O'Hara played Moira Rose in the series. In its sixth and final season, the show won all seven major comedy awards at the Emmy Awards.

O'Hara died suddenly in January. Levy said her death prevented any consideration of a "Schitt's Creek" sequel. "It's an amazing thing to be a part of something that she loved so much. It's what you have to hold onto, is the memories of it all," he said.

The fictional town of Schitt's Creek was filmed in Goodwood, Ontario, a community of 689 people. Levy had not returned to Goodwood since the show finished filming. "It's wild to be back," he said. "At first, when you bring a TV show to a small town, and then tell them all that the town is called Schitt's Creek, you risk offending people. And everyone was so nice." Goodwood Mercantile, formerly known as Rose Apothecary, sells crafts and "Schitt's Creek" souvenirs made by local artists and offered a condolence book for O'Hara. Eugene Levy and Martin Mull came up with the name "Schitt's Creek," and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation picked up the show for broadcast.

Before creating "Schitt's Creek," Levy had not written for television. He worked for eight years as a VJ at MTV Canada in Toronto. "I was an MTV VJ! I don't think I was a good VJ," he said, adding that he had social anxiety and was too nervous to perform the role's duties, which involved interviewing people. "I learned to produce. I learned to be in front of the camera. It prepared me for the totality of what it is to show-run," he said. After leaving MTV Canada, he began developing "Schitt's Creek" with his father.

Discussing his collaboration with Sennott on "Big Mistakes," he said, "It's just chemistry. You either have it with somebody or you don't, and she is brilliant."