Moira Rose's Accent on 'Schitt's Creek,' as Explained by Catherine O'Hara

How do you explain Moira Rose’s accent on Schitt’s Creek?

None of us have ever really been able to put a finger on it, though it brings fans so much joy.

When actress Catherine O’Hara was asked if she knew what she wanted her accent to be when she first took on the role, she told Variety, “Not at first. I have the emails, and I’m saying to Eugene [Levy], ‘Someone who is learning a different word every day and tries to slip them into conversations as much as possible. Somebody who’s world traveled.’”

“I now describe it as the result of Moira and Johnny’s world travels when they had money,” she continued. “Being the serious artist that she is, who observes people and culture and takes it all in, she then wants to share with the world.”

“What you’re getting when you hear her speak are oral mementos of her world travels,” she added. “I haven’t come up with a better way to describe it.”

“By email, you would say, ‘Why don’t we hear it?’” Catherine shared. “I was giving you nothing! I was saying, ‘I don’t want to sound like a human,’ basically.”

Eugene chimed in, “The first time we heard it was knockout — unreal.”

“You have to work with lovely, smart, talented people who allow you to sound like an alien,” Catherine O’Hara said. “Just to have that creative freedom is — I don’t expect to have it with other people. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to have done this with Eugene and Daniel [Levy].”

The Schitt’s Creek series finale premieres TONIGHT! See what Dan had to say about it here.