**SPOILERS FOR THE SCHITTâ$ CREEK FINALE**
I realize I might be the only person that reads this post but sometimes, I need to write something just for me. Tuesday night saw the series finale for the Canadian sitcom, Schittâ$ Creek. The show was created by Dan Levy and his father, the amazing Eugene Levy (who has had one of the best glow ups in history). The show aired on CBC and is viewable on Pop and Hulu in the US. It had a small cult-like following for much of its run, until it blew up in the last two years. The series finale earned the largest US audience to date. Vanity Fair did a great recap of the whole episode. Here is an excerpt of their review:
If they had to leave usâand this feels like a particularly painful time to say goodbyeâat least the Rose family left us well. The magnificent series finale of Schittâs Creek was a balm, a confection, a tear-jerker, and a perfect reminder that there just have to be better days ahead.
The darling Roses had their lives stripped away, after all, and were forced into their own version of a quarantine in a middle-of-nowhere town, distant siblings and disengaged parents confined to two shabby motel rooms. It was a wonderful thing to watch over the last six seasons as each of them lovably, uncomfortably, sometimes heartbreakingly, sometimes hilariously (hi yoh, that masseuse!) reached towards his or her happy ending. The Rose family lost their riches, but earned their own good fortune.
If one had to pick who had the most emotional last turn, itâd be a toss-up between Alexis and Stevie. First: physical comedian extraordinaire Annie Murphy, the flouncing, lanky actress with the winning zip of Goldie Hawn, has long made Alexis the most endearing character on this show. Alexis has learned her worth, which means sheâs learned to love herselfâwhich means she wasnât going to let this last night pass without offering sincere expressions of love to her family members.
The episodeâs pacing cooked, spilling out with the giddy breathless energy of an actual wedding day. When David rushed into the motel room to change into his tuxedo (and chic kilt!), his face contorted into its beloved scrunch of horror when Alexis swanned out of the bathroom in white. âEveryoneâs going to think weâre getting married to each other!â he shrieked.
In the end, the kids are alright, the four of them standing together as they say goodbye to their parents. Moira clung to David, but it was hearing her tell Alexis âIâm so proud of you, so proudâ that pulled hardest at the heart. Stevie, of course, looked the most broken-up as she waved goodbye to Mr. Rose.
Of course, Roland also came through with his giftâa new family portrait for the Roses. The Rose family doesnât merely own Schittâs Creek; they are Schittâs Creek. Johnny took in the absurdity of the new town billboard. Then husband and wife, devoted to each other in disaster and triumph, drove on to a new adventure while the worldâs most perfect pop song (âThis Will Be Our Yearâ by the Zombies) played them off.
I was going to do my own recap, but I kept going on and on and frankly, VF did it better. I came to the show later. I am a big fan of Eugene and I canât even quantify my love for Catherine OâHara. The only other cast member I knew was Chris Elliott and although I think he is a very funny person in general, his humor can gross me out sometimes. But honestly, I didnât watch the show because I thought the title was stupid and believed the show would be a series of amateurish puns and references. However, following Ira Madison III on Twitter who adores the show, I was finally convinced I should check it out. I think I started watching right before season three aired. I was hooked less than halfway into the pilot and it quickly became a family thing for us.
The beauty of the show is the characters. In the Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt’s Creek Farewell special that followed the finale, Dan told us that character development was something his father insisted upon. It truly made the show what it was. No one was a two-dimensional joke, no matter how small their part. And what the show made fun of had nothing to do with generalities or stereotypes. You came to love everyone on it. It would be hard to pick my favorite story arc but if I had to choose, I think it would be Alexis. I was destroyed when she ended it with Ted, reacting almost as if it was my own breakup. But it was absolutely the right choice for her character. Iâll just pretend that they get back together after theyâve both gone on to fabulous success in their chosen fields.
The show is heralded for many positive messages. One of the most powerful is how it portrayed the LGBTQ characters and storylines. On the Best Wishes special, Noah Reid, who played Patrick, read a letter of appreciation from a moms-of-LGBTQ-kids group. What seemed like a silly show with a nutty name, became a beacon of hope during a time when we ended up needing it the most.
a group of moms with LGBTQ kids wrote a truly beautiful thank you letter to the cast of #SchittsCreek & I couldn't stop crying as it was read aloud to the actors pic.twitter.com/2oULXjliT9
— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) April 8, 2020
THEY'RE GETTING MARRIED TODAY! đ pic.twitter.com/vQluiqcEjX
— Schitt's Creek (@SchittsCreek) April 7, 2020
You, dear fans, are at the very heart of this show đ We'd love to hear from you today!
Share your #SchittsCreek selfies, your stories, your favourite GIF, your favourite episode or character, share anything!
And tag #SchittsFinale so we can read through them all and sob. pic.twitter.com/lrkaFiSMxA
— Schitt's Creek (@SchittsCreek) April 7, 2020
Photo credit: Instagram and WENN/Avalon
I loved everything about this show.
