Dan Levy chats with GLAAD on “Schitt’s Creek” finale, Moira Rose’s iconic last look, and the LGBTQ impact of the series: “It is the greatest takeaway I could have ever imagined”

**This article contains spoilers on the “Schitt’s Creek” series finale which aired Tuesday, April 7**

Dan Levy, the star, co-creator, and showrunner of Pop TV’s beloved hit Schitt’s Creek spoke to GLAAD’s Head of Talent, Anthony Ramos, to reflect on the high emotions of wrapping up the series and what it means to him to know that it resonated so deeply with people in the LGBTQ community.  Now that the world has seen David and Patrick walk down the aisle and head into the world of happily ever after in Schitt’s Creek, Dan is ready to reflect on that scene fans have been dreaming of.

“This particular scene was the most electric scene we have ever shot.  There was just this warm and sentimental, yet heavy and emotional vibe to the day because we knew the next day the sets would be taken down forever,” Levy said.

Levy also said that even though everyone knew that the wedding they were filming wasn’t “real life,” he admitted that “everyone couldn’t help but get swept up into it…”  After seasons of countless heartfelt, hilarious and impactful moments for his character, David Rose, how do the nuptials rank for Levy when it comes to his favorites?  “It was one of my fondest memories of the entire six seasons of the show.”

Fans of Schitt’s Creek were undoubtedly looking forward to seeing David and Patrick finally walk down the aisle, but diehard fanatics were just as excited to see what Moira (played by Catherine O’Hara) would wear for the grand occasion. What some superfans may not know is just how much Dan Levy was involved in her wardrobe selection.

“I did know that the wedding look had to be Moira’s most iconic. I sourced about five or six different gowns through consignment websites, but from the moment she put on the [(Alexander)] McQueen that she is wearing in the scene, we were all like ‘this is it.’ It was ceremonial but at the same time had that Moira Rose edge with that beaded skull on the back that is so beautiful to see as you watch her walk down the aisle,” he said.

However, Levy wasn’t the only one who had a say in Moira’s finale look. “From the minute Catherine found out she was officiating the wedding she was like, ‘what if we do a nod to the pope?’ She had the idea to do the papal hat and she wanted to also incorporate part of the wig into the hat,” he said while admitting that he still has no idea how hairstylist Ana Sorys pulled it off, but knows that the creation took two months to finish. Reflecting on Moria’s grand fashion finale, Levy says “It couldn’t have been more her and yet couldn’t be more respectful to what was happening. She was also making sure that SHE was seen in that moment.”

We now know that David and Patrick are going to stay in Schitt’s Creek, nesting in a replica of Kate Winslet’s cottage from “The Holiday.” Although Dan Levy is not David Rose, one could wonder what his character’s love story taught him about his own relationships and love life. 

“What this love story really taught me in the process was to hold out for the people who mean something and the people that are really going to stand by you wholly and completely. So often we end up giving parts of ourselves away to relationships, trying to accommodate what we think people want from us when in reality, in the case of David and Patrick, it was exactly who they were inside that attracted them to each other.”

David Rose doesn’t want kids, and Patrick is a little more open on the topic, so where does Levy see the characters five years from now?

“I see them happy and I see them settled. I think the choice for David to stay in the town was a big one and it was really him finally just getting over this preoccupation that he has had for so long which is to constantly be someone that is impressive to people. He has lived a lot of his life trying to impress people and he has nobody left to impress. He has found his person and that is all he really needs.” The question of the couple’s future does give a glimmer of hope into the possibility of more Schitt’s Creek. “If I think too much about it, I might get ideas,” Levy laughs.

Speaking of more Schitt’s Creek, the series has garnered a slew of famous adorers, including Mariah Carey and Nicole Kidman. So how does Levy feel about one of those powerful superfans wanting to make a film adaptation of the series? He says he feels like more could be in the future for the Rose Family, but that he is in no rush to create the next chapter just yet.

“I hope that we can find another story to tell with these characters down the line. I haven’t given it too much thought because I think distance is really important in all of this. It is so flattering to know that people want this to continue, but in the same way that we have created the show, which is very specifically and thoughtfully. I would hate to rush into anything that would jeopardize the quality that we have put into the show. Quality over quantity.”

And while Schitt’s Creek has come to a close for now, the lasting legacy of its six seasons resides in so many people in the LGBTQ community.  In 2019, Levy received GLAAD’s Davidson/Valentini Award for making a significant difference in promoting acceptance for the LGBTQ community.  From David Rose coming out as one of television’s first openly pansexual characters, to his heartfelt relationship with Patrick, the storylines on Schitt’s Creek have had a tremendous impact on the LGBTQ community. The cast has attended several Pride events and received countless letters and social media messages from LGBTQ youth, and parents of queer children. The cast has heard from LGBTQ kids who felt empowered to come out after they saw David Rose do so with the now famous “Into The Wine, Not the Label” explanation. Parents have written the cast to say that representation on Schitt’s Creek allowed them to fully understand and accept their children’s queer identities. Dan Levy says this is what he is most proud of.

“It is the greatest takeaway I could have ever imagined from this show. I just think back to times in my life when I was still in the closet and really struggling, and thinking if I was going to be able to live an open and authentic life myself. It is such a stark discrepancy between who I was as a teenager and who I am now. I am really proud of the work that we did, and I am humbled by the change that we seem to have affected in people’s lives and people’s homes.”

To promote the final season, the series placed giant billboards in cities with an of image David and Patrick kissing. Just last week, Entertainment Weekly revealed three digital covers of the magazine depicting David and Patrick in iconic romance film scenes. Variety celebrated the show’s final episodes with a cover story featuring the show’s four main actors with the headline “The Fab Four.” Dan says he wishes he saw that type of queer representation when he was growing up.

“It would have meant the world for me to see that. These are opportunities that I have that a lot of people don’t have. It almost feels like a responsibility to use my platform and the opportunities that I have as best as I possibly can to represent myself and my community and to push that out there in a way that exposes people to whom we all are. I think so much of bigotry and homophobia is rooted in fear of not knowing. The more we can shine that light the more people will be accustomed to the fact that we are all in this together and it doesn’t behoove us to separate ourselves from one another.”

Dan Levy has been heavily involved in orchestrating every aspect of the rollout of Schitt’s Creek’s farewell, but one thing he could not have planned for? A national pandemic and forced quarantine.  

“It’s sad to be away from everyone. We were supposed to be in Toronto and New York doing live events with fans screening the last episodes and I was disappointed to not be able to do them because the fans played such a formative role in the creation and success of the show.”

Levy says that it didn’t feel right to promote the show during the pandemic, but he did want to use the series’ popularity to do some good. The cast launched a digital campaign “Schitt’s Creek Gives Back” which has raised over $150,000 to support Food Banks Canada and Feeding America’s coronavirus relief work. He says, “It is nice to know that the show in its last episode will be known for giving back to people who gave us so much.”

Perhaps the next chapter for the Rose Family is seeing how they would endure a national pandemic and forced self-quarantine? Dan Levy thinks they would do just fine.

“I would argue that they would think that they have been in quarantine for 6 years so I don’t know if necessarily if they would think it was much of a change! But the fact that they could not leave their house would probably result in a lot of screaming. But in true Schitt’s Creek fashion, I hope that at the end of the quarantine they would take away something good away from it.”

You can watch Dan Levy accepting GLAAD’s Davidson/Valentini Award in 2019 here: