When television brings together two of the funniest Canadians around to play husband and wife, you get Schitt’s Creek. With a friendship that dates back to the 1970s, Toronto comic titans Eugene Levy and the late Catherine O’Hara got their start on the sketch comedy series Second City Television. Not long after, the two partnered up for films like Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and Waiting for Guffman. Schitt’s Creek, however, which continues to find new viewers six years after the series finale, is a different comedy beast altogether.
What Is ‘Schitt’s Creek’ About?
Levy stars as Johnny Rose, a rental store magnate and the husband of O’Hara’s melodramatic Moira Rose. Together, they have two children: their older son David, played by Eugene’s real-life son Dan Levy, and their younger daughter Alexis, played by Annie Murphy. Having long enjoyed the comforts money could buy, their lives take a sudden turn when someone they trust tampers with their financial books. In a matter of seconds, the FBI strips them of their wealth, setting the premise of Schitt’s Creek in motion.
It’s easy to roll your eyes at the filthy rich, but the Rose family in Schitt’s Creekis a hilarious walking disaster. Forced to say goodbye to their lavish mansion, the family is relegated to the one asset they technically still own, a random, middle-of-nowhere town that Johnny once bought as a joke. Schitt’s Creek is completely outside their (former) tax bracket — well below it. There are no malls, no five-star hotels, and the only place that passes for an eatery is the Café Tropical (which, despite its name, isn’t exactly beachy). They’re forced to live in a shared suite at the Rosebud Motel, where the only thing separating parents and children is a thin wall. With barely any money left in their savings and no certainty of ever getting their old lives back, the Roses have no choice but to start over. That begins with the basics — including learning how to actually get along with each other as a family.
‘Schitt’s Creek’ Is a Lighthearted, Hilarious Take on the Rich vs. the Working Class
Catherine O’Hara as Moira and Eugene Levy as Johnny looking ahead with shock in the ‘Schitt’s Creek’ episode
With the shock of an abrupt financial downfall, the Roses cling to their former lives as they struggle to adjust to their new surroundings, and that conflict becomes the comedic engine driving Schitt’s Creek. The Roses have absolutely no clue how to function in the real world, or even socialize with actual people, yet they still act as if the world revolves around them. At the beginning, the Roses are completely unbearable courtesy of Moira’s soap opera-star ego, Alexis’ “live, love, party” lifestyle, David’s general disgust for everything, and the more pragmatic Johnny trying (and failing) to keep it all together.
The Roses represent everything the working class isn’t, and the townspeople of Schitt’s Creek aren’t exactly in awe of the family’s inflated sense of privilege, but the feeling is mutual. Johnny and Moira look down on Roland (Chris Elliott) and Jocelyn Schitt (Jennifer Robertson). Johnny thinks Roland is an undignified hillbilly (though he must also show him respect, since he’s the town mayor.) Meanwhile, Moira sees Jocelyn, a schoolteacher, as plain as a wallflower. When Alexis gets a job as a receptionist at the local vet, she’s always taking breaks and isn’t exactly the most reliable worker. As for David, he fares slightly better when he befriends the deadpan Rosebud Motel clerk Stevie Budd (Emily Hampshire), who reluctantly accompanies him through his newfound existential crisis.
The Roses Work Hard to Win the Hearts of Schitt’s Creek — and the Audience
Image via CBC Television
Schitt’s Creek doesn’t rush to make its main family likable, and that’s what makes the Roses worth rooting for. Once the desperation to rebuild their lives kicks in, the Roses are forced to grow, connect, and surprisingly, care, leading to some of the show’s hilarious moments and running gags (or “Moira-isms”). That includes not knowing how to cook (specifically, how to “fold in the cheese”), accidentally selling cosmetics from a pyramid scheme, and even getting into a misunderstanding at the bank over a PIN.
One by one, the Roses slowly find a newfound sense of purpose. Johnny uses his business aptitude to build a new venture with no investor connections, Moira breaks the “Hollywood has-been” mold by swallowing her pride and taking Z-list acting jobs, David tries his hand at retail, and Alexis retakes her high school education. Although they all make fun of each other, none of this would be possible without the support of the Roses themselves. It’s worth remembering that they were practically strangers at the start, but in losing their material possessions, they discover family. The glory days feel unimportant once they realize that true wealth comes not from what they once had, but from the family that stays together through thick and thin.
