The Reel Review
When a wealthy video store magnate and his family lose their fortune, they are forced to flee the big city for the sole asset not seized during their bankruptcy – a sleepy podunk town in the country with the unfortunate name of Schitt’s Creek. The Emmy nominated Canadian series is available on Pop TV, Netflix and Amazon.
Father/son co-creators Eugene and Dan Levy (who also play father and son Johnny and David) make each season of the goofy comedy funnier (and more touching) than the last, as the family of silly, self unaware snobs adjust to their new lives as fish out of water in a small town. The ensemble cast is the secret sauce of this hit show, with Catherine O’Hara the most outlandish, as Moira, the washed up soap opera actress and mother longing for a comeback. Decked out in crazy wigs and black and white outfits, she speaks in an odd cadence reminiscent of a crazed, alternate universe Katherine Hepburn.
Seasons 4 and 5 are where Schitt’s Creek really hits its stride, showing greater character evolution and tenderness, while still retaining the silly sense of fun of its first three seasons. The pinnacle thus far is Season 4, where the adult siblings embrace entrepreneurship and find themselves each falling in love, David with a young man helping him with his store, and Alexis (Annie Murphy) with the veterinarian/fiance she previously jilted. Unless you have no soul, Episodes 6 and 12 WILL make you cry. Season 5 continues the fun, as the Rose family comes to the realization that they are actually way happier in Schitt’s Creek than they ever were in their former lives. Season 6 debuts in January 2020.
REEL FACTS
• Schitt’s Creek is filmed in Ontario, Canada. Hotel exteriors are filmed at a former motel near the town of Orangeville, while the Tropical Diner, General Store and Bob’s Garage are on the same intersection in the town of Goodwood.
• With a history dating back to SCTV in the late 70s, Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara have also starred as husband and wife in Christopher Guest’s 2000 comedy Best in Show and as singing partners in Guest’s 2003 comedy A Mighty Wind.
• Sarah Levy, daughter of Eugene Levy and Dan’s younger sister, plays Twyla in Schitt’s Creek.
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