Dan Levy Compares Heated Rivalry Success to Schitt’s Creek

The Critics Choice Association started Pride Month festivities early, as the organization hosted its third annual Celebration of LGBTQ+ Cinema & Television on Friday in Los Angeles.

The event recognized a star-studded lineup of LGBTQ+ stars and creatives, with Dan Levy, Hannah Einbinder, Noah Schnapp, Jane Lynch and Heated Rivalry creator Jacob Tierney all receiving honors.

Levy, currently on the Emmy campaign trail for his new show Big Mistakes, opened up in his speech about his desire for queer people to be able to make Hollywood projects “without the added weight of responsibility — knowing that what we make needs to work in order to make an impact, in order for more of our stories to be told. Imagine the bliss of making something, knowing that there are so many queer stories being told that we can simply create for entertainment’s sake, or better yet, fail and be given a second chance.”

He mused that often those running the industry “think they know what they want until a Schitt’s Creek or a Heated Rivalry comes along” and are met with huge audience demand. Levy also took time to point out that those are “two shows that only exist because Canada saw value in them first, two shows that have people clamoring to make more shows like them; but the truth is, we don’t need more shows like them, we need more money being invested in queer voices, because we make you money.” He added a hope that Hollywood gets to a place “where the odds err in our favor, and Canada doesn’t have to always say, ‘I told you so,’” joking that his homeland is “a very modest country; we hate bragging, but we will if we have to.”

Tierney himself was not present at the event, telling the room via video that “I’m working very hard on season two to get it out to people as soon as possible.” Elsewhere in the program, Schnapp spoke about his Stranger Things experience, saying that after playing Will Byers for a decade, “By the final season, portraying a narrative centered on identity, love, loneliness and the experience of coming out in the ’80s became a very personal and significant milestone for me. So when I came out publicly at 18, I didn’t realize how much Will’s journey had been preparing me for my own.”

Poppy Liu made an appearance to present Einbinder’s honor, where she particularly shouted out the Hacks star’s “highly vocal support for a free Palestine” resulting in a public reaction that has scared “many of our peers into complicity and silence.” She continued to praise Einbinder for throwing “her entire weight behind her advocacy for Palestine, undeterred by the backlash, the doxxing and the threats; in fact, doubling and tripling down with a steadfastness that moves me to tears.”

As Einbinder — who just this week wrapped up her tenure as Ava Daniels with the show’s series finale — took the mic, she spoke about how her Hacks role “is such a cherished character to me and she is proof that yes queer representation matters, but it’s made that much more authentic when queer people are given the ability to author their own stories,” adding, “I’m so proud to feel represented by her.”

Additional honorees at the Critics Choice event included The Boulet Brothers, Bre-Z, Brandon Scott Jones, Dearbhla Walsh, Gina Yashere, Karim Diané, Kerrice Brooks and Paula Pell.