Like a lot of fans, I came to this series late. I’d heard it was great but thought with six seasons under its belt I’d never catch up. When I saw all six seasons were on Netflix, I decided to give it a try and I’m very glad I did.
BINGE LOGISTICS
Schitt’s Creek is by far one of the easiest shows ever to consume. Each episode averages a little more than twenty minutes with Netflix streaming you right into the next one. It does this so seamlessly you might not even realize you’ve watched half a dozen episodes. I’d watched five episodes in less time than it took to watch a movie. Whenever I didn’t have that sort of time, it was easy to slip in a single episode here and there. With all the awful things happening in 2020, it was truly a pleasure to escape into this fun and wonderful show.
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Schitt’s Creek is a fish-out-of-water story best described as what would happen if the Kardashians moved to Springfield. When the Rose family are swindled out of their life savings they are forced to move to the town with the funny name, which happens to be the only asset they have left. The town, initially bought as a joke by the Rose family patriarch, provides them a place to live while they desperately attempt to start their lives over from scratch.
A FAMILY AFFAIR
Schitt’s Creek was created by the father/son duo of Eugene and Daniel Levy. They do double duty playing the show’s male leads Johnny and David Rose. In addition to their one-two punch, Sarah Levy (daughter of Eugene and sister of Daniel) plays the lovable waitress Twyla. Fred Levy (Eugene’s brother, and uncle to Daniel and Sarah) serves as one of the shows executive producers.
LET IT BREATHE
First seasons of any show should never define what a series ultimately becomes. Schitt’s Creek took me a handful of episodes to get into. The Rose family at the onset of the series are extremely unlikable. They hate everything about their situation, the town, the townspeople, and the rundown motel they are forced to live in. Jokes dealing with the vast difference between them and the town get old fast, and are initially extremely mean spirited.
Fortunately, as the series grows, so do the Roses. After seeing the entire series, I couldn’t imagine it starting any other way. Many of the greatest shows in television history, including Breaking Bad and The Wire, took some time to set up what would later become epic storytelling. The story of the Rose family and their entire journey unfolds in a similar fashion and is well worth the ride.
MOIRA
Even if you’re not familiar with the show you most likely have heard of the tour de force that is Catherine O’Hara’s Moira Rose. To put her Emmy-winning performance into perspective, imagine telling the best player on your team to swing for the fences only to see them hit it out of the park…every…single…time. This analogy barely scratches the surface of what O’Hara effortlessly achieves on Schitt’s Creek.
Moira Rose, the former soap opera star socialite, navigates the town of Schitt’s Creek the same way she navigates everything else, looking unapologetically fabulous while giving no quarter. What’s so fascinating about O’Hara’s performance is how utterly complex it is while initially appearing to be one-note. O’Hara’s Moira is kind, loyal, and smart, but on the surface looks the exact opposite. One of the best parts of Moira is her deep devotion to and love for her husband – they epitomize the power couple. She is also incredibly savvy when it comes to revitalizing her acting career despite the major setbacks of their situation.
There are so many wonderful Moira moments on the show it’s not only hard to pin them down, it would be criminal to spoil them. That being said, watching her “cook” with her son David and scat her way through her Jazzagal audition literally had me in tears with laughter.
JOHNNY
Eugene Levy as the patriarch Johnny Rose is the quintessential comic straight man. His reactions to the constant craziness around him often provide some of the show’s biggest laughs. Johnny cares deeply for his family and never stops fighting for them. He’s also still madly in love with Moira. At times Johnny comes off as the only normal person in the entire town; Levy’s stoic coolness levels the show off as we often see the craziness of the town through his eyes. It says a lot about Levy that he took the least-flashy role and ended up making one of the biggest impacts.
The best part of Levy’s Johnny comes during the times he’s being the most earnest, like when he defends the town of Schitt’s Creek to some old “friends” or the tender moments he shares with his business partner Stevie (played by the amazing Emily Hampshire) when she becomes insecure about losing them if they become too successful.
In many regards, Johnny is the Dad we all wish we had and it’s a pleasure to watch him.
DAVID
Attempting to define what Daniel Levy has created with his character David is no easy task. Most people could look at Levy’s David and simply surmise he’s playing a hyper-stylized version of himself. After all, they do have many similarities including being the real-life son of the man playing his father.
However, it cheapens both Daniel and his character David to say they are one in the same.
Daniel Levy, who co-created the show with his father, writes, directs, and stars in a hit show. In contrast, David Rose doesn’t find clarity in his own life’s objectives for a much longer time and through a more hilarious journey. Although it takes David a couple of seasons to find his sea legs in the town of Schitt’s Creek, he ends up becoming one of its biggest champions. Watching David go from a socialite who can’t stand his situation to finding his best friend, starting a successful business, and finding the love of his life is a journey not to be missed.
