Far From Schitty

Two of my colleagues had been raving about a show for a while. There were references being made to characters I didn't know existed and they highly recommended that I watch the show. And so one day, I decided to find out what all the fuss was about.

The first episode of "Schitt's Creek" came as a surprise to me. It wasn't funny the way I perhaps had expected it to be (having watched comedies such as "Friends" and "The Big Bang Theory") and the setting also threw me a bit off guard - a rich family that was suddenly left almost penniless, being forced to live in a random town. Where were they going with this? 

A few episodes in, however, I was intrigued. Slowly, I became invested in each of the characters and was excited to see where each episode would end up taking them. I discovered the series quite late - a few year after it released on Canadian television, but in about a month and a half, I watched all six seasons of the show, sobbing my way through the last episode. Here's why Schitt's Creek is easily one of the best shows I have ever watched, even better than "Friends" (There, I said it.)

    

                                                                   (Source: New York Times) 

Familial Relationships

The Roses, at the beginning of the show, are ousted from their comfortable mansion life to living in a motel, with hardly any privacy or space as they were earlier used to. The show follows the ups and downs of the changes in their relationships. While they struggle to deal with the loss of privacy and the parents don't really know or understand who their children are as they were too busy with work to pay much attention to them, we see a lot of imperfect family dynamics. While they are sometimes borderline dysfunctional (Moira Rose, played by a brilliant Catherine cannot even remember her daughter, Alexis' middle name), the Roses slowly get to understand each other, learning to lean in and support each other, realizing that family is all that matters even as their former friends desert them after they become penniless. Meanwhile, through all of this, Johnny Rose (played by the talented Eugene Levy) is a supportive and understanding father, tries his best to keep his family afloat and intact despite the drastic change in their lifestyles and routines. 

We also get to see the beautiful relationship David Rose (Daniel Levy) and Alexis Rose (Annie Murphy) share. Just like any other siblings, they get on each other's nerves and don't pass up an opportunity to irritate each other. However, they are also there for each other and understand each other the best, especially during tumultuous times. 

Unlikely Friendships

This heartwarming show has love and relationships at its core, and that is probably why we get some of the most beautiful and unlikely friendships. 

First off, we have Moira and the Jazzagals, and Jocelyn Schitt in particular. While Moira initially detests the town and wants to escape it at the earliest, she slowly begins to occupy and own spaces in the town, finding her footing in two places - the town council and the singing group, the Jazzagals. The Jazzagals comprises of diverse women from the town of Schitt's Creek, who go on to become Moira's support circle, cheering her on and helping her through some difficult days, allowing her to become one of them. 

Then we have David Rose and Stevie Budd - two characters who are poles apart. The fashionable David, who takes clothes, aesthetics, and luxuries a tad too seriously slowly forges a close friendship with the motel owner Stevie, who couldn't care less about how she looks or is interpreted by others. The scene where they realize that they are each other's best friend is sweet, warm, and raw.

Roland Schitt (the mayor of the town) and Johnny Rose's friendship is definitely another unlikely one. The mayor of the town is loud, dresses as he likes, says he wants, does not understand the concept of privacy, and thinks there is nothing wrong with the welcome sign of the town. Johnny, on the other hand, is every bit the businessman and the gentleman. These two characters slowly befriending and supporting each other personally and professionally is another relationship that was a treat to watch as it evolved. 

Character Growth

One of the most important reasons for why I loved the show as much as I did would be the character growth for some of the prominent leads in this series. Through the series, we see Moira become gentler and more expressive and appreciate of the people around her, especially her children. We get to watch David learn to be more open and to trust people even as he builds his own business, a beautiful store in a town that does not really get his aesthetic nod. Stevie grows from being unsure about the inheritance of the motel to coming up with the idea of a chain of motels and pitching the idea alongside Johnny in the end, which finally gives the Roses their old lives back in a way. 

Despite these numerous character growths, the character arc I most enjoyed watching was that of Alexis. In the first season, she is the woman I would hate to be left in a room with - she is spoilt (as is her brother), dependent, and most of her conversations involve either past flings or random adventures with people from different parts of the world. Slowly, she begins to carve her own path. She completes high school, goes to college (she did it online back then!), and starts working to pitch in when she learns of her family's dire financial situation. Interestingly, she finds out she is good at PR and starts investing in her professional growth, making mistakes now and then but mostly doing astonishingly well to the surprise of her mother and even herself. The writers also made sure Alexis was truly independent by the end, after she broke up with Ted Mullens only because she knew they both had career aspirations that would not support their romantic relationship. Theirs was one of the most mature yet heartbreaking breakup scenes I have ever seen, even as they kissed each other goodbye saying "I love you". By the end of the series, I was proud of how far Alexis had come, personally and professionally. I am glad the writers gave Alexis the "happy ending" she deserved. 

LGBTQ Representation

The episode where David tells Stevie "I like the wine, not the label" is likely to go down as one of the simplest yet most effective scenes of a character explaining their sexual orientation. David, who was hurt and betrayed in the past by some relationships, finds Patrick Brewer who is charming, considerate, and kind, but holds back afraid. Patrick wins over his trust and thus starts the beginning of a beautiful relationship. In the absence of homophobia, the show gives us a beautiful relationship that grows organically with a solid friendship at its foundation - a relationship that just happens to be between two men, without harping on it in the slightest or drawing unnecessary attention to that fact. 

Like Daniel Levy said in one of his interviews later on, the fact that there was LGBTQ representation onscreen with a gay couple's relationship being happy instead of it being about strife and difficulties really has had a huge impact on the queer community from what I have read and heard online. Even as someone outside the community, I could understand the importance of David Rose and Patrick Brewer marrying each other in the final episode, with the Jazzagals humming in the background and the beautiful vows they had written for each other. It is definitely representation at its finest. 

Meaty Supporting Characters

While a lot of shows only focus on the lead characters and hardly give any thought to others who form a part of the show, the writers of Schitt's Creek give each character some brilliant back stories and character arcs. 

Each of them are memorable and stand out - whether it is Ronnie who builds swanky bathrooms (when have we last seen a woman doing a job that is mostly male dominated in a comedy series?), Twyla who is the cheerful waitress hiding the fact that she's a rich millionaire, Roland who is the approachable, loud, and kind mayor, or Bob (who can ever forget the way he hops/walks?) who owns the garage, or even Ray, who does everything from real estate to photoshoots in the small town. All the supporting characters are memorable and add their own magic to the show, instead of merely being characters on the periphery with nothing much to do. 

There are many other reasons for loving this show - flawed characters who don't always have the need to be perfect, family members finally learning to express their love for each other (the scene where Moira breaks down as she officiates her son's wedding left me bawling), characters taking decisions to further enable their personal growths (the scene where a teary Stevie asks David why he wants to go back to a city which only hurt him even as David sobs is easily one of the best scenes between two best friends), and a lot more. 

Schitt's Creek was the show I didn't know I needed during a pandemic, to give me hope and courage and remind me that even as the world was fighting a pandemic, I am extremely lucky to have love in my life.