Everything about Schitt’s Creek, eh?

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Schitt’s Creek is anything but for CBC

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Go ahead, say them. Your jokes about the name, Schitt’s Creek. Some wondered—months ago when CBC announced the Eugene Levy/Catherine O’Hara project co-created by Levy and his son, Dan—if the title would make for easy headlines if the ratings were bad.

The fact is, CBC may end up getting the last laugh by having the strongest homegrown sitcom this country has had since, well, that show about not much going on that just recently made a movie. Just yesterday, CBC announced it had greenlit a second season of Schitt’s Creek before Season 1 had even debuted. That’s the kind of move that Netflix makes, not a public broadcaster, and it’s an indication of just how confident they are in the project.

Debuting Tuesday, Schitt’s Creek stars Eugene Levy as Johnny Rose, a video store magnate who sees his empire crumble due to bad investments. The government descends, claiming their mansion and almost everything in it. The only thing the feds don’t touch is a property Johnny bought for his son, David (Dan Levy), on a lark: the small town of Schitt’s Creek. The pair, along with wife/mother Moira (Catherine O’Hara) and daughter/sister Alexis (Annie Murphy), decamp for the little community where they’re met with odd characters—including mayor Roland Schitt (Chris Elliott)—and a fish out of water situation. But where most sitcoms go over-the-top to get laughs, Schitt’s Creek is more subtle, with funny things going on in the background and names (hello, Roland Schitt?) as opposed to pratfalls.

“We talked a lot about that in the writer’s room,” Dan says. “We never played anything for the laughs and it’s something my Dad comes from. That’s why I came to him with this show. I knew there was a special touch that he has in terms of legitimizing funny situations in a reality that’s tangible. If you have great people playing these funny situations, that’s where the magic is.”

He’s right. Eugene and O’Hara have made careers out of playing characters who don’t mug for the camera, and Eugene’s DNA has been carried on to Dan. Best-known to a generation of viewers for his co-hosting duties on The After Show alongside Jessi Cruickshank, Dan’s comic chops cause a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. One great scene features David and Alexis arguing who will sleep in the motel bed closest to the door; David wants his sister to sleep there because a murderer who breaks in will kill her first, giving him time to escape.

Dan had been playing with the idea of a family who has lost their money for a TV show and it went through several incarnations once Eugene came on board. It was over dinner conversations with friends, Eugene recalls, that they realized “Why not call the town Schitt’s Creek?” (“Because that’s exactly what I’d think of,” O’Hara jokes.) He admits the CBC wasn’t the first network he thought of to air Schitt’s Creek, but positive meetings coupled with the network looking to rebrand, and a deal was made.

“We set out to make the kind of show that we want to watch,” Eugene explains. “What I find funny and the most interesting are character-driven pieces because that’s all I’ve done, from SCTV on. You have to stay in the character and stay as grounded as you possibly can, that’s what appealed to me.”

And, clearly, the CBC.

Schitt’s Creek airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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Schitt's Creek

Link: Schitt’s Creek is droll? Try smug and self-satisfied

From John Doyle of The Globe and Mail:

In the matter of Schitt’s Creek (CBC, 9 p.m.), opinion is divided.

The comedy show, a big deal in CBC’s plan for this TV season (and it has just been greenlit for a second season next year), has received some enthusiastic reviews in Canada, and here in the United States, where it will air on the teensy cable channel Pop (used to be the TV Guide Channel), a small number of critics think it’s hilarious. Others are utterly, eye-rolling indifferent.

I’m with the eye-rollers. It’s droll, sporadically, but dead on arrival. Continue reading.

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Schitt's Creek

Link: ‘Schitt’s Creek’: Eugene Levy, Dan Levy, Catherine O’Hara Bring The Funny To CBC

From Chris Jancelewicz of The Huffington Post:

Canadian TV is in dire need of an edgy comedy, and it looks like we’ve gotten it with “Schitt’s Creek.”

CBC TV has been killing it lately with their new slate of programming — from the female-driven “Strange Empire” to the marvelous “Book Of Negroes” — and “Schitt’s Creek” brings audiences back to authentic Canadian comedy, which has always been the funniest in the biz (no bias here). Continue reading.

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Schitt's Creek

Link: How Eugene Levy convinced CBC to name his show ‘Schitt’s Creek’

From Tony Wong of The Toronto Star:

When you name your show Schitt’s Creek, you’ve got to be prepared for some blowback.

Especially if it airs on the CBC.

 So Canadian star Eugene Levy and son Dan, the producers of the new single-camera comedy, went through phone books to see if the name Schitt actually existed. It did. And they copied pages from directories featuring the name to the Canadian public broadcaster to prove their point. Continue reading.
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Schitt's Creek

Link: Eugene Levy & Son On ‘Schitt’s Creek’: “We’ll Never Know Where The Town Is” – TCA

From Anthony D’Alessandro of Deadline:

Growing up, Schitt’s Creek co-creator and star Dan Levy sought to do his own thing, never intentionally leaning on comedic legend father Eugene Levy.

“I grew up watching SCTV and when I was in high school, the Christopher Guest movies were the coolest thing. But I started up in Canada at MTV where I wanted to build my own brand there,” said the junior Levy at the Friday afternoon panel for Pop’s first scripted series Schitt’s Creek, debuting on Feb. 11.  While at MTV Canada, Dan Levy co-hosted MTV Live and co-wrote, produced and hosted The After Show which was a critical hit and spawned various incarnations. Continue reading.

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