As far as good shows to binge on Netflix goes, the latest show that everyone’s talking about is CBC’s Schitt’s Creek. Schitt’s Creek is a Canadian sitcom co-created by Canadian actor, producer and television personality Daniel Levy and his father, comedian and actor, Eugene Levy. It originally premiered on CBC in January 2015 and is now into its fifth season.
Schitt’s Creek is about the Rose family, Johnny (Eugene Levy) and Moira (Catherine O’Hara) and their two adult kids Alexis (Annie Murphy) and David (Daniel Levy). The Rose family lose their family fortune and are forced to move to a small town called Schitt’s Creek, which the Rose family owns, where they move into the town’s motel on a permanent basis. The Rose family struggles to adjust to living in a run-down town after having lived a luxurious life back in New York. The Rose’s meet the locals including the mayor, Roland Schitt (Chris Elliott) and his wife Jocelyn (Jennifer Robertson) and the motel manager Stevie (Emily Hampshire).
This is not a show you watch for the plot. This is a show that you watch for the characters. Every episode stands on its own—there’s not much plot continuity until the later seasons. But the characters are all so hilarious. They all have their own quirks and distinct personalities. Johnny was a successful business owner of Rose Video and tries hard to provide for his family. Moira is a former actress who loves wigs and shirts with Shakespeare-esque collars. David has a flair for fashion, art, and all things luxurious-living and has a great sarcastic sense of humour. Alexis tries to flirt her way through life and was known to get into trouble during her travels around the world before moving to Schitt’s Creek. Together, this cast of characters brings the hilarity and heart to the otherwise mundane town of Schitt’s Creek. That’s not to say the locals in Schitt’s Creek are mundane. They’re your slightly stereotypical small-town bunch but they’re fun and colourful and show the real personality of Schitt’s Creek.
Every week, there is something new that the Rose family has to deal with. It keeps the audiences on their toes wondering what “normal” thing these former rich people will have to deal with for the first time, such as, a leaky faucet, cooking, killing flies in their rooms, and yoga classes. Stevie likes to poke fun at the Roses for things like this especially because she’s the one they usually turn to for help.
It’s the collision of two completely different worlds that makes this show so hilariously entertaining. Schitt’s Creek locals think the Roses are weird and the Roses think the locals are weird. It’s a perfect show to come home to after a long day of classes and to have a good laugh at crazy rich people. However, over the series, the Roses have had some very good character development and have started to embrace living in Schitt’s Creek—David has a boyfriend and is running his own store, Alexis graduated high school and completed a college certificate, Moira joined the Schitt’s Creek Town Council, and Johnny co-owns the motel with Stevie. The show is cleverly written, has an amazing cast, and is full of heart.
The first four seasons of Schitt’s Creek are available on Netflix and season five is currently airing Tuesday nights on CBC.
