Schitt's Creek star Dustin Milligan on Ted's return

Ted and his animal puns have made their triumphant return to Schitt’s Creek, if only digitally.

As we know, Ted, played by Dustin Milligan, has been off in the Galapagos Islands on a work trip. Alexis (Annie Murphy) was supposed to meet him, but dates are hard and now she has to wait a month. But in episode 3 of the final season, Ted makes a comeback via Skype, showing how the couple is adjusting to long-distance life.

“[Series co-creator] Dan [Levy] and I had a conversation, just in general about, what is the best approach to this relationship now?” Milligan says on the latest episode of the EW On Set: Schitt’s Creek podcast. “We’ve done the will-they-won’t-they thing so much, so it’s like, how can we actually pull a realistic and meaningful and still different storyline out of this? I think when it came down to it and it was like, okay, so this is what the dynamic is gonna be for this final season, I loved it. I think it’s actually a very honest and real approach to it. These characters, they’ve had so many kind of silly things pull them apart, and I love that this actually feels like real life.”

The episode begins first with Alexis and Ted trying some Skype cybersex when the family interrupts, one member at a time — a funny callback to David’s previous afternoon delight with Jake. Alexis then tries her hand at pet ownership in getting a turtle she names Ted, who she promptly loses. Thanks to Twyla (Sarah Levy), they at least have a nice, romantic anniversary dinner — also via Skype — at the diner.

“We shot all of our Skype stuff together,” Murphy recalls. “Dustin was actually physically there on the day, like many booths down in the café. But it was a really sweet and sad scene to shoot, nonetheless, because… you just see the love and the kindness and the romance that still exists between these two characters, and that Ted went to all this trouble. Well, really Twyla went to all this trouble on Ted’s behalf to make this special moment.”

“With Ted and Alexis, this is a real-life moment that people can really relate to,” Milligan says. “It’s something that a lot of people have faced and a lot of people have struggled with, and I think, with Ted and Alexis, to actually have them be like, ‘Yeah wait, can we do this? Are we strong enough to do this?”

Another big moment from the episode comes in the final few moments. With Stevie (Emily Hampshire) pursuing what the world has to offer her — maybe that means what a profession as an airline attendant has to offer her — Johnny (Eugene Levy) has to secure a bank loan to expand the Rosebud motel. Without Stevie, it’s harder than it seems. Cue the Schitts, who swoop in and purchase the motel by taking out a second mortgage on their home. Now, they’re all in business together, which, as Moira (Catherine O’Hara) says, is cause for alcohol.

“It was a little dicey in the beginning, but I think, at this point in the story, Johnny’s accepted the fact that is he and Roland going forward,” Levy says. “And I think the fact that Stevie has told him that she really wants to look elsewhere to see what else there is out there in the world for her, that she doesn’t necessarily want to be involved in the motel expansion. So Johnny is now going it alone with Roland, which kind of means alone.”

Alone with a loan.

Listen to the full podcast in the player above or wherever you stream and download podcasts.

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