Ashley Spurgeon is a lifelong TV fan — nay, expert — and with her recurring television and pop-culture column "And Another Thing," she'll tell you what to watch, what to skip, and what's worth thinking more about.
Let me begin by saying that I fully understand if a show called Schitt’s Creek is not your cup of tea. Personally, I put off watching for years due to my deep loathing of the name — I may blaspheme, I may cuss, but I have no truck with poo-poo-pee-pee comedy; we all have our limits. But, friends, I have good news. Schitt’s Creek is not a gross-out comedy filled with potty jokes — it’s a genuinely heartwarming exploration of a nuclear family who loves one another, and a showcase for some of the best comedic acting you’ll find on TV.
Premise: The Rose family was flying high in the 1990s, wealthy thanks to their chain of video-rental stores. But we spend less than three minutes in the Rose family mansion: Thanks to a thieving business manager, their family fortune is gone and the taxman has come knocking. They have one asset left: When they were millionaires, pater familias Johnny (co-creator Eugene Levy) bought a small town called Schitt’s Creek as a gag gift for his son David (co-creator and real-life son of Eugene, Daniel Levy). Johnny, his wife Moira (Catherine O’Hara) and their adult children David and Alexis (Annie Murphy) have no choice but to move into a motel in Schitt’s Creek and start over.
Note that it was the business manager who was the criminal, not Johnny. To be sure: Every member of the Rose family is (or at least starts out) lazy, selfish and needy in a way that only the truly wealthy can afford to be. Before the fall of the house of Rose, David and Alexis supported themselves through assorted respectable rich-kid scams — running an art gallery, or grifting off of even wealthier acquaintances. Moira was a soap-opera actress, and the whole family counted on those sweet, sweet VHS rental bucks subsidizing their lifestyle. Of course, all their friends disappeared the moment the money went away.
But no one in the Rose family is a criminal, or even a bad person. Johnny Rose is a consummate businessman, but he’s ethical. He’s an ideas man who sees potential in everything, and wants to be a seed-planter and watch things grow. Furthermore, Eugene Levy is hot now. I know — I wasn’t ready either. And Catherine O’Hara. Catherine O’Hara!! Folks — if for no other reason, watch Schitt’s Creek for Catherine O’Hara. She is the hands-down scene-stealer as Moira Rose, a B-actress with all of the big, dramatic feelings that entails.
O’Hara speaks in what I can only describe as a “Moira Rose accent,” a broad, pretentious work of art. Her voice is like a glorious cross between actorly mid-Atlantic and someone who has no idea how to pronounce any vowel sound. She gets the best lines. (To her children: “You are blind to reality, and for that I am most proud.”) She gets to wear a lot of wigs and ridiculous costumes. You watch Catherine O’Hara as Moira and realize, This is a fully original character, and the current best thing on television.
Johnny and Moira slowly attempt to actually parent their children for the first time in decades. This is a family that loves one another, but at a distance. Being forced to move your entire family into two motel rooms, however, is a very quick way to cut through years of estrangement.
And the 30-something kids have to learn how to actually grow up. It’s hard for these rich kids to overcome their reflexive selfishness, but they want to change — so they can help their family. They are rewarded thanks to the fact that all TV small towns, Schitt’s Creek included, are populated with more than enough beefcake-y love interests for the Rose children to take for a spin.
Schitt’s Creek, in spite of the name, is of course a quaint-ish little town. The Rose family’s social obligations eventually expand into civic life, with the help of Mayor Roland Schitt (Chris Elliott in full weirdo mode) and his wife Jocelyn (Jennifer Robertson). Eugene’s real-life daughter Sarah Levy plays diner waitress Twyla, and motel employee Stevie (Emily Hampshire) is very likely the Rose children’s first real friend. Sardonic and witty, Stevie is every small-town kid too smart for her own good, who had the bad fortune to never make it out of town.
It’s just a phenomenal show. Per Daniel Levy, the original idea was, What would happen to a family like the Kardashians if they lost all their money? I don’t think we’d end up with a show like this. The further the Rose family gets from excessive wealth, the more they grow as people, and as a family. Schitt’s Creek is able to take a modest comedic premise (Moira and Johnny try to buy a mattress; Alexis gets lice) and present the absolute wackiest left turns with a perfectly made-up straight face. And as the years have gone by, the show has gained more and more heart. The town is small; the family’s love for it is not.
Seasons 1-4 of Schitt's Creek are streaming on Netflix; Season 5 is currently airing and available to buy on Prime.
