If you haven’t heard of the insanely brilliant and viciously hilarious TV show, Schitt’s Creek, you’re definitely not alone. The first season aired all the way back in 2015, but strangely enough, didn’t really pick up an audience until mid-2018. Schitt’s Creek was so expertly written from the very beginning, but the show’s late rise to popularity is no accident – it’s actually come at the perfect time.
The premise of the show is what happens when a wealthy, high-society family suddenly goes bankrupt and they’re forced to adapt to their abrupt lifestyle change. The Rose family’s only remaining asset is an ugly small town, that was bought as a joke – alas, Schitt’s Creek.
I recently re-watched the whole series from the start with my sister, who absolutely could not stand it for three entire seasons. She hated the characters with everything in her soul – but that was the intention. Schitt’s Creek is created by Eugene Levy and his equally brilliant son, Dan Levy, who wrote a family of characters that were unbelievably hard to love.
The Rose family is headed by Moira; an eccentric, shrill, ex-soap actress with a substance dependancy, and Johnny; very serious but lowkey clueless ex-CEO of Rose Video – the second largest video distributor in the country.
Moira and Johnny have two self-obsessed children – if you count human adults who are in their late 20s and early 30s as children – Alexis; who is a well-travelled, chaotic Gemini and David; an anxious, introverted extrovert.
As viewers, we’re used to characters being presented to us as ‘getting it together’, but in a very bold move, Eugene and Dan chose to give Schitt’s Creek‘s characters no redeeming qualities, and no desire to change from the get-go. Their sole focus was to get the hell out of the situation they’d found themselves in, and get back to their old life of wealth and glamour.
I was genuinely shocked when I realised that midway through season 3, Schitt’s Creek had managed to lull me into forming an emotional attachment to the characters, specifically David Rose.
I really appreciate the way Schitt’s Creek speaks about sexuality, and that can be attributed to Dan Levy; a proud, gay man who is a very vocal advocate for the LGBT+ community. Back in season one, Dan’s character, David tells motel-owner-turned-lover-turned-friend, Stevie that he ‘prefers the wine, not the label’ which is defs how I’d describe my own pansexuality.
David had multiple short-term, on-screen relationships in Schitt’s Creek, and alluded to many dating struggles in the past – admitting that he was easily intimidated, reluctant to trust and quick to quit. Before he met Patrick.
Patrick appears in season three and acts as the guiding force behind teaching David how to soften, and feel how humans should feel. This is the first time we see any kinda of vulnerability from David and gd, I welcomed that warm, innocence of navigating the dismantling of the walls he’d built.
David and Patrick go from being just business partners to getting to know each other in a romantic way, but there’s still some evident insecurity on both sides, particularly from David. In a rare TV moment, the audience is present for the exact moment that David realises that he’s worthy of love.
In a beautifully orchestrated episode in season 4, Patrick organises an Open Mic Night to promote their local business ‘Rose Apothecary’. David is visibly nervous when Patrick reveals he’s going to get up and sing, dreading the thought of a public display of affection.
My perpetually single heart was overwhelmed all at once when Patrick dedicated an acoustic rendition of Tina Turner’s The Best to ‘someone very special’. In the scene, you see David physically cringe at the beginning and slowly soften as Patrick continues the tribute.
I feel so personally connected to David’s character because I also find intimacy super uncomfortable, but still crave it. It was just really emotional for me to see someone so similar to me on-screen; who had experienced that same struggles with self-worth and inability to be real with people.
I think it’s especially emotional for queer people too, because public displays of affection weren’t always legal and although we’ve made leaps and bounds for same sex couples, there’s always a thought dancing in the back of your mind that your love will evoke hate in someone.
Dan Levy has spoken about his relationship with the song, vouching that Tina Turner’s The Best has lyrics that you just stop to pay attention to, even in a busy bar. I think we can all get a little bit of tunnel vision, but really stopping and connecting with something will never go out of fashion.
If you’re yet to watch Schitt’s Creek, you have a little bit of time left to catch up on the five seasons available on Netflix. Season 6 is expected to drop in Australia, around October 2020.