As did I. I adored everything about this show & Iâm not ashamed to admit I cried from the minute the Jazzergirls started singing Precious Love & all through Patrick & Davidâs wedding. Quite possibly the best written love story on TV, ever.
This show was such a lovely display of inclusivity. People just….were. Nobody needed to be over explained.
Catherine OâHara is impeccable but even more as Moira Rose. Apparently, she ad libbed many of the vocabulary choices in her lines. And several seasons in they found out she had a Victorian dictionary she was using đ
Best Line:
David- shouldnât parents want more for their kids than themselves?!
Moira- oh no, dear. If airlines taught me Anything itâs that a mother should always secure her own air mask first.
I encourage Everybody to power through the first few episodes- it is so worth the journey.
Thank you for this encouragement… I had a friend recommend it, and I tried watching the first episode and just could barely even get through it! I was so confused! Now I understand that the first few episodes aren’t indicative of the show’s run… I’ll give it another try.
This show was such a delight, so sad to see it go.
Moira Rose is one of the most amazing characters ever created.
I loved, loved, loved this show!!
I haven’t watched the finale yet, so just skipping down here to say this will forever be in my top 5 favorite shows. I’m an anxiety mess right now, so will probably bawl my way through the last episode. So just gotta steel myself for that. I’m thankful we have the ability to revisit these characters via streaming because I’m sure as heck gonna miss them.
This show was perfect. Every once in a while there is a show that always leaves me smiling and this was one. Those shows usually get cancelled on me, so I’m extra glad that this one survived. Loved the finale.
Moira’s outfit to David’s wedding was everything I didn’t know I needed.
I loved this show and am sad to see it go. Did anyone catch the goodby show with the cast after the finale? I thought it was strange that Chris Elliot was barely mentioned. Beside DL and CO he was the only big name when the show started. There was nothing about casting him and he only gave one quote.
Hi there, Snap Happy!
Re: Chris Elliott- I think that is more Chris than anything. He doesn’t do much press these days. But iirc, Eugene talked him into doing this part because Eugene finds him one of the funniest people in the business. Apparently there are countless outtakes of Eugene breaking in scenes with him. Also, Dan organized a GoFundMe (https://www.gofundme.com/f/SchittsCreekGivesBack) to aid Canadian and American food banks and the cast all contributed videos, including Chris (it’s really funny, I suggest watching it – https://twitter.com/SchittsCreek/status/1246865266115588097). So I do think the lack of Chris is more to respect him than not. He was so good on the show, wasn’t he?
Oh wow thanks for the response!
I canât watch the video right now but will def come back.
I didnât realize he wasnât into doing press. He was perfect in that role.
Ah, that makes sense! I noticed the lack of Chris as well, and figured it might be something like that.
No one on earth ever could have carries off Moira’s pope costume but Catherine O’Hara. The woman has genius level comedic abilities. They were all great, Emmys for everyone.
I think the closeness of the core people on the show in real life helped it be what it was. Catherine and Eugene are longtime besties and she’s known Dan and Sarah Levy since they were born.
Dan has said he’s not against a movie or a Christmas special or other sequel, so let’s hold out hope!
I love this show so much. Itâs one of those heartwarming and endearing yet still hilarious shows. David was my favorite. He went from someone who couldnât even get his own towel to a successful businessman.
I also like that the characters grew but didnât change, if that makes sense. Alexis learned to be less self centered and to appreciate other people more, but she was still kind of flighty and still bought a wedding dress for her brotherâs wedding. David learned to be less narcissistic but his wedding was still HIS DAY. Etc.
I def got teary eyed during the finale. It was the perfect happy ending. Lol
You’ve made me cry all over again reading your post. So glad you wrote this up. đ
I loved it. And it’s still there for us to rewatch whenever we need to revisit this town and family. I’m also very excited to see what Dan Levy, and also Annie Murphy do next. They’re young and talented. I know Levy already has a development deal. But no matter what, we’ll always have Schitt’s Creek.
Annie was cast as the lead in a new AMC comedy called âKevin Can F- Himself.â
Iâm crying again.
Another great CBC show to check out that you might love is Kimâs Convenience- not comparable exactly- but similar gentle humour and lovable characters
Yes! I second the recommendation for Kimâs Convenience!
Oh, I love Kim’s Convenience! So funny and sweet. Kimchee slays me.
I third this! I just watched all 4 seasons over the course of last week and fell in love with the show. I love the representation as well as the fact that interracial relationships are completely normal and not a subject of endless conflict and discussion.
I bawled while I watched the ending yesterday. One of my all time favorite shows.
Crying at the letter. I’m only on season three and originally the title put me off too. But so many Canadian friends raved about the show so I gave it a go. It’s fabulous. I thought at first I would hate this privileged family who just didn’t GET it, but they grew into themselves and I grew to love them. (Alexis is my favorite too). So sad to see it end.
