The comedy goldmine, which follows a rich family who loses it all and starts life over in a small-town motel, has become a cult favorite since its premiere in 2015. The series has only gotten better with time, earning its first Emmynominations in 2019. As we celebrate the show’s success, look back at some little-known facts about the Canadian comedy classic.
Schitt’s Creek Facts
1. Ever notice that it’s always sunny and warm in Schitt’s Creek? That’s deliberate. Annie Murphytold Vulturethat because the show films in Goodwood, Ontario, Canada, it gets way too chilly to shoot in the winter. “It’s pretty damn bleak,” Murphy said. “The town in Ontario that we shoot is blossoming this time of year,” she added. “The trees are turning green and the skies are blue and the air is fresh. There’s this bakery on the corners of an intersection where we shoot, and they have the best butter tarts…So we go to the bakery and we stand around outside in the sun, as opposed to crying tears of ice in the cold. That’s why we shoot in the summer. And also because we’re big babies.” 2. Kim Basingerwas a major inspiration for the show. “We were in the early stages of figuring out what the backstory was,” Dan Levy explained to Vanity Fair. “We started to research different ways that people had lost tremendous amounts of money or gone bankrupt. In the process, I stumbled upon an article about Kim Basinger having bought this town in Georgia.” It’s true: Back in 1989, the L.A. Confidential star purchased the town of Braselton, Georgia for $20 million in hopes of increasing tourism and TV and film production there. However, The Chicago Tribunereported that within three years of Basinger’s big purchase, the only remaining businesses in the town were a furniture store and a dental office. It was reported later that the actress sold the town for just $1 million. Levy says that the premise of the show was turning Basinger’s situation upside down: The family bought the town for its ridiculous name before losing their fortune, and it shockingly ends up being their saving grace when it’s their only asset that doesn’t get repossessed. 3. Eugene Levycame up with the name of the town when he was out with friends. “I think it was one of those boozy conversations you have over a dinner where they started talking about a town where there would be, like, Schitt Hardware and Schitt whatever it is,” his son told Entertainment Weekly. “And he thought, ‘What if [the Roses] bought the town because of its funny, terrible name?’ And that really stuck with us. A lot of networks were suggesting, ‘Why don’t you change it to Up a Creek?’ or other plays on the name, but that was never really what we wanted.” 4. Dan Levy revealed to Esquirethat the reason fans had to wait so long in between seasons of Schitt’s Creek is because he’s so meticulous about all the work that goes into it, not because the actual shoots take long to finish. “We’re editing the show longer than we’re shooting the show,” he said. “And it’s because every look, every cut, every glance when you’re weeding through takes and takes and takes to get the right moment is important.” 5. Dan Levy isn’t just the star of Schitt’s Creek. He’s also the creator, writer and showrunner, and sometimes director of the series. His input is on everything from the script to the wardrobe (he told Esquirethe notorious cat sweaters were made specifically for Jocelyn in-house for Season 5) to…the rugs. “In my head it’s like, ‘We should all know that they don’t vacuum their carpets all the time.’ These are lived-in carpets. We’re in a motel,” he told GQ. “If we’re going to vacuum the carpets, which I know has to be done, we also need to scuff them up a bit after.” He admitted he does the scuffing himself. 6. Though Schitt’s Creek is hilarious, Dan Levy said, “We always approached the show from day one as if it were a drama, and it is—I mean inherently, it’s quite tragic what happens to this family, and the comedy really comes from the characters interacting with each other and interacting with their circumstance.” He added, “I think because it’s rooted in something real and we’re not necessarily playing huge gags, you’re able to tightrope walk that fine balance between comedy and also exploring slightly more emotional moments and revelations as well.” 7. Dan Levy was very deliberate in having Schitt’s Creek have LGBTQ+ characters just being, not being a thing. He imagined the average TV exec’s line of thinking in an interview with GQ: “‘We’ll let every straight character live their lives, but the gay characters are here to teach us a lesson,’” Levy said. “The characters were being painted with a different brush ultimately, and that to me was really boring.” He also didn’t opt for a major “coming out” moment for David because “it’s not a cross that straight people have to bear.” He explained further, “In a way, I wrote it as a response to my own growing up: trying to see myself on television, and really not seeing gay characters represented casually. Every time there was a gay character, it was the butt of a joke, or they were a caricature, or they were in trouble, or they were killed. All of that is representing different