Daniel Levy, Schitt's Creek star and co-creator, set for GLAAD honour
Levy 'moves LGBTQ visibility on television forward in humorous, compelling, and necessary ways'
Emmy-nominated Schitt's Creek co-creator Daniel Levy will receive an award from the LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD next month.
The media watchdog group says it will give the Toronto actor, writer and producer the Davidson/Valentini Award at the GLAAD Gala San Francisco on Sept. 28.
The award is named after Craig Davidson, GLAAD's first executive director, and his partner Michael Valentini. It honours an LGBTQ media professional who has promoted acceptance for the LGBTQ community.
Levy is the showrunner on Schitt's Creek and also stars as a character who identifies as pansexual, which means being open to all sexual orientations or gender identities.
The openly gay Levy has also done fundraising for GLAAD and, in honour of his recent birthday, his fans raised over $20,000 for Ontario's LGBT Youth Line.
Schitt's Creek airs on CBC and Pop TV and is also on Netflix. The show about a formerly rich family living in a small-town motel is up for four Emmys next month, including best comedy series. Stars Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy are also up for acting trophies.
"Through his work on-screen and behind the scenes of Schitt's Creek, Dan Levy moves LGBTQ visibility on television forward in humorous, compelling, and necessary ways," Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, said in a statement.
"By featuring and celebrating a pansexual character, Dan and Schitt's Creek are expanding representation of the spectrum of identities within the LGBTQ community in a way that other content creators should model. Dan has been such a powerful advocate throughout his career, and continues to use his platform to uplift and inspire LGBTQ youth."