A friend described Schitt’s Creek to me as “What if Arrested Development, but they’re nice people that learn and grow from the experience?” and that’s really the perfect way to explain this delightful Canadian comedy about a formerly wealthy family that ends up stuck in the podunk town of Schitt’s Creek. Whether you haven’t watched it or you’re a diehard fan, this sweet sitcom is the perfect binge while you’re home for the holidays.
Schitt’s Creek is truly a show the whole family can love. The series starts as a fish-out-of-water farce that sees the Rose family lose everything thanks to an embezzling employee and some tax shenanigans. They end up trapped in the one thing they own that has no value: the small, busted town of Schitt’s Creek. But the show slowly and subtly evolves from jokes about the Roses and the Schitt-y town to a gentle, loving exploration of how people on both sides of the class divide can learn from one another and actually grow.
In case you don’t know, the cast of Schitt’s creek is perfect and wonderful in all ways. Comedy legend Dan Levy and literal Canadian national treasure Catherine O’Hara play Johnny and Moira Rose, parents to two spoiled adult children, David and Alexis, played by Levy’s actual son and the creator of the show, Dan, and the hysterical Annie Murphy.
The Roses are hysterical: Johnny is the closest thing to a voice of reason in the clan, but he still misses the mark more often than not, though he truly cares for his family. Alexis is Instagram in human form, including the memes, while David’s pansexual, fussy fashionista slowly becomes the heart of the show. And then, there is Moira Rose … words cannot do justice to the force of otherworldly elegance and uniqueness that is Moira Rose.
don’t ask me why but here’s 22 seconds of catherine o’hara saying bebe pic.twitter.com/PjCX0Vq9NJ
— hattie (@hattiesoykan) March 23, 2019
But it’s not just the family that’s funny, it’s the many and varied denizens of the town they come to love, some quite literally. From Chris Elliott as tactless, perpetually un-self-aware Roland to Dustin Milligan as the Sweetest hot vet around, it’s an amazing ensemble, but the standout is Emily Hempshire as Stevie, the clerk at the motel where the Roses take up residence.
Stevie’s growth and her relationship with the Roses exemplify why Schitt’s Creek is so unique and perfect. It would be easy to build a show around cheap jokes about rich assholes and poor hicks. Stevie starts as a wise-cracking Daria of rural Canada, and she could have stayed that way … but she evolves, and so does the Roses’ and the audience’s view of her. We see that Stevie isn’t just snark and attitude, and we end up loving her the same way the Roses come to love the town.
Schitt’s Creek isn’t special because it’s funny (even though it’s hysterical); it’s special because it’s the rare comedy that allows its characters to learn and grow. So much television, and especially comedy, relies on stagnation and sameness, but Schitt’s Creek is all about growing and learning to love and be better. It’s queer. It’s warm. It’s silly … It’s perfect.
So, if you want a show to watch with the whole fam this year as you digest your sugar plums or whatever, there’s nothing we could recommend more than a trip to the weirdest and best little down on the other side of the northern border. And you’ll be caught up before the final season starts in January!
(image: Pop)
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