Schitts Creek Relocates to LA for Holiday Party at Vulture Fest

PopTV sure knows how to throw a holiday party.

In an auditorium packed with fans, the network offered the first US airing of their Canadian-produced hit Schitt’s Creek’s forthcoming holiday episode. Following the screening, Vulture’s Jackson McHenry moderated a panel with the show’s creator/stars Eugene Levy (SCTV, American Pie) and Daniel Levy, and other stars Catherine O’Hara, Annie Murphy, Emily Hampshire, and Noah Reid.

You’ll have to tune into PopTV on December 19th at 10pm ET to find out what happens in the Holiday Spectacular, but it serves as an elegant way to bookend the show to date. The show is headed into its fifth season when it returns, and the younger Levy admits “now we get to have fun” after an emotional (but still funny!) season four for many of its characters.

Some of the show’s deepest emotional moments came from the evolution of Daniel’s character David, as he grew in his new relationship with Patrick (Noah Reid). McHenry asked about the show’s unquestioning acceptance of this new couple, even in its small town setting. This acceptance was, as we learned, wholly by design. O’Hara warmly pointed out, “I find that when you expect the best of people, they rise to the occasion.” Daniel put it more bluntly: “I have no patience for homophobia,” and didn’t want to give it legitimacy or “equal time” by writing it into the show. He feels lucky to not have been fought on that point, recalling other shows where “network execs have gone, ‘There have been two kisses this episode, isn’t that a bit…much?’ Fuck you!”

Other highlights of the panel:

● It spoils little to report that there is a hat that Emily Hampshire’s Stevie wears in the premiere, one that made her lean to her costar Annie Murphy and whisper, “I look so cute!” in that hat. Her enthusiasm for the moment affirmed Daniel’s proclamation that the distance between Hampshire and her character is vast.
● Catherine O’Hara’s Moira has a theatrically unplaceable quality, and anytime she managed to work it into a response the crowd expressed raucous appreciation.
● While not present for the panel, costar Chris Elliot was there in spirit—by way of detailed descriptions of the food he eats on set. Bananas, cocktail weiners, spare ribs…if it’s on set and needs to be eaten for a scene, he commits. Every take, for as long as it takes to get the shot.
● The door is open for the newest addition to the cast, Noah Reid, to sing again! His emotional acoustic rendition of Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best” was a highlight of season 4, and its reception “blew [him] away.” He generously credited the impact of the moment to his fellow cast, who paved the way for the moment to create such a payoff. His reluctance to take the spotlight was further proved as he cringed when Eugene joked about there being a guitar available backstage.

We’ll see how much more singing we get, as well as the rest of the antics of the Rose family in their new adopted home, when Schitt’s Creek returns to the air in January 2019.

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Amma Marfo

Amma Marfo is a writer, speaker, and podcaster based in Boston, MA. Her writing has appeared in Femsplain, The Good Men Project, Pacific Standard, and Talking Points Memo. Chances are good that as you're reading this, she's somewhere laughing.
Amma Marfo
Amma Marfo
Amma Marfo is a writer, speaker, and podcaster based in Boston, MA. Her writing has appeared in Femsplain, The Good Men Project, Pacific Standard, and Talking Points Memo. Chances are good that as you're reading this, she's somewhere laughing.