Schitt's Creek

Schitt's Creek (stylized as Schitt$ Creek) is a Canadian television sitcom created by father and son Eugene and Dan Levy that aired on CBC Television from January 13, 2015, to April 7, 2020, an is currently streamable from Netflix. The series follows the formerly wealthy Rose family's trials and tribulations. After Rose's business manager embezzles the family business, Rose Video, the family loses its fortune and relocates to Schitt's Creek, a small town they once purchased as a joke. Now living in a motel, Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy) and Moira Rose (Catherine O'Hara)—along with their adult children, David (Dan Levy) and Alexis (Annie Murphy)—must adjust to life without money and with each other.

Plot
The wealthy Rose family—video store magnate Johnny (Eugene Levy), his wife and former soap opera actress Moira (Catherine O'Hara), and their pampered adult children David (Dan Levy) and Alexis (Annie Murphy)—lose their fortune after being defrauded by their business manager. They rebuild their lives with their sole remaining asset: a small town named Schitt's Creek, which Johnny bought for David as a joke birthday gift in 1991. The Roses relocate to Schitt's Creek, moving into two adjacent rooms in a run-down motel. While the family adjusts to their new lives, their well-to-do attitudes come into conflict with the more provincial residents of Schitt's Creek, including mayor Roland Schitt (Chris Elliott), his wife Jocelyn (Jenn Robertson), the motel's manager Stevie Budd (Emily Hampshire), town doctor Ted (Dustin Milligan), town council elects Ronnie (Karen Robinson), Ray (Rizwan Manji), and Bob (John Hemphill), waitress and aspiring singer Twyla Sands (Sarah Levy), and - later on - David's boyfriend Patrick (Noah Reid).

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The concept - a rich family having to move to a small, poor town after losing all their money - is extremely original and entertaining.
 * 2) Very good character development as the season goes on: thanks to their time in Schitt's Creek, Johnny learns to be more decisive for himself and his family, Moira learns to care more for others, David learns to be more confident, and Alexis learns to work hard. What moving to Schitt's Creek gave them was opportunities for different facets of their personalities (that were always there) to come to the forefront. David and Alexis always had the potential to be really caring and driven people, and they got the chance to do that here.
 * 3) A large variety of good characters, including David, Alexis, Patrick, Johnny, Moira, and Stevie.
 * 4) Some great and original humor that launched iconic moments, images, and catchphrases, including Moira and David cooking, Alexis trying to sing, Moira's wine commercial, and Johnny changing the town sign.
 * 5) The show gave mainstream attention to fairly unknown actors, including Dan Levy, Annie Murphy, Dustin Milligan, and Noah Reid, alongside giving international fame to Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara.
 * 6) The theme song is catchy and really sets the tone for the show due to its comical nature.
 * 7) The portrayal of David and Patrick's relationship is very healthy and a positive representation overall.
 * 8) "Life is a Cabaret," the musical episode, is one of the funniest episodes in the show and takes it in a new direction.
 * 9) The dialogue is very well-written and makes the show more fun to watch.
 * 10) The season finale, "Happy Ending," is very touching and provides viewers with a very satisfactory ending, especially seeing David and Patrick get married and Moira fully redeem herself.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The show can be mean-spirited at times, particularly in the early season (Moira is to blame, mostly).
 * 2) Some characters are not as likable due to being annoying or mean people, including Roland and Ray.
 * 3) A few early episodes, including "Allez-Vous," "Finding David," and "Estate Sale," are rough, mean-spirited, and not as fun to watch. "Finding David" in particular has an edgy tone that doesn't suit the show well.
 * 4) Some continuity errors in later seasons (the grade(s) and subject(s) Jocelyn teaches, Alexis' ex-boyfriends' origins, etc.)

Triva

 * 1) The show was originally going to be broadcast on MTV Canada before that branch of MTV ceased to exist, leading to CBC (available in the U.S. as well) broadcasting it instead.
 * 2) Abby Elliott was originally intended to play Alexis, and did so in an unaired pilot, but had to leave the show due to scheduling conflicts.
 * 3) She is the daughter of Chris Elliott (Roland's actor).
 * 4) The show's initial concept is based on actress Kim Basinger buying a small town in Georgia in 1989.
 * 5) A real-life version of the motel from the show opened up in Seattle in late 2020.