Schitt's Creek co-creator Dan Levy wanted to give his co-stars something special to commemorate the end of the show's six-season run, but a paperweight or varsity jacket just wasn't doing the trick for him. So Levy, 36, rented a house in Italy and flew the entire cast there for a two-week vacation together.
“I got a house in Tuscany for our cast and we all went and hung out for two weeks,” Levy told The Hollywood Reporter at the recent SAG Awards, where the Pop TV series was up for outstanding ensemble in a comedy series. “We lived and cried and laughed and ate.”
Levy came up with the idea for the trip after contemplating what type of wrap gift he could get the actors to “represent my level of gratitude” for the past six seasons. “An experience and building a memory was something that was really important,” he concluded. “We have grown to be so close over the years that knowing that two weeks later we would all go on a trip together sort of buffered the finality of it all.”
The celebration included some prepared meals on some nights, while others “we sort of rallied together and cooked. … Others we went out and it was all a no-pressure thing. It was exactly what I wanted it to be.”
Levy added that he remains surprised that their experience is so unique in the industry. "I'm realizing more and more how rare this was in terms of just how close we've all gotten and how much we love each other — as corny as that sounds. Friends of mine told me that when they wrapped their shows, they didn't want to talk to anyone. I can't relate to that because all I wanted to do when this was over was continue to be around these people," he explained. "The sheer scope of it all has far surpassed all of our expectations, which is why we're sort of like deer in headlights on this carpet today and have been at every award show we've shown up to this season. For us to have gone four seasons with nobody really knowing what our show was and then for this kind of recognition to happen in its fifth season and beyond? We'll never get accustomed to it. It's amazing."
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A version of this story first appeared in the Jan. 29 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
