The best thing about “Schitt’s Creek”

Like many people, I’d never heard of Schitt’s Creek until the show had wrapped its final season. I became aware of it when the show and the entire cast won Emmy awards, and when I was looking for a new comedy, I thought I’d give it a try.

I went in skeptical. For one thing, good comedies can be as hard to find as good Mexican food on the East Coast. For another, I have a natural aversion to “buzz.” If too many people like something, I tend to wonder whether it’s just a fad fueled by bandwagon-riding pop culturists enthralled by the “next big thing.”

But Schitt’s Creek never was the next big thing. On the contrary, it had flown under the radar for most of its run. It never won a single Emmy during its first five seasons before winning nine of them in 2020, and it had never even been nominated until after Season 5, when it was up for four awards, including two for lead actors Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara.

It was actually Levy’s presence that prompted me to give the show a try. He’s one of the best comedic character actors of our generation, but I hadn’t seen him in anything for quite a while until I happened to catch him again in the 20-year-old holiday romance Serendipity (in which he played an obnoxious department store salesman).

Seeing that movie reminded me that I’d seen Levy and his son Daniel accepting Emmys for Schitt’s Creek a few months earlier, and prompted me to check out the show on Netflix. I wasn’t disappointed.

Plenty to like

There are a lot of good things about Schitt’s Creek. First of all, it’s funny as hell. I’m a sucker for puns, and not only does this show have one right in its title, it’s actually got a character (Ted) who’s continually coming up with new ones. There’s even a character, played by Chris Elliott, named Roland Schitt.

Another plus: There’s no laugh track, which is quite a relief. I don’t need other people laughing in the background to tell me something’s funny: If I have to be told, it probably isn’t.

One thing that surprised me is that Levy’s character isn’t the funniest one on the show. His son Daniel, who came up with the concept, is even funnier. He’s absolutely hilarious. But he doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Schitt’s Creek’s is a true ensemble comedy, in which the quirky characters play off each other to near perfection, like two of my favorites: Seinfeld and The Big Bang Theory.

The chemistry is unmistakable, and the acting by the Levys, O’Hara, Annie Murphy, Emily Hampshire and the rest of the cast is pitch-perfect. They’re all very funny in very distinct ways.

But the comedy, as good as it is, isn’t the best thing about Schitt’s Creek.

Simply put, the show has heart. Its message is one of hope: No matter how far life knocks you down, you can always get back up when you tap into your true talents, connect with those who love you and persevere. It’s a show largely about family, which seems natural considering Eugene Levy’s children, Daniel and Sarah, are members of the cast, and O’Hara has worked with the elder Levy on numerous projects dating back to the 1970s.

A lot to love

Minor spoilers ahead… As the show goes on, you start to realize it’s not just about laughs, it’s about love in all (or many) of its forms. And that’s the best thing about it.

There’s the love between parents and children, which can be rekindled even after they’ve become absorbed in their own pursuit of wealth and superficial relationships. There’s the love between devoted couples who have been together for years (David and Moira, Roland and Jocelyn), who adore each other despite — or perhaps in part because of — their eccentricities.

There’s the love between Alexis and Ted, opposites who attract but whose very different dreams challenge the expression, though not the existence, of that love. There’s the love between best friends, who give each other a hard time but, underneath it all find a level of friendship neither the gothy introvert (Stevie) nor the insecure social butterfly (David) have ever experienced before.

But perhaps most endearing is the relationship between David and his boyfriend, Patrick. The genius of it is that it doesn’t hit you over the head with the angst of an explicitly gay relationship, but presents it first and foremost as a relationship, with the same joys and challenges as any other.

Put another way, it’s not the gayness that’s emphasized, but the love. I you ever want to illustrate the phrase “love is love,” look no further. It’s not that Schitt’s Creek presents a gay relationship as normal, but a normal relationship that happens to be gay. In many ways, David and Patrick are role models for how love should be, with all its delights and difficulties.

For these reasons and more, I highly recommend this show. Whenever you find something that makes you laugh and cry, you’ve got a winner.

This time, at least, the buzz isn’t wrong. Schitt’s Creek deserves every bit of it.