Like Moira, I won’t spoil some of David’s more hilarious moments but look for how he handles being a grocery store bagger to see what everyone is raving about.
ALEXIS
Annie Murphy is a marvel.
Like O’Hara’s Moira, it would be a mistake to paint Murphy’s Alexis as one note. Alexis Rose, the socialite daughter, is perhaps the most equipped to deal with the unique position the Rose family finds themselves in. The reason for this is evidenced in usually one brilliant line per episode where we learn a little more about what
Alexis has actually been up to since she was a teen. Needless to say, Alexis has seen some shit. She appears to be a vapid, egotistical Instagram influencer on the surface while actually being a deeply interesting loyal friend and daughter.
One of the funniest aspects of the show is the coming-of-age drama that unfolds for both Alexis and David, even though they are both grown children in their thirties.
Watching Alexis evolve into the amazing woman she becomes, while endlessly teasing her brother, having a nearly frozen relationship with her mother, and coming to terms with a Sophie’s Choice with the love of her life, is empowering.
THE TOWN
The cast of characters in the town of Schitt’s Creek are every bit as unique as the Rose family.
Led by their mayor, played by veteran comedic actor Chris Elliot, the town includes so many great characters: Jennifer Robertson as his wife Jocelyn; Tim Rozon as Mutt, their smoldering-hot beefcake son; Emily Hampshire as Stevie, the motel’s deadpan counter person; Sarah Levy as Twyla the hopelessly optimistic waitress; Dustin Milligan as Ted the local veterinarian; and Noah Reid as the lovable Patrick.
Clockwise: Chris Elliott and Jennifer Robertson; Sarah Levy; Dustin Milligan; Emily Hampshire and Noah Reid
There are so many amazing moments that these, and other townspeople, provide in the show. Look for Patrick proving he’s the best boyfriend in the world with his rendition of Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best” during open mic night at the apothecary, Ted’s super sweet take on pretty much anything as the world’s most understanding boyfriend, and every single horrible past reveal Twyla exclaims without ever having a realization her life was hard.
You will grow to love the townspeople like you will grow to love the Rose family and you will realize what they all realize – they’re better together.
APU
One of the show’s only misfires is the character of Ray Butani, played by the wonderful actor Rizwan Manji. While Manji’s Ray is a successful business man in the town, he comes off as very Apu-esque. The obvious difference is unlike Hank Azaria, Rizwan Manji is actually Indian. While there is no doubt that the show’s intention isn’t to play up racial stereotypes, it does sometimes come off that way with Ray. He is a shameless hustler with a seemingly endless array of businesses that range from real estate to wedding photography and everything in between. All of this is played for laughs of course, but for a show that is as woke as Schitt’s Creek, I wish they hadn’t gone there especially when they didn’t need those kinds of laughs.
CURSING
Canadians are not prudes, period. The occasional cuss word slips out, usually at the most hilarious moments. The antiquated rating systems that defines what is “adult” in film and television is maddening.
At its core Schitt’s Creek is a family show. Sure, there are all sorts of references to sex, drugs, and drinking, but US rating boards would most likely take issue with the language. I still don’t understand how an exasperated “Fuck!” is somehow more profane than the level of violence on most network TV.
Then again, the famous footage of the plane hitting the second tower of the World Trade Center has the camera man appropriately yelling “Holy shit!” which is always bleeped out because that’s the worst part of that image according to the ratings board.
Watching Schitt’s Creek embrace a realistic approach to language makes me long for how other sitcoms should be. With The Good Fight on CBS All Access, the characters from The Good Wife found even deeper connections using realistic language once they were no longer saddled with fifty-year-old television morality.
Schitt’s Creek shows us a roadmap to how good a comedy can be when it isn’t shackled by foolish rules. Then again, it was truly hilarious watching morning shows do verbal gymnastics trying to avoid the show’s title the day after their historic Emmy wins.
AWARDS
Schitt’s Creek set seven records during the 72nd annual Emmy awards with a total of nine wins for their sixth and final season. In addition to winning the most Emmys ever for a Canadian primetime series, it swept all four of the major acting categories with wins for Best Actress (O’Hara), Best Actor (Eugene Levy), Best Supporting Actor (Daniel Levy), and Best Supporting Actress (Murphy). Daniel Levy also took home awards for writing and directing on that record-setting evening.
Watching the entire cast inside a catering tent, socially distant, only removing their masks to wipe away their tears of joy was something to behold.
WHERE TO WATCH
Netflix currently has all six seasons of the show and it can also be found on the POP network. I highly recommend it.
Fred Shahadi is an award-winning filmmaker and playwright living in Los Angeles. He is the author of
Shoot the Moon, an alternate history conspiracy novel best described as Apollo 13 meets JFK.
