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'Schitt's Creek' is ending, even though nobody wants it to

The cast of "Schitt's Creek" didn't want the series to end. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 3 | The cast of "Schitt's Creek" didn't want the series to end. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

LOS ANGELES, April 6 (UPI) -- The cast and creators of Schitt's Creek agree they would have kept filming the series. Nevertheless, Tuesday's episode is the series finale, airing at 9 p.m. on Pop.

"I think the reason we were all so upset when we wrapped the show is that none of us necessarily wanted to end it," creator/star Dan Levy said recently on a Television Critics Association panel. "I could work with this team of people forever."

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Levy stars as David Rose. He cast his real life father, Eugene Levy, as his TV father, Johnny Rose. Catherine O'Hara plays his mother, Moira, and Annie Murphy plays his sister, Alexis.

Since Schitt's Creek was a family affair for the Levys, Eugene Levy confirmed that the entire cast was emotional about wrapping up the series.

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"The read through for the final two episodes -- we literally could not get through it," Eugene Levy said.

Schitt's Creek was the first scripted series hit for fledgling Pop network. If the audience kept tuning in, Levy and company didn't necessarily have to end. However, Dan Levy felt to stretch it further would be self-indulgent.

"You have to respect the viewer, who has tuned in for 80 episodes of your show," Dan Levy said. "For me, it was the right time to end it."

The Roses were rich until they lost everything but the town of Schitt's Creek. They bought the town as a joke because of the name, and now it's their only asset.

They've lived together in a motel for six seasons while finding individual endeavors in the town. Dan Levy had an end to the Roses' journey in mind.

"I always knew how I wanted the show to end," Dan Levy said. "Getting there was, I think, where it was sort of unfolded over the course of six seasons."

It took six seasons for Dan Levy to fit in all of his ideas. Murphy went viral in Season 5 with her song "A Little Bit Alexis." The song evolved from one of Levy's original ideas. At first, A Little Bit Alexis would be a failed reality show that lasted one season.

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"To now be here talking to you about it with this song having been played on the radio and charted on iTunes, it is surreal, to say the least," Dan Levy said.

Murphy had volunteered to write the song.

"I got together with two of my best friends, who are actually musicians, and I wrote the lyrics," Murphy said. "They did all the hard stuff. It gets played in clubs now. It's just blown our minds."

Outrageous moments like "A Little Bit Alexis" can break out of the show. Moira has had an a cappella group, and supporting characters have burst into song, too.

Eugene Levy feels those moments only worked because the audience was already endeared to the characters performing.

"To be a success, we had to get to a point where the audience had an emotional investment in the characters," Eugene Levy said. "To me, it always was the best kind of comedy to do -- where the characters are real and the situations are kind of real, and everything is grounded."

Eugene Levy feels the finale shows just how far the Roses have evolved since the series premiere.

"I think the final season is just a natural culmination in how things naturally work themselves out, in terms of relationships and character growth," Eugene Levy said. "It all kind of points to, I think, a very satisfying [conclusion]."

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If anyone is wondering what happens to the Roses once Schitt's Creek is over, O'Hara feels the ending is conclusive.

"You do get the answers," O'Hara said.

Viacom rebranded the TV Guide Channel as Pop in 2015. Schitt's Creek premiered Feb. 11 that year. Dan Levy found that people discovered Schitt's Creek on their own and shared it with friends.

"We haven't necessarily had to hire skywriters to get people to watch it," he said. "It's come from something very almost grassrootsy, passionate, organic and authentic."

O'Hara concurred with the theory of viral viewership.

"Our viewers are lovely people who badger their friends and family until they watch the show," she said.

Given the passion of the audience and the feelings of the cast, Dan Levy is only closing the door on Schitt's Creek. He's not locking it. He expects to revisit the Roses sometime later in his career.

"Yes, I hope that there comes a point where it feels necessary to continue to tell that story," he said. "I would love to revisit all of these characters. I would love to write for them again."

Shows like Full House, Will & Grace, Roseanne and Murphy Brown returned as revival series. Sex and the City returned as a series of movies. Dan Levy is open to a Schitt's Creek revival when it feels warranted.

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"I just think it has to be the right time, and it has to mean something," Dan Levy said. "We have to have a reason for it. So here's hoping that I find that reason."

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