From Shrieks To Chuckles, Series Stars Tim Rozon and Sarah Levy Get Real About SURREALESTATE

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Even ghosts have many different moods. So it makes sense that the spooky/funny/dramatic new series SURREALESTATE, which debuts Friday, July 16 at 10 p.m. ET on CTV Sci-Fi Channel, is a variety of different things, all at once. The story focuses on real estate agent Luke Roman, played by Tim Rozon, and his unusual team of associates, including new employee Sarah Ireland, played by Sarah Levy. The Roman Agency specializes in taking “metaphysically engaged properties” – a.k.a., haunted houses – and making them fit to sell. All for a healthy commission, of course. SURREALESTATE has a unique tone that’s tough to sum up. But series stars Rozon and Levy set it all up with panache during an interview with The Lede: Q: It’s difficult to describe this show, but how about giving it a shot for me? SARAH LEVY: “We were just talking about how difficult a question this is. Because it’s true. It’s tricky. It’s so much in one. This has been my biggest problem, how to succinctly describe what the show is. Tim, what do you think?” TIM ROZON: “I keep going back to, it’s a group of eclectic real estate specialists who are trying to deal with external demons, while at the same time dealing with internal demons.” SARAH LEVY: “This is why I have him, by the way.” TIM ROZON: “Because I feel like that adds to all of the comedy, the drama, the horror, the physical, the metaphysical … ” SARAH LEVY: “Yeah, yeah, it’s like a procedural, mixed with, you know, an office, workplace kind of sitcom-type thing sometimes, but there’s an element of true drama, and true horror. So it’s … it’s one of its kind.” Q: A pleasant surprise for me was that the scary parts are truly scary. Was that important to you? SARAH LEVY: “That’s interesting, because when I first read this script, I didn’t see a ton of comedy in the pilot. I saw it more as fitting into the horror genre – which I was very excited about, too, because it was completely different than anything that I’ve done in the past, especially coming right off SCHITT’S CREEK. This just had such a different tone. And with the kind of mood boards that we saw, everything was very geared towards the horror genre. I don’t think the comedy came through until we all got together, and met each other for the first time. It’s a great cast, incredibly talented, and really funny – everyone’s individually very funny as people. So I think that helps bring out a lot of the comedy. I was actually surprised that there was more comedy in it, as the episodes went on, and they let us really lean into that, too. So it surprised me.” TIM ROZON: “And as far as making the scary parts truly scary, it’s a huge testament, I think, to the choices of directors that they made. You know, because Paul Fox came right off the bat, and it was very important for him to get the horror aspect of it – the first shot is THE EXORCIST, you know? And Jackson Parrell, the DOP (director of photography), he set the mood, really, for all of us. And then, as Sarah said, we kind of found the comedy within George’s writing (George Olson, showrunner and executive producer). I think it was always there. I just wasn’t sure in the beginning if that was the choice to make or not. But as we started becoming a team, and realizing how well we work together as actors, we started to find the comedy within the pages, and then we started really going with it. It was fun.” Q: So in a way, the comedy almost came as an on-the-fly cast adjustment? TIM ROZON: “Oh, no, I think George was very well aware. I think George knew exactly what it was from the beginning. I think it took me a minute to figure it out.” SARAH LEVY: “Yeah, the same – it took me a minute, and it took encouragement from directors to say, ‘It’s okay if you want this moment to be funny.’ Because that was my instinct. And Mel Scrofano (the WYNONNA EARP star who directed two episodes of SURREALESTATE, and guest-stars in one), and Danishka (Esterhazy, executive producer), and all of them, they were very encouraging of leaning into the comedy that I didn’t think was ultimately there initially. So it was nice.” Q: And isn’t it interesting how they’ve managed to fit character development into this as well? Sarah, above and beyond all the crazy stuff that’s going on, your character is dealing with being the classic new person in an office setting. And Tim, your character is the classic boss who frustrates his employees because he’s withholding information. And all those personal issues get absorbed into the story very quickly. How rare is it for a show to have all these bizarre elements, and yet it’s about people developing? SARAH LEVY: “Good. That makes me feel good. That’s great.” TIM ROZON: “I think you just figured out a way to explain the show better than all of us.” SARAH LEVY: “Yeah, we’re going to be taking what you said, and using it as our own.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv