Ever since Schitt's Creek hit the airwaves, this heartfelt and hilarious show has charmed
and delighted countless viewers.
But how much do you really know about the show?
This is the untold truth of Schitt's Creek.
Schitt's Creek tells the story of an eccentric family unexpectedly thrust into extremely
close quarters.
In the first minutes of the very first episode, wealthy video store tycoon Johnny Rose suddenly
goes spectacularly broke.
That means his family is forced to start all over again in the small town of Schitt's Creek...
a town they purchased back in the day as a snobby joke.
"This town might just be your saving grace.
At least for awhile."
"What do you mean?"
"You can live there for next to nothing, til you get back on your feet."
Seeing as this is the story of a tight-knit clan, it makes sense that the show's creator
Dan Levy would want to enlist members of his own family for the project.
And it certainly didn't hurt that his father is Eugene Levy, a bonafide comedy legend.
Eugene has had memorable roles in comedies like American Pie and Best in Show, not to
mention '80s classics like National Lampoon's Vacation and Splash.
He got his start in the legendary improv group The Second City in 1974, eventually going
on to star in the classic sketch comedy show SCTV from 1976 to 1984.
Eugene's son Dan also became a performer, appearing regularly on MTV Canada.
He eventually pitched the concept of Schitt's Creek to his dad, and they subsequently created
the show together.
The rest, as they say, is history.
"David, help me with the doors."
"No, I can't, I just got out of the shower?!"
"I need help with the doors."
"Help!
Him!
With!
The!
Doors!"
"You help him with the doors!"
"Nooooo!"
And by the way, they aren't the only Levys involved with the show.
Sarah Levy, Dan's sister and Eugene's daughter, plays the role of Twyla Sands, the waitress
at the town's only cafe.
If the family dynamics feel a little too real at times, it's probably because so many real-life
family members worked on the show.
Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy play Moira and Johnny Rose, loving husband and wife and
proud parents to David and Alexis.
Well, O'Hara and Eugene Levy actually have quite the storied history together.
As The New York Times reports,
"[They] began performing together with other like-minded comedians at the Second City club
in Toronto during the 1970s.
[...] Mr. Levy and Ms. O’Hara honed their skills and even briefly dated [...] before
gaining wider attention on SCTV.”
Later on, they appeared together in numerous Christopher Guest comedies, including Waiting
for Guffman and Best in Show, to name just a few.
"She was very popular back then.
She had dozens of boyfriends."
"Hundreds."
"Hundreds?"
In fact, Eugene Levy is the person who managed to convince O'Hara to join Schitt's Creek
not that it really took all that much.
Dan Levy was understandably thrilled with this development.
As he told The New York Times in 2015:
"I was not going to say, 'No, that's not a good idea.'
When he offers up Catherine O'Hara, you take it and run with it."
For her part, O'Hara barely hesitated before signing on to the project, drawn in by Dan's
vision and the chance to work with Eugene again.
After studiously avoiding television projects, O'Hara was hooked on the project right away.
As she explained to Newsweek in 2019:
"Ever since SCTV, I've had an aversion to locking into one character for any length
of time.
But [Eugene Levy] convinced me to come to a pilot presentation, and I loved it.
He tricked me!"
Dan Levy plays the big-hearted but decidedly standoffish David Rose, and as we mentioned,
he's the one who first came up with the idea for the series.
We wonder if you can guess the celebrity family that inspired the idea…?
As he revealed to Out magazine in 2015:
"I had been watching some reality TV at the time and was concentrating on what would happen
if one of these wealthy families would lose everything.
Would the Kardashians still be the Kardashians without their money?"
Using that idea as a springboard, Dan soon got his father Eugene on board, knowing full
well that he had the comedy chops to pull off the project.
Obviously, Schitt's Creek's title features a word that sounds exactly like a popular
swear word — and perhaps unsurprisingly, this fact managed to ruffled some feathers
before the show premiered on the CBC.
Bummer, huh?
"No.
Noooooooooo-wuh."
Initially, execs wanted the title changed to something less scandalous.
In the hopes of swaying their opinions, the Levys asked whether they'd be willing to run
a news story about someone named Schitt.
When the top brass said yes, the father and son team literally went through a phone book
to prove that Schitt was, in fact, a real last name.
The execs ultimately caved, and the Levys got to name the show Schitt's Creek.
Quite the happy ending to this tale.
Between playing David Rose and working behind the scenes on Schitt's Creek, Dan Levy has
been a busy man over the last few years and it looks like he'll only be getting busier
from here on out.
In September 2019, he signed an incredible deal with ABC to produce and create multiple
projects for the network and he's clearly over the moon.
He said in a statement:
"I’m thrilled to be partnering with ABC Studios in this exciting next chapter.
As I say a bittersweet goodbye to ‘Schitt’s Creek,’ I look forward to the opportunity
and privilege to continue to tell inclusive and meaningful stories that shine a positive
light out there.”
And what can we expect from this deal?
When The Hollywood Reporter asked Levy what kinds of programming he wants to create for
the network, he replied:
"I feel like I can't not continue to make television that means something and that advocates
for justice and equality and acceptance."
Alexis Rose is the spoiled yet sensitive daughter of the Rose family and Canadian actress Annie
Murphy has played the part for the entire run of Schitt's Creek.
But even though it proved to be her breakout role, she actually wasn't the first person
cast as Alexis.
Believe it or not, Saturday Night Live alum Abby Elliott was originally slated to play
Alexis.
Incidentally, her father is Chris Elliott, who appears on Schitt's Creek as the terminally
crass town mayor Roland Schitt.
The role became available after Abby abruptly left the project.
But as fate would have it, Murphy was already on hand after auditioning to play Stevie Budd,
the Rosebud Motel's brilliantly sarcastic proprietor a role that later went to actress
Emily Hampshire.
However, there was a problem.
As Murphy revealed to Vulture in April 2018,
"I was a brunette when I auditioned.
And Eugene was having a really, really hard time wrapping his head around the fact that
Alexis is blonde and Annie Murphy is brunette.
He couldn’t quite get there, so Dan had to tape pictures of blonde hair on my picture.
It finally got through to him, thank goodness."
Thank goodness is right.
Murphy is utterly brilliant in the role, and we could listen to her say "David" all day.
"David.
Nobody cares."
"You know what, David?
You get murdered first for once."
"Well, I'm not going to wear my own clothes into the room, David."
Since the likes of Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara are involved, it should come as no
surprise that Schitt's Creek features more than a few musical performances.
In fact, some of the show's most memorable musical moments were crafted by the stars
of the show, including a moving serenade during an open mic from the series' fourth season.
Patrick is David's boyfriend and business partner, played to perfection by actor Noah
Reid, an accomplished musician in his own right.
In the episode in question, he organizes an open mic night to help promote their store
Rose Apothecary.
David is initially horrified, but he ends up being absolutely bowled over by Patrick's
performance of Tina Turner's "The Best."
Reid created the arrangement himself and thus helped create one of the show's most romantic
moments.
As for other musical highlights, we'd be remiss not to mention Alexis's Cabaret audition in
season five.
"I have chosen to perform the title track off of my critically reviewed limited reality
series A LIttle Bit Alexis."
"Oh!"
The song includes such immortal lines as:
"I'm a Lamborghini / I'm a Hollywood star / I'm a little bit tipsy / When I drive my
car / I'm expensive sushi / I'm a cute huge yacht / I'm a little bit single / Even when
I'm not."
"I'm a little bit … la la la la la la … a little bit Alexis…"
Annie Murphy wrote the song herself with the help of a few friends.
And we should probably mention the throbbing club mix of the song, which is available on
Spotify as we speak — and which is basically beyond belief.
"I'm hoping to tour Japan."
"We're going to do a full international release with it."
"I'm hoping it's going to go to Number One on, like, multiple charts."
Schitt's Creek has plenty of running gags and one of the best is Moira's completely
unidentifiable accent.
"In the lea of a picturesque ridge lies a small unpretentious winery."
That accent is quite literally all over the place… and O'Hara has a real knack for stretching
a single word to the point of ridiculousness.
"I'm going to resurrect 'One Crazy Summer: The Patty Hearst story.'
It's a tale of perseverance much like your quest to bring asbestos back to the town."
O'Hara revealed her inspiration in a 2019 interview with Newsweek:
"I've met people whose accents have nothing to do with where they were born or raised
they want to reinvent themselves.
[...] Everything about Moira comes from the potential she believes she has."
O'Hara goes on to cite Madonna and Audrey Hepburn as influences.
As for her signature syllable stretching, she says:
"I want to have Moira learn a new word every day to not only educate herself but to educate
everyone in the town.
Then, using the new vocabulary, which I wish I could retain, I love to stretch out the
syllables.
I don't think about it when I'm doing it, but some words want to live longer."
"Are the pillows feather or foam?"
"Yes."
"Sorry, which one?"
"I don't care."
"I'm sorry?"
"I don't know?"
After filming was completed on Schitt's Creek sixth and final season, the cast took home
some of their favorite props.
As Variety reports, Dan Levy took home the framed first receipt from Rose Apothecary,
which Patrick gives to David on what we can safely call their first date.
"If there is anything remotely sentimental in here, he is on a date with you right now."
Eugene Levy took home a few portraits of the Rose family no big deal.
Catherine O'Hara snatched up several of Moira's wigs and some of her jewelry, and Annie Murphy
took home Alexis' mistyped college degree.
Meanwhile, more than 800 high-end wardrobe pieces from Schitt's Creek went on sale in
October 2019 through Canadian retailer VSP Consignment, and some of the proceeds were
donated to the education organization GLSEN.
According to the official website,
"[It's an organization that] works to ensure that LGBTQ students are able to learn and
grow in a school environment free from bullying and harassment."
Although it's a comedy through and through, Schitt's Creek certainly doesn't shy away
from sentimentality and some of its best scenes and storylines explore modern love and relationships.
For example, following an unexpected night of passion between Stevie and David in Season
One, David uses a clever wine-based analogy to explain his preferences.
As he puts it,
"I like the wine and not the label.
Does that make sense?"
"Yes.
It does."
Meanwhile, when Patrick comes out to his parents in Season Five, the result is one of the most
touching television scenes in recent memory.
Thanks to his precise, loving touch when it comes to the show, Dan Levy frequently receives
letters from fans and viewers.
They thank him for making them stronger, or for helping them accept loved ones who are
struggling with their identities.
It's no wonder Levy won a GLAAD Award in 2019 for championing LGBTQ acceptance through his
work in Schitt's Creek, and he delivered a characteristically heartfelt and thoughtful
speech at the annual gala:
"Almost three quarters of LGBT youths, they say they are more honest about themselves
online than in the real world."
The fictional world of Schitt's Creek might feel far removed from reality at times, but
as the show has surged in popularity, real-life versions of the adorable small town have been
popping up more and more frequently.
Let us explain.
In October 2019, Schitt's Creek unveiled two interactive pop-ups in New York City and Los
Angeles.
Lucky guests got to wander through some of the show's most iconic settings including
the Rose family's motel rooms, the town diner Cafe Tropical, and David and Patrick's business,
Rose Apothecary.
Meanwhile, as the show's final season started airing, Netflix teamed up with Beekman 1802
to create a line called, unsurprisingly, "Rose Apothecary x Beekman 1802."
These scented bath and body products look exactly like the merchandise supposedly being
sold at the fictional shop.
The signature scent?
Rose, naturally.
Made with goat milk, these Schitt's Creek-inspired goodies are a perfect tie-in to the show.
We're sure David would wholeheartedly approve… as much as he's capable of approving of anything.
"Uh-oh."
"What is…?
Is something wrong?"
"No.
They're just new… mints that haven't been sampled yet so for all we know, they could
be poison."
In Summer 2019, it was announced that Schitt's Creek had earned four Emmy nominations, with
Deadline reporting that
"[The show] landed noms in the Comedy Series, Lead Actor Comedy Series [for Eugene Levy],
Lead Actress Comedy Series [for Catherine O’Hara], and Contemporary Costumes categories."
The cast was understandably thrilled and Schitt's Creek became the first PopTV show to ever
earn an Emmy nomination.
Network president Brad Schwartz was clearly delighted by the news.
In fact, he tweeted a profane yet joyful message which we feel we can safely paraphrase as:
"Holy [Schitt]!!"
And now a quick word from our sponsors:
"You'll remember the experience and you'll remember the name: Herve Erbling.
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