It seems James Corden had one mission in mind when he had Schitt's Creek star and co-creator Dan Levy on The Late Late Show: Make everyone involved (and at home watching) cry.
Corden welcomed Levy on the show with a remote interview a week after Schitt's Creek wrapped its acclaimed six-season run with an emotional series finale filled with a wedding, one heck of a final costume for Moira Rose (Catherine O'Hara) and more than one happy ending. During the more than 10-minute interview, Corden asked Levy about saying goodbye to the show and the surprising fan reception the show gathered during its run, punctuated by Levy receiving a letter of thanks from mothers of LGBTQ kids.
"I think as a gay person, all you try to do is represent your experience. And in my case, I hadn't necessarily seen my experience represented that much on TV. Also, when you're given that kind of opportunity, you have to run with it and you have to tell stories…and you have to cut through the B.S., if you will, because I think that for so long, queer characters on television have been met with either tragedy or they've been the butt of a joke or it's been a cartoon or it's been really sort of caricatured. So, for me, it was about telling a very truthful and thoughtful representation of my life and my friends' lives," Levy said. "I think that to hear that those stories affected people in such profound ways and affected change in people's homes and made people feel safe it's overwhelming. Because I think back to my own childhood where I didn't necessarily have those people around. I was feeling really unsure about where I'd go and what I'd do. It's a full circle moment that was very overwhelming."
The letter in question was featured in Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt's Creek Farewell, the hour-long special that aired after the series finale.
And on the day of the Schitt's Creek finale, Levy got another message from a mother—his own.
Corden read the tweet to Levy on camera, which sparked tears from the Schitt's Creek mastermind.
"I was a complete mess. It completely killed me. I was teetering on the brink of being OK. It was the last day. I was feeling a lot of emotions, I was trying to keep them in check. And then my mom tweeted that and I read it and completely fell apart. Had just a solid cry. It's been a lot of years, which I don't think are a bad thing, but it was heavy. That's pretty huge for someone to hear. And I think for her to say that so publicly, I can only assume that it meant so much to a lot of people too, because that's the power of support and that's the power of encouragement and acceptance…I think there's so much fear associated still to this day with parents looking at their queer children and wondering whether they're going to turn out OK. For her to sort of say that and champion me in that kind of way, it's very lovely. And beautifully written, might I add," Levy said.
Click play on the YouTube video above to hear more from Levy in his chat with Corden on The Late Late Show.