Scouting for clothes with the creator of TVs funniest town.
Read moreon how the CBC-createdSchitts Creekbecame an American hit.
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
emblazoned on its front.
We should lean into the moment here, because this is the kind of thing people come here for.
There are no fewer than five, equally chic salespeople offering us water or assistance.
I say we do just a full fashion look, he continues.
Its a mouth on the precipice of social collapse.
(Total retail price: $1,730 before sales tax.)
Its the kind of look that feels like an overpriced hug.
Is this my new vibe?
he asks, considering himself in the dressing room mirror.
David would wear these sweatpants for sure.
Just letting people know that you have money.
We have dated it back to when they lost their money.
Vetements would not be around at that time, he explains.
So, back to the rack.
For the show, he typically has a $200 cap for any single item.
The Roses are blithely self-involved, but theyre also people who are learning to love, and be loved.
In our minds, the show is a drama that happens to involve funny people.
And like every first-timer, hes a bit neurotic about it.
I need to touch things and feel them.
Wardrobe was the first in terms of me understanding the characters and what they were about.
On set, Levy is like a helicopter parent buzzing around his first child.
The fracture was too slight to be visible on camera, but still, he knew it was there.
He knows hes OCD.
Its a blessing and a curse, he sighs.
I just dont think Ive ever taken the opportunity for granted.
I still feel like Im trying to earn my place in the game.
At the time, they were living in L.A. for the elder Levys acting career.
This is around 1980, and there just was a vibe, says Eugene.
Is it a fair environment to your kids to raise them in a cloistered social scene?
Are they going to have a chance to do other things that might not fall under the showbiz umbrella?
Cut to: both kids end up in the business, Eugene laughs.
I was never comfortable with it, says the younger Levy.
From an early age, Levy gravitated toward writing and acting.
While Dan was practicing the part, Eugene tried to offer feedback.
I said, Well, I performed this onstage.
I know what the timing is.No, no, no.
Ive got it, dont need your help, thanks, Eugene remembers his son saying.
He came on and did the scene, but as a Keanu Reeves impersonation.
He was giving it his own spin.
I remember saying to my wife, Hes actually got something!
He was an introverted kid and lacked the confidence to go out for auditions.
He also felt his fathers legacy looming over him.
That sensibility came from my dad.
His comedy was always left of center.
He never wanted to do anything on the nose.
So he asked his dad to create a TV show with him.
I would have said yes no matter what the idea was, Eugene says.
The idea of working with my son on anything is just too good a thing to pass up.
They had to ease into a working relationship.
I felt I had to mentor a little bit because this territory was foreign to him, he explains.
When he stepped into the role of David for the first time, he had some notes.
I remember being like, Okay.
Im good, Levy recalls.
Which, Im thinking to myself, the man has 40 years experience, you probably should have listened.
But it worked out.
I spoke a little louder.
We found that happy medium.
Five seasons in as showrunner, Levy gives his actors feedback sparingly.
Very few ideas are better than Catherine OHaras ideas when it comes to acting, he says.
And very few notes are better than what my dad has come up with in a scene.
Eugene remembers one moment in particular from filming the pilot.
Levy walked over to him at the end of a scene.
He said, I dont think youre going to be happy with that line reading.
Maybe try and lighten it a little bit.
That might help, Eugene recalls.
That was a little moment where I thought,This kid really knows what hes doing, here.
The answers yes to this.
Moira has been a dream, because Catherine is such a chameleon, he says.
Clothes, wigs, shoes, strange tights, hats.
We realized,Oh, she can pull off anything.
The tunics and drop-crotch pants are an outward manifestation of his dark romanticism and stubborn streak of individuality.
In the first season, the show introduced David as pansexual by way of a wine metaphor.
(Hence the Larry King interview.)
David explains that he partakes in all wine red, white, rose.
He cares about the wine, not the label.
That was intentional: Levy wanted a character who could move beyond the limits of masculine or feminine.
Masculinity involves feminine qualities and femininity involves masculine qualities.
Growing up, Levy was bullied for being effeminate.
He was shy and thoughtful and into fashion then, too.
All of that happened, he says.
Was it to the extent that a lot of people are sort of having to endure across North America?
Was my life ever in danger?
Did it still affect my confidence and make me question my sense of self?
Home was a refuge, and coming out as a gay man to his family was smooth.
My mom asked me one day at lunch in a very lovely and respectful way.
Levys vision forSchitts Creekis a reflection of those values, where love and acceptance are givens.
Theres an assuredness that courses through the show, starting with the love between Moira and Johnny.
Or, as OHara simply puts it, Daniels humor comes from love.
Theres a love and respect for his characters in his comedy.
Levy finished writing the scene just hours before shooting, reading the lines to Reid over the phone.
Im telling a story that I would want to see as a teenager.
You know, everyone remembers their first kiss.
I have to realize that people are discovering now what Ive been living with for 32 years.
Levy changes back into his everyday clothes a tan sweater, ecru-colored jeans, and tartan chucks.
Stylish, but not overly opinionated.
I was like, I had them before!
Now I guess I cant wear them anymore, he laughs.
I see right where we are now, he says, looking around.
I havent embraced the Los Angeles lifestyle.
The healthy lifestyle highly active, clean eating.
None of those things appeal to me.
Ive indulged my childs palette for way too long.
He tried it on recently, and its admittedly a little tight for comfort.
Ive ordered two Spanx T-shirts, just in case.
You gotta do what you gotta do.
Well done, team.
I love you all very much.
pic.twitter.com/D8coweouxA
But with attention comes its attendant stress.
The bigger the show gets, the higher the expectations.
The higher the fear that things have to be perfect, says Levy.
[Writing the script] was a great opportunity to face the inevitable, he says.
He feels a similar wave of fear at the beginning of every season ofSchitts Creek.
At first, he thought the current season, the shows fifth would be its last.
Inevitably, we get there, and the experience is great.
His mind wanders back to fashion.
I can imagine it would be very similar, where you have a collection every six months.
Now its like 15 collections a year and youre thinking, like, What?
How do you keep telling stories?
