We all remember Dan Levy as the befuddled fashion plate David Rose on Schitt's Creek (2015-20), whose sweet, cozy romance with newly out Patrick (Noah Reed) culminated with their wedding. (I put Noah's cock up after the break to refresh your memory.)
Next up: Big Mistakes (2026), with Dan the creator, writer, and star. Of course I'm going to watch.
Scene 1: Nicky (Dan) and his sister Morgan (Taylor Ortega) at the nursing home, sitting there looking foolish while Mom (Laurie Metcalf) rushes around, arranging a birthday party for dying Grandma and managing her mayoral campaign. Their Competent Sister is helping.
Grandma wants a diamond necklace for her dying birthday present, but Mom knows that they're losers, so just bring something cheap and nostalgic to brighten her last moments.
Scene 2: Nicky is preaching in a large church that's mostly empty. The end of his sermon: don't be overcome by the smoke from the bridges you burned. That makes no sense. There are crucifixes in the nursing home but not here, so I'm guessing that Nicky is Protestant while the rest of the family is Catholic.
The service ends, and he returns to the parsonage and kisses his naked boyfriend.
In a later episode, Nicky has a boyfriend named Tareq (Jacob Gutierrez, left), but I'm not sure if this is Tareq, or he appears later.
Uh-oh, a parshioner walks in -- hide! Are you closeted, Mr. Minister?
As he gets dressed and prepares to leave, Boyfriend rubs it in: "I'm being honored by Out and Loud next week for the work that I do." Being Out -- every heard of it?
Nicky explains that the church is ok with gay clergy, but frowns on them doing gay stuff. Why would you even accept a job at a church that doesn't accept LGBTQ people? What about the LGBTQ youth in your congregation? You're encouraging the belief that God hates them.
He promises that as soon as Mom's mayoral campaign is done, he'll find a new congregation where gay relationships are ok.
Scene 3: Sister Morgan has relationship problems, too. As he drops her off at the elementary school, Boyfriend Max (Jack Innanen) wants a long, mouth-swallowing kiss, but she breaks away -- kids are watching. "Why do you always back away from my touch?" Because kids are watching?
They argue, and he throws an engagement ring at her. She is ok with getting married, but she wants a proper proposal.
Scene 4: The siblings head into the QuickPost to find a cheap present for Grandma. The clerk, Yusuf (Boran Kuzum), keeps staring at Morgan. Is he into her, or planning something nefarious?
Sister Morgan has her eye on a faux-pearl necklce in a case, but he won't sell it to her: "It's for display only." When she pushes, he becomes aggressive: "Just leave it alone." Must be real and stolen, or maybe full of heroin.
While they are arguing, Mom calls. Grandma died.
Scene 5: At the nursing home, Mom lambasts them for delaying with the gift, so they missed Grandma's last words: "My gloves are new."
Competent Daughter: "I think it was 'I love you.'"
Mom scoffs. "No, it couldn't have been that."
Sister Morgan wants to know what they're supposed to do with the gifts now. That's your reaction to Grandma's death? She pulls out the faux-pearl necklace! "I took care of it," she tells Nicky.
You stole it? Why didn't you just choose something else?
Mom insists that Nicky put the necklace around Grandma's neck, and take some photos to post on social media. Uh-oh, the bad guys will see it.
More after the break. Caution: Explicit.
Scene 6: Night. Clerk Yusuf from the store shows up at the parsonage, wanting the necklace back. "Um...I don't have it," Nicky exclaims.
Left: As promised, Noah Reid. Or his head superimposed onto a much larger body.
After Clerk Yusuf leaves, Nicky rushes to his car in a panic and drives away. Uh-oh, he's following Nicky in his van!
Meanwhile, Sister Morgan is arguing with her boyfriend about the spelling of Ryan Gosling while pounding cutlets for the post-death dinner.
Scene 7: Nicky arrives, still panicking, and has to deal with his ovebearing, micromanaging Mom before begging to get Sister Morgan alone.
Morgan criticizes him for leading the guy to Mom's house, where he can target the rest of the family. That's not the main takeaway, lady.
Then she scoffs: "The damn necklace cost $79. If he needs the money so badly, I'll go out and pay him."
She goes out. Clerk Yusuf doesn't speak; he just shows his gun. So she goes back into the house.
The siblings argue about why Morgan got a gun pointed at her, but Nicky didn't.
Scene 8: Nicky in his clerical robes at the funeral home. No one else around -- he tries to reach into the coffin and pull the necklace off Grandma's neck. Dude, slide it around so the clasp is in front. There are many interruptions, including Sister's boyfriend ready to haul the coffin away.
Meanwhile, at the elementary school, Sister Morgan looks out the window and sees a dead bird. A message!
Scene 9: The funeral, outside, with Nicky officiating and Clerk Yusuf lurking around, looking sinister. Nicky leads a panicked memorial, but can't think of a way to get the necklace.
Afterwards, Clerk Yusuf waylays the siblings. They admit that the necklace went into the grave. "You have no idea what you've done!" he exclaims, along with some Turkish expletives.
Then he forces them into the back of his van. The end.
Beefcake: A split second of Nicky's boyfriend. I went through the entire cast list to find Renan Pacheco (left), who plays Felipe in one episode, and Ilia Volok (below), whose role is unspecified.
Heterosexism: None. Morgan doesn't seem to like her boyfriend much, and Mom hates her ex-husband.
Gay Characters: Nicky and his boyfriend (and maybe his new boyfriend), of course, but I'm still not happy about him being in a homophobic church.
My Grade: These are awful people, morally bankrupt. They spend most of the episode screaming at each other (I fast-forwarded a lot). Comparing this series to Schitt's Creek makes me sad.
And shouldn't pastors be...you know, religious? Nicky never prays, talks to Jesus, looks at a Bible, gives spiritual advice, or anything. Have any of the writers ever been in a church?
My grade: C-.
See also: Schitt's Creek: Quirky small town (in Canada, but don't tell anyone) has gay/bi guys and a lot of beefcake
"Sunny Nights": Will Forte sells tanning spray. With a lesbian sister, some gay gangsters, a lot of Aussie butts, and Vincent Rodriguez III in his underwear. Another brother-sister team in trouble.
Gemstones Episode 4.5: The dirt on Vance, Big Dick Mitch, and Lori, with a nude Teenjus and Joey Stefano. Also the dirt on Gay Christians.
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