elements of the culture—but I never saw a gay character just fall in love, and have it be okay, and become a better person for it.” 8. A cornerstone of Schitt’s Creek is that David Rose is pansexual and in a loving relationship with business partner and fiancé Patrick. Dan Levy didn’t want to have their romance censored and wanted the series to have a home that would allow them to be openly affectionate and not just hinted at, which he felt he may not have been able to do on traditional networks. “To be able to present a love story that’s without fear of consequence was something that I wanted from the very beginning, something that I never wanted to compromise on,” he told Esquire. He added that he believes an element of bigotry is people fearing what they don’t know or understand, and that having a same-sex relationship play out onscreen can help to quell those fears and spark conversations, understanding and acceptance. Preach! 9. Though Dan Levy requested the song, Noah Reid came up with the arrangement for the slow, acoustic cover of Tina Turnerclassic “Simply the Best.” “I’ve always thought it was one of the most beautifully written pop songs in history. Because of the tempo of it, and because it plays as sort of a fast-paced song, a lot of people skip over just how profound those lyrics are. I, on the other hand, would listen to it and get completely emo on long walks,” Levy told GQ. “We wanted it to be a song that was unexpected, that felt like it could be a fun spin on something that people would sing at an open-mic night. And Noah took the mandate—‘This is the song. Make it slow. Make it beautiful’—and came up with that incredible cover.” 10. Dan Levy was super nervous to perform his lip sync cover of the same song. “That was probably the scariest scene I’ve ever shot in my life. I’m terrible at memorizing lyrics, and I don’t dance, and I don’t perform like that ever,” Levy recalled to GQ. “So that was a panic the night before. And then Noah and I shared a bottle of prosecco at lunch, and came back from lunch, and that’s what it was. I would like to say it was method. Even though my character isn’t an alcoholic, I felt like he would’ve done something similar to that to ease himself into it.” 11. The cast revealed that Catherine O’Haracried throughout the entire shooting process of the acoustic “Simply the Best” scene. 12. Annie Murphy auditioned for the role of Stevie—because Abby Elliott was already playing Alexis in the Schitt’s Creek pilot. Murphy told Vulturethat when the Schitt’s Creek pilot was finally being shopped around, Elliott—whose real-life father Chris Elliott also stars on the show—had a timing conflict and was no longer available for the role of Alexis. “Thank God, let me just say. I auditioned for Alexis and I got a call from Dan [Levy] after my first audition, asking me to also audition for Stevie,” she recalled. “So I ended up testing for both of those ladies, and it was super fun to be able to play different characters. But as soon as I met Emily [Hampshire], I was like, ‘Why on earth would these people entertain the idea of anyone else playing this part?’ She blows it out of the water.” 13. Eugene Levy almost refused to accept Annie Murphy as Alexis because Murphy’s a natural brunette. Murphy explained to Vulture, “I was a brunette when I auditioned. And Eugene was having a really, really hard time wrapping his head around the fact that Alexis is blonde and Annie Murphy is brunette. He couldn’t quite get there, so Dan had to tape pictures of blonde hair on my picture. It finally got through to him, thank goodness.” 14. In fact, hair is a big deal to Eugene Levy overall, especially when it’s his own. Dan Levy revealed to Vanity Fairthat his dad is very proud of—and very particular and precious about—his hair. As a result, the scene in which the motel ceiling drips on Johnny’s head was, in essence, a great way to troll Eugene, who said of Dan, “He got a kick out of that one.” 15. Dan Levy almost had a meltdown after filming ended for the sixth and final season of Schitt’s Creek. “It was really, really hard,” he told GQ. “The last day of shooting was the most emotional day I think I’ve ever had in my life. I cried for, I want to say, five straight hours, to the point where I had a splitting headache and didn’t know what to do with my life. I wept when I took David’s shoes off. I will never wear those shoes again—nor do I want to—but I was very sad to take them off.” 16. Dan began writing the series with the end in mind, and he never intended for the show to go on forever. “I wish there was more story to tell, because I would love to do this forever—but respecting the characters and respecting the quality of the storytelling, it just felt like, ‘This is it,’” he told GQ. Levy says he actually planned to wrap the series in Season 5, but when the show got picked up for two more seasons, he says, “I thought, ‘Okay, well…now I can spend 28 episodes instead of 14 building the last couple chapters of this series.’ The minute I knew that was the minute I started writing to the end.” 17. Eugene Levy told Vanity Fairthat he’s game for almost anything, but he drew the line at what he felt was mocking mental health. When his character, Johnny, was in a scene in which he was so depressed that he was screaming off a cliff, Eugene refused to film it. He said simply, “There’s nothing truly innately funny about wallowing in depression.” 18. Annie Murphy watched reality TV to master Alexis’ vocal fry. Murphy admitted to Vulturethat mastering Alexis’ tone and accent wasn’t the easiest, and she still slips into it when she’s home, much to her husband’s chagrin. She tuned into reality TV to try to learn Alexis’ affectations, but it wasn’t a pleasant experience. “I couldn’t bring myself to watch full episodes of things, so I watched a lot of YouTube clips of certain reality shows about certain rich famous people,” she said. “I popped my eyelids open with toothpicks and watched and watched and watched. It’s a level of comedy where it’s so beautifully unnatural and I had to bring that fry to the character.” 19. Tarot cards predicted Dan Levy’s success. He says he’d always wanted to write, but never thought he’d be able to do so professionally. “Even when I was at MTV hosting—which I hated, it never felt comfortable—but it was a job, and I was going to do my best. In the back of my mind I’m thinking, ‘Writing is still not a thing that I would ever do for a living,’” he told Esquire. While he didn’t necessarily see his Schitt’s Creek success coming, his mother did: Levy recalled that his mother had her cards read three separate times and insisted that he’d have a successful writing career…eventually. 20. Catherine O’Hara modeled Moira’s accent after people she knew. Annie Murphy wouldn’t name names, but she did reveal to Vulture that O’Hara copped her signature breathy, low, slightly congested sound from friends of friends that she’d met at dinner parties through the years. 21. Eugene Levy has a favorite scene: The veteran actor told Vanity Fairthat he loves to croon, so one particular scene in Season 4 was a highlight for him. “I got a session with the Jazzagals, which was kind of great!” 22. Eugene Levy doesn’t give son Dan too much feedback—nor does he give him much help. Dan Levy recalled in Esquirethat his father, a prolific comedic character actor, didn’t want Dan to ride his coattails to stardom and even made him get a job at the Gap Kids when Dan turned 15 years old. Now that they work together, Eugene embraces it. “You don’t always get to spend this much time with your adult kids in any other profession. You see them maybe once a month? Every few weeks? So this is kind of neat. Cherish every moment because one day, it won’t be happening.” 23. Dan Levy and Annie Murphy are obsessed with Catherine O’Hara’s wigs. Murphy admitted to Vulturethat she and Levy “are drooling all the time” over O’Hara’s wigs for Moira…and that they maybe had a wig-off one or two times. 24. Moira’s revolving collection of wigs was O’Hara’s idea, according to Eugene Levy. 25. Dan Levy wrote the show in part because he had a hard time getting work acting anywhere else. He confessed to Esquirethat after leaving his hosting gig at MTV Canada, he had a hard time auditioning for projects—so he created his own, and Schitt’s Creek was born. “I think I’ve always been someone who has worked really hard at manifesting ideas, good and bad. Successful and, you know, not so,” he said. “If I’m terrible at auditioning, at least I can write something to my own strengths and try my best at whatever that is.” 26. Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy have known each other since the 1970s when they performed together in Toronto’s Second City improv troupe. O’Hara started out as a waitress before eventually replacing Gilda Radner—who dated O’Hara’s brother. 27. O’Hara admitted to The New Yorkerthat she, like Moira, always wears black and white when she travels, but that the monochromatic look appeals to her even more since she took the role. Playing Moira also inspired her to start wearing chunkier jewelry. As far as Moira’s excess goes, O’Hara says she based the style on Daphne Guinness. 28. Dan Levy originally conceived David Rose to be soft-spoken and to speak in a near-whisper. He told NPRthat it wasn’t until dad Eugene Levy explained that mics may not be able to pick up that type of voice easily that he adapted to the tone fans know and love today. 29. Annie Murphy helped Catherine O’Hara get dressed for the 2019 Emmys. “I had the great privilege of zipping Catherine O’Hara into her Emmys gown and helping her with her shoes,” Murphy told Refinery29. “Catherine being Catherine was like, ‘Get up. What are you doing down there? You’re in a gown. Don’t put my shoes on.’ I said, ‘please let me strap you into your shoes because it couldn’t be a greater honor for me.’ So, finally, she let me just do it, and then we professed our love for each other and took a selfie in the mirror. It was one of the greatest moments of my life.” 30. A minor league baseball team in Goodwood, Ontario, where Schitt’s Creek films, changed their name to the Schitt’s Creek Bears for an entire month in honor of the show. Can’t get enough Schitt’s Creek?Check out our interview with its creator and star Dan Levy and Everything You Need to Know for Schitt’s Creek Season 6.
