It's always sad for fans when a beloved show comes to the end of its road, and the same has certainly been true for audiences who've enjoyed Pop TV's wackily sweet comedy, Schitt's Creek. The series was in Season 5 last year when co-creators, co-stars and father / son team Eugene and Dan Levy announced that Season 6 would be their last. But, we know now that showrunner Dan Levy had an idea from the start of just how things should wrap up for the oddball Rose family.
During the Television Critics Association winter press tour, CinemaBlend's own Nick Venable was in attendance when Dan and Eugene Levy, and their co-stars on Schitt's Creek, Annie Murphy and Catherine O’Hara, spoke about the show and its last season. When they were was asked if they stuck to a plan they already had in mind for the ending or came up with it as they went along, Dan Levy replied:
I mean, for the most part. I think, yeah. I always knew how I wanted the show to end, and getting there was, I think, where it was sort of unfolded over the course of six seasons, and I think we were given the option to have two seasons that we knew we were sort of guaranteed, 5 and 6. And once we had that guarantee, for me, it became sort of the mission of how do we tie up the story in 28 episodes, instead of 14, because originally, I thought maybe we’d just do five. Yeah. I mean, you know, it was more or less how I had pictured it. It surpassed all my expectations, just because we have such an extraordinary cast. I think when you’re working with people that are so deeply sort of embedded in their characters, storytelling comes out just in the day to day shoot experience of shooting a scene, but more or less, I would say 80 percent was how I sort of pictured it in my head, and then 20 percent was magic.
As a fan, when you hear one of your favorite shows is ending, it's always good to know two things. First of all, that the showrunner and writers knew they were going into the final season so that they had time to craft an ending that really honors the story and, if possible, the audience who've been watching all along. Secondly, it's also really good to hear that a vision for the end was already in place before said ending was a firm reality. According to what Dan Levy told the folks at TCA, both were the case with Schitt's Creek.
As Levy explained, what this means is that, over the previous five seasons, he's been able to guide the show and its characters to places in their lives that make the ending totally fitting. Nothing should seem like it's coming out of left field when we get to that very last episode, and that's a good thing.
Dan Levy also noted that the finale will, indeed, mostly stick to what he's envisioned for Schitt's Creek all along, with only about an 80/20 split between what he had already wanted to do and the "magic" that came up as he and his team were crafting the finale.
Dan Levy also spoke about the "extraordinary cast" and how "embedded" they are in their characters, and while that sounds very serious and maybe not like it would be the funniest thing to watch, it is certainly true about Schitt's Creek.
The series focuses on the Rose family, dad and former video rental magnate Johnny (Eugene Levy), former soap opera star and mom Moira (Catherine O'Hara) and their spoiled adult children Alexis (Annie Murphy) and David (Dan Levy). When all of the family's fortune is lost because of their business manager, the Roses lose everything and move to the tiny town, Schitt's Creek, that Johnny bought as a joke gift for David several decades prior.
Of course, as the series goes on we get to see the Roses come to terms with their new lot in life as they begin to make a new way for themselves while adjusting to the weird characters they find in this small town. One of the underlying questions the show has always held, though, is whether or not Johnny, Moira, David and Alexis, who have all strengthened connections with the town and the people in it, will eventually leave to try and reclaim their former, more fabulous lives, or stay put and settle into small town living.
While this question hasn't been a focus of Schitt's Creek since the first season, Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara believe that fans will be satisfied by how things turn out:
EUGENE LEVY: What is it? It’s kind of a, I think, the final season is just a natural culmination in how things naturally work themselves out, in terms of relationships and character growth, and it all kind of points to, I think, a very satisfying...CATHERINE O’HARA: Yes. And you do get the answers.
Good to know! While we will find out whether or not some (or all) of the Rose family stays in Schitt's Creek by the end (and the final season trailer certainly seems to promote that idea), Dan Levy noted that this plotline wasn't necessarily the biggest deal for him when thinking about the show.
I think I’ve always sort of approached it almost more philosophically. It’s about the opportunity to reset yourself. And I think we all sometimes get into habits and patterns and rhythms in our life where sometimes we just wish we could be taken to a small town and just given the freedom to reset.
Well, Schitt's Creek viewers can attest to the fact that, in many ways, the Roses have done a lot to reset during their time in the town. The only question we need to have answered now, is whether or not they take their new attitudes and settle somewhere else. We'll just have to wait and see.
We don't have long to get the answers to all of our burning Schitt's Creek questions, either, as the 14-episode sixth and final season is airing right now. For more on what you can watch in the coming weeks, check out our 2020 winter / spring premiere guide and Netflix premiere schedule!