I saw Eugene Levy in a grocery store last summer and can attest to the glow up! Heâs tall and handsome in person, truly something I never thought Iâd say. And he was super polite to the salesperson too.
Schittâs Creek reminded me that kindness still exists in our current hate filled political climate. Favorite scene is when David was watching his bossâ daughter and she started her period. Loved that he included the offer of one of Alexisâ designer sweatshirts to tie around her waist. That showed true kindness. This show has been my escape from the hateful judgement society feels entitled to share and Iâd move to Schittâs Creek in a heartbeat if only it was a real place.
Welp you have me bawling reading this post almost as much as when I watched the finale, so itâs definitely not just youâ¤ď¸ . This show helped my son come out to us years ago and Iâm forever grateful for the role Schittâs Creek played in that.
I was hoping the finale would get itâs own post here. This series as meant a lot to me. I was a fan of Catherine OâHara and Eugene Levy in the Christopher Guest movies and so I was all in from the beginning. I have told anyone who will listen for six years that this is one of the best shows on television. I love the entire cast but Moira Rose is the most legendary character-regal, eloquent, fashionable but also bumbling and fiercely loving. Truly at a loss of what to watch next.
I miss SCTV so much. A completely brilliant cast, including EL and CO. If you can find it, watch it.
Yes! Any Canadian who was around in the 70s and 80s will remember SCTV (and Eugene Levy & Catherine O’Hara). I still laugh thinking back at some of those episodes/characters.
I have loved Schittâs Creek from the first episode six years and I love it in a way that Iâve never loved any other movie or tv show.
I love them all, but Moira and Alexis are both my favourite characters. I could never chose between them.
I squealed when Moira made her wedding entrance. Moira, and only Moira, could wear that outfit without it overpowering her.
I cried and laughed my way through the finale as I have many of the episodes. It was absolutely perfect. As much as Iâm going to miss it, Iâm glad they are ending on a high and not fading away.
I would love a spin off of Alexis making her way in NYC. Twi could join her and use some of that lottery money to open a Cafe Tropical there! All the other characters could make guest appearances.
Iâd also love a spin off of Moira making Sunrise Bay. đ
I’d love a spin off too … but failing that – maybe taking a page from Downton Abbey – a reunion movie!
And how about the song and video of ‘A little bit Alexis’ … so sweet and funny – so her!
Iâd love an Alexis and Twy (boop!) spin-off, too! Maybe our favorite vet could show up after a couple years? đ While I loved the artistic integrity of Ted and Alexisâs farewell, Iâll admit I really wanted him to pop up at the 11th hour of the finale. I just loved them together and he was such a sweetheart.
This has to be one of my all time shows and I only got into after a few seasons and watched earlier seasons on Netflix. I adore Eugene and Catherine from SCTV and Daniel was on The Hills aftershow on MTV Canada. He was the only good part of the aftershow. I will miss this show because it is rare that any show has perfection in every episode. The characters were great. I was heartbroken to see it end.
And I agree with the recommendations for Kims Convenience. It is also on netflix and another great show.
Just hearing the Kim’s Convenience opening music makes me happy – I loved the recent season finale too – it made me cry
Can we just get one episode of Sunrise Bay?!
Best show. Best. I have many friends who’ve told me they think of me when they see it, because I turned them onto it, and I take that as a huge compliment.
I started watching SC after seeing little pieces of it on Youtube. And I was won over immediately. I haven’t watched the last episode yet, I’m starting season 3, but I know it’ll make me tear up. SC is just one of those shows where everyone of the characters is someone you’ve met or run into or even know. There’s so much uncertainty now. No one knows what will happen in the coming weeks or months. But I’m sure we’ll muddle through. If the Rose family can, there’s no reason we can’t either.
That’s how I got into it too – someone posted that you tube clip of all the time Alexis says ‘David’ – I watched it twice and was so intrigued I starting watching it on CBC Gem – I went back and watched all the episodes from the start. I think I may rewatch the entire series.
I feel like this is the series finale that âFriendsâ wants to be when it grows up.
My favourite episode ever was when Patrick came out to his parents and then introduces David to them. It was so nuanced and perfect. I was hoping to see a bit more of his parents again in the finale. Actually I would have liked a whole extra episode of the wedding reception. I can’t face that it is over. I used to watch Kim’s Convenience and then Schitt’s Creek both on Tuesday evening. Kim’s had the season finale last week and now Schitt’s creek the series finale and I will no longer have that to look forward to.
I can’t believe it ended! It was/is a brilliant show.
Imagine that?
Love Schitts Creek! Brilliant comedy & the best entertainment during self isolation. The Rose family 4Eva!!
Love, love, love this show! It is silly and zany, but has real heart. I basically bawled through the entire special. Thank you for writing a positive post, Hecate, and on one of my favorite shows, at that!