Who is David Rose in Schitt's Creek?

Show

Schitt's Creek

Played by

Dan Levy

First episode

“Our Cup Runneth Over”Season 1, Episode 1, aired January 13, 2015

Role

Main cast

Network

CBC

Occupation

Former gallerist, owner of Rose Apothecary

Show run

2015 to 2020Aired on Pop TV in the United States.

David Rose arrives in Schitt's Creek with a wardrobe of black and white designer sweaters and a deep suspicion of small-town life. Played by Dan Levy, who co-created the show with his father, he grows from a prickly, anxious outsider into a business owner with a home, a best friend, and a husband.

On Schitt's Creek, David Rose's story runs through Patrick Brewer (Husband), Stevie Budd (Best Friend), Alexis Rose (Sister), Moira Rose (Mother), and Johnny Rose (Father).

Who is David Rose?

David is Johnny and Moira's son and Alexis's older brother. Before the family went broke he ran art galleries in New York, and he treats the move to a small-town motel, where he shares a room with his sister, as a personal catastrophe. The town itself was his father's joke birthday gift to him years earlier.

His first real friend in town is Stevie Budd, the motel clerk, whose dry humor matches his own. After a stint as brand manager at the Blouse Barn clothing store, David opens Rose Apothecary, a shop selling products from local makers, which gives him purpose and leads him to Patrick Brewer.

Personality and comedy

David is witty, dramatic, and full of fears: bugs, germs, nature, heights, and moths among them. He is quick with a cutting remark, especially toward Alexis and Stevie, and Dan Levy's elastic facial expressions turn even a quiet reaction into a joke. His look, built on black and white layers and silver rings, is as much a part of the character as his lines.

The show reveals in season one that David is pansexual, through a now-famous conversation with Stevie in which he explains that he likes the wine and not the label. Levy chose to write David's world without homophobia, and the show treats his relationships with the same warmth and seriousness as any other romance.

Key storylines

David and Stevie briefly sleep together in season one before settling into a deep friendship. In season three he takes over the town's general store and meets Patrick while filing for a business license, and their first date is a birthday dinner David does not realize is a date. Their relationship becomes the longest of David's life, surviving a rough patch when Patrick's former fiancee comes to town.

In season four Patrick serenades David at the store's open mic night, one of the show's most celebrated scenes. Patrick proposes at the end of a hike in season five, and in the series finale the two marry at the town hall, with Moira officiating. When the rest of the Roses leave, David chooses to stay in Schitt's Creek with Patrick.

Behind the scenes and legacy

Dan Levy came up with the idea for Schitt's Creek after wondering how a family like those on reality TV would cope if they lost all their money. He developed it with his father, Eugene Levy, and wrote many of its episodes. He drew on his own life for parts of David, including his love of Mariah Carey and his fear of moths.

David has been praised as one of the most important LGBTQ characters on recent television, and many viewers have written to Levy about how the show's acceptance helped their families. Levy won the 2020 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, and that night he also won for writing, for directing (shared with Andrew Cividino), and, as a producer, for Outstanding Comedy Series.

David Rose: frequently asked questions

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