Cult comedy on Netflix to end run after season 6
PASADENA, Calif. — There are multiple lessons in the success of Pop’s comedy
Schitt’s Creek including how streaming on a ubiquitous service like Netflix can raise the profile of a series and an entire network.
Schitt’s Creek debuted on niche cable network Pop but started to have an impact in pop culture after episodes began streaming in a secondary release on Netflix. (The final season now airing on Pop will stream on Netflix eventually, probably later this year.)
“It is still gaining momentum which is strange and wonderful,” said actress Annie Murphy, who plays Alexis, the high maintenance daughter of former soap star Moira (Catherine O’Hara) and video store magnate Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy). “We’re going out on a high note.”
Schitt’s Creek also provides a lesson in how shows can evolve and improve. The show was OK when it started, but it got significantly better in seasons two and three when it became less focused on the show’s premise — Kardashian-like family loses all their money, moves to a podunk town, Schitt’s Creek — and more invested in the characters and their relationships.
Created by Dan Levy — Eugene’s son — who also plays David, Alexis’ brother, Schitt’s Creek will end its run in April.
One of the greatest joys of the warm, funny, amiable Schitt’s Creek is the performances. While Eugene Levy and O’Hara are the show’s marquee stars, the biggest revelations are the performances by Murphy and Dan Levy as siblings, particularly their shared mannerisms, facial expressions and hand movements.
“That was me,” Murphy said of holding her hands raised, fingers pointed down. “It started snowballing and then got out of control …. And then Dan and I kind of took bits and pieces from each other, and, let’s be honest, he stole that (hand movement) from me. Then I started stealing a lot of his contorted facial expressions where we look like our heads are about to break open from time to time.”
Murphy said she felt like she and Dan Levy found their footing performance-wise late in season two, early in season three.
“At that point, we were all so comfortable with each other. We had settled into our characters,” she said. “We introduced some new physicalities, some different tendencies and the writers kind of picked that up, knew our voices and started incorporating all of that into the script.”
After Patrick Reid, as David’s boyfriend Noah, performed a touching acoustic version of the song “Simply the Best,” Murphy wanted to take a crack at music with her character’s song “A Little Bit Alexis,” which she wrote the lyrics for. “We knew that it had to be kind of a jokey, spoofy song,” Murphy said. “But at the same time, (we) were deeply desiring to write a banger that got played at clubs, and it gets played in clubs now.”
In September, Dan Levy signed a three-year deal to create projects for ABC Studios. After the audience embrace of Schitt’s Creek, his goal is to create more programming that has an emotional impact.
“Tell stories that provide a space where people can feel seen and loved and appreciated and safe,” he said. “To continue to tell stories of underdogs, to continue to tell stories of people who are just trying to find their way.”
And Levy doesn’t rule out a return to Schitt’s Creek down the road.
“For me, it was the right time to end it,” he said. “I hope there comes a point where it feels necessary to continue to tell the story. I would love to revisit all these characters. I’d love to write for them again, but it has to be the right time. Here’s hoping I find that reason.”