The premise of the show is how one upper-class family suddenly find themselves broke, and how they go about downsizing their extravagant lifestyle to a more pedestrian level. Viewers follow the escapades of video store magnate Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy), his potty-mouth soap star wife Moira (Catherine O’Hara), their hipster son David (Dan Levy), and socialite daughter Alexis (Annie Murphy). They all must learn to adapt to living in small town Schitt’s Creek, a place they once purchased as a joke, and now is the only thing they have left to their name.
The first episode begins with the family losing all their wealthy possessions, then leading them up to Schitt’s Creek where they are forced to overnight in a motel and deal with the townies, such as Mayor Roland Schitt (Chris Elliott). This is classic Canadian humour that could potentially be the next big thing CBC is hoping for. The family bickers as husband and wife, opposing siblings, and with anyone else who gets in their way. The question is, who is more a cast of misfits, the Rose’s or the local townsfolk they encounter?
Eugene Levy stated, “The story is loosely based on an article I read about Kim Basinger buying her own town.” His first thoughts on developing this with his son Daniel were to get Catherine O’Hara to take a lead role in the show. She turned him down the first time, and the second as well, but persistence paid off on his third attempt. When asked why, O’Hara simply stated, “I always knew it would be a great opportunity, but I was busy at the time. Then some things had changed so I was available to take this on.”
Expectations are set high for this one, with plenty of promotion having been done leading up to its premiere January 13th, 2015. While Hall of Famer’s Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara need little introduction, and Dan Levy having had his own spotlight as host on MTV, Annie Murphy may feel overshadowed with such a stellar cast. In a recent interview she revealed, “I was bit nervous at first, however everyone was so welcoming and we all got along right away.” Murphy is married to Hollerado lead singer Menno Versteeg, who wrote the song “Firefly” for her after a fire destroyed their Toronto condo in spring 2014.
The half-hour single-camera comedy series was shot in and around Uxbridge, Ontario with an all-Canadian character driven cast, co-created by Eugene Levy and Dan Levy, founders of Toronto based Not A Real Company Productions Inc. Schitt’s Creek is the company’s first major television project, and with Daniel and Eugene moving into exciting new terrain as both co-creators and stars of the series, and Daniel taking on the additional role of lead writer, the show has a lot to offer. There are a total of 13 episodes in Season One. The series is produced by Colin Brunton, a well-known filmmaker within the Canadian music scene, producing such underground classics such as The Last Pogo.
Catch the premiere of Schitt’s Creek on CBC, Tuesday January 13th at 9:00 PM. Past episodes can also be watched online.
NOTE: According to Deadline Hollywood, CBC has already renewed the series for a second season to debut in winter 2016, an in the U.S., the series has been picked up by Pop (currently TVGN), and is set to debut Feb. 11.
