When the dot-com bubble first burst, you suspected that geek would suddenly seem not so chic. But it didn’t go down that way: the nerds continue to exact their revenge. Exhibit A: gangly, neurotic 24-year-old Dan Levy, MTV Canada’s reigning prince, who seems to be popping up at benefits and charity galas all over town. Riding the pop culture tsunami that is The Hills—a reality show that follows four young, spoiled L.A. post-teens—Levy has built a career out of doing what he loves: watching TV.

Filmed at MTV Canada’s Masonic Temple headquarters, Levy’s program, The Hills After Show (which is exactly what it sounds like), has become something of a phenomenon, drawing 144,000 devoted viewers a week. Every Monday at 10:30 p.m., he and perky co-host Jessi Cruickshank (with whom he’s rumoured to have a thing) discuss the trivial happenings of the latest Hills episode with infectious enthusiasm. “We do what you’ve always wanted to do after these pulpy, whatever shows: talk about it, rehash it with your friends.” Typical question for discussion: “Should Heidi—the blonde, ambitious villain—ditch her smarmy fiancé, Spencer?” Not exactly hard-hitting journalism, but in a year where the antics of Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton routinely outgunned stories about Iraq and Afghanistan, the women of The Hills have hit a nerve.

And so has a little Canadian after show that’s done well enough to draw MTV America’s notice. In addition to posting it regularly on their Web site, the U.S. show’s producers invited Levy and his cohorts to California for their biggest gig yet—a live episode of the After Show, timed to air right after The Hills’ season finale last Decem­ber. The event was a pinnacle of sorts. Rather than just talking about the Hills girls, they got to talk with them (some four million viewers caught the broadcast). Smelling a big pop culture moment, gossip writer Shinan Govani followed the show to L.A., reporting breathlessly on its shooting and the eventual after parties after the After Show.

None of this seems to have fazed Levy, who is, in a minor, Canadian sort of way, familiar with the trappings of fame. The bushy brows come to him from his father, Eugene Levy, of SCTV and Ameri­can Pie renown. “I’ve worked hard to solidify some sort of recognition for myself,” the son says. “It’s tacky to be the Nicole Richies or Kimberly Stewarts, who are just famous because of their dads.”

Levy Sr., together with his wife, Deb Divine, raised Dan and his younger sister, Sarah, in L.A. and Rosedale. Dan went to North Toronto Collegiate and describes his adolescence as terminally uncool. “I was quiet, by myself a lot. From Grade 9 I had these same glasses, which I thought were cool but others didn’t so much.”

Life got less painful at Ryerson and York, where he studied film. He later did a two-year stint as a gopher for Canadian Idol, cleaning up parking lots where messy contestants waited their turn, among other unrewarding tasks. So he was more than ready to get on the other side of the camera when MTV beckoned.

The Hills gig, as well as Levy’s other job commenting on politics and entertainment news on MTV Live, came about after an open casting call in 2004. The producers gave each of the candidates $200 to spend however they wanted, Levy says, describing the unortho­dox hiring test. “Some people came back with yoga mats and CDs and things that represented various sides of their personality. I did something risky: I paid my cable bill.”

There’s a certain level-headedness to him, a refusal to get all giddy about the TV world he’s inhabiting. Whether The Hills is real or scripted has become a fervent Web controversy among fans, but Levy thinks it’s irrelevant. “I have no idea,” he sneers. “I think the foundation is real life, but in the end you have to decide if you like the show or not. That’s it.” He’s also cutting about those who achieve prominence despite lacking any talent: “All you have to do is flash a bare breast on the red carpet and you’re a superstar. It’s reached the point where we’re surprised when celebrities can actually do something.”

What he doesn’t do is attack his show’s fans for their obsession with The Hills—among the most vacuous pieces of television ever to draw an audience. “It is what it is. The girls certainly know how to work TV.” As does Levy.