“Schitt’s Creek” made TV history in 2020, winning all seven comedy categories at the Emmy Awards for its sixth and final season, but the sitcom was celebrated for more than its laughs.
Created by father-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy, who with Catherine O’Hara and Annie Murphy played the riches-to-rags Rose family, it was also praised for its LGBTQ+ representation. It won Best Comedy Series at the GLAAD Media Awards that same year.
The organization called the show’s accolades “a well-deserved breakthrough” for inclusion on the small screen.
“Dan Levy being awarded for his work in front of the camera as the pansexual David Rose — as well as behind the scenes — should be a clear sign to the industry about the power of out LGBTQ creators and showrunners,” GLAAD shared at the time. “What’s particularly special about ‘Schitt’s Creek’ is that the love and heart seen by viewers on the show are matched off-screen by the tremendous LGBTQ advocacy that Dan Levy and the cast members continue to be leaders in.”
Musician and actor Noah Reid was a key part of that. He played Patrick Brewer in the show’s latter half, David’s “warmhearted business partner and later husband who, before meeting David and realizing he was gay, was in an on-again/off-again relationship with his high school sweetheart.”
The entertainer calls the experience “an incredible privilege.”
“In the years after the show, it’s really settled with me how impactful its message is,” Reid says. “So many people reach out and talk to me about that relationship and how it unfolds — specifically about Patrick’s openness in learning that side of himself, being open enough to accept himself within that relationship and to be brave enough to see where it goes.
“There are a lot of real-life stories that mirror that, and people have said it helped them investigate their relationships with others or their relationship with themselves. That really is about as good as you can get from being a part of a television show — to have people see themselves in it or to come at life with a little bit more openness, a little bit more kindness, love and humor.”
While Reid himself isn’t gay, the entertainer is a staunch ally.
“I grew up in Toronto in the theater and I think whether I was focusing on it or not, the LGBTQ+ community has been a part of my life since I’ve been alive,” he explains. “I have lot of people who are incredibly dear to me who I wouldn’t stick in just one category of humanity — just dear, dear friends — and so to be an ally to me is I think quite a natural position.
“The alternative is just kind of to be a piece of shit,” he adds bluntly. “That’s kind of how I look at it.”
As for being a straight actor in a gay role, Reid believes it helped inform his take on playing the fan favorite character.
“It was a question for me while I was working on the show, knowing that wasn’t my lived experience, but neither was it Patrick’s,” he says. “So I felt like he and I were in in sync … the things he was experiencing for the first time were things that I was opening my senses to in a way.
“Playing Patrick opened my eyes to a little bit of the lived experience, certainly without experiencing it myself, but I got a little bit of a window into it,” he continues. “Everyone is a human being worthy of love and I feel it opened my perception to that even further. I wish more people could have that experience.”
Reid and Patrick did have at least one thing in common — their voice, which on “Schitt’s Creek” was “Simply The Best.” The musician’s character performed an acoustic cover of the Tina Turner hit in season four, a viral rendition which has amassed over 50 million streams on Spotify and 3.1 million views on YouTube:
“I don’t really know if [Patrick singing] was an idea that Dan had when I was joining the show … but I do know that in-between seasons three and four was when I released my first record,” Reid says. “Dan came to the release show, which I thought was very generous of him, and I do wonder if that’s where he was like, ‘Oh, this guy can do this too. Maybe we can use that,’ because sure enough in the fourth season is when that open mic episode came out.
“Wherever the idea came from, he threaded the needle very well, giving me some agency to play with it and see what I wanted to bring to the song,” he adds. “That’s a massive creative lesson that I’ve learned in large part from him, to give your teammates space to run with their own things and see what they can bring to it. He did that with me on the arrangement, to see what I wanted to do and offer as Patrick.”
“Schitt’s Creek” fans shouldn’t expect to hear it on tour anytime soon, however.
“I’ve played it a lot,” Reid laughs. “I’m taking a bit of a break from it at the moment because if I’m playing it live, I want to be able to enjoy it … I’ve overdosed on it a little bit, so I’m letting it rest. I’m letting it breathe a little bit and probably this run of shows I’ll be playing my own tunes.”
It’s something the artist is thankful for. His new tour kicks off May 1 and includes his debut at Clearwater’s Nancy & David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre.
“Noah Reid has earned a permanent place in the music industry as a result of his powerful vocals and honest delivery,” the venue describes the show. “Evident on his debut album ‘Songs from a Broken Chair’ (2016) and sophomore album ‘Gemini’ (2020)” — which have amassed over 145 million streams — his “songwriting style is reminiscent of singer-songwriters of the seventies but with a contemporary twist, resulting in a signature polished, albeit slightly rusted over, tone.”
“I’ve been hiding behind my band for so long now that I’m challenging myself to go play some songs by myself and remind myself that I can do that,” Reid says of the tour. “These are solo sessions and often those are the shows I love going to the most. They feel super intimate … you just experience each other for a moment, sit with the songs and see where they go.
“It also feels to me that there’s more room for storytelling and connection,” he continues. “I think that for me and for my songs, there’s a lot of quietness and a lot of reflectiveness there too. So that’s a side of it that I’m excited to kind of dig into on this run … I’m excited just to be in a room and connect with audiences again.”
As for what’s next for the performer, or at least Patrick Brewer, he defers to the creators of “Schitt’s Creek” when asked about a potential revival.
“… I have no idea what that would even look like, but I’m open to all possibilities,” he notes. “That’s far outside my pay grade to figure out, but that’s a group of people that I hold in such high esteem and I love so much … you’d have to ask one of the Mr. Levy’s about that!”
His message to LGBTQ+ fans of “Schitt’s Creek” is still crystal clear, however. “We love them and we’re honored that they love us back,” Reid says.
Noah Reid will perform May 8 at 8 p.m. at the Nancy and David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre in Clearwater. For more information, visit RuthEckerdHall.com.
