I know, I know, I’m really late to the game on this one. I should’ve binged it last year when it was sweeping every TV awards show, but I was busy binging other stuff at the time. I finally got around to watching it and wow, I’m so mad at myself for taking so long.
If you have been living under a rock, Schitt’s Creek (2015) is a Canadian sitcom about a rich family, the Rose family, who find themselves broke and are forced to all move into a run down motel in a small town they once bought as a joke.
It’s just a fun show that does a lot that American sitcoms hardly ever do. For one, the characters actually grow.
For better or worse, in a lot of comedy shows, character development doesn’t usually seem to be a concern. The characters will learn a lesson by the end of the episode and then that lesson will seemingly be wiped from their brain by the start of the next. While Schitt’s Creek does do that to a degree, it’s not a constant thing. At the beginning of the show, the Rose family are a bunch of egotistical and selfish people. By the end of the sixth and final season they are still a bit egotistical and selfish but much less than at the beginning. They are much more appreciative of their family and the people that have become their friends in town.
Another thing this show does that many others don’t is David, the son, is already out of the closet and his whole family knows and is supportive. In any American sitcom, the character would’ve been in the closet for at least a season then come out and there would be a lot of drama that comes from it. But, in Schitt’s Creek they don’t waste any one’s time. They also don’t make a big deal of it, which is great.
Also, in Schitt’s Creek, the family clearly actually loves each other. In a lot of sitcoms that focus on a family, the episodes usually are about two members fighting or just being generally terrible to each other. But, the Rose family is different. I see them as sort of a live action Belcher family from Bob’s Burgers. Where the family members will mock and tease each other but it’s all in good fun. They never will go out of there way to simply be mean or outright cruel to each other. Which ultimately makes the characters easier to root for.
Don’t make the mistake I did, binge this show as soon as you can. Every season is on Netflix and it is just a delightful show.
