The TV Column

Canadian sitcom fills in gaps for non-Olympians

Schitt’s Creek on the Pop cable channel stars Eugene Levy (left) and Chris Elliott. The comedy airs at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Schitt’s Creek on the Pop cable channel stars Eugene Levy (left) and Chris Elliott. The comedy airs at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

While the Olympics are crowding out new episodes of many favorite shows, I decided to go exploring way up the dial (do we still say dial in the digital age?) and rediscovered the Canadian sitcom Schitt's Creek on Pop. A new episode airs at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Yeah, ignore the title's lame, sophomoric play on words, this half-hour, single-camera scripted comedy stars several old favorites and might surprise you if you enjoy offbeat stuff.

First of all, what is Pop? You'll be forgiven if you are unfamiliar. Pop is a basic cable general entertainment channel available in almost 74 million households. The joint venture between CBS Corporation and Lionsgate began life in 1981 as Prevue Channel and contained only local listings. In 1998, that morphed into TV Guide Channel, then TV Guide Network, then TVGN in 2009.

In 2015 TVGN dropped the listings, re-branded the channel Pop and began airing reruns and movies, along with some original programs such as Schitt's Creek.

Veteran actor Eugene Levy, best known for SCTV and all eight American Pie movies (as well as his caterpillar eyebrows) co-created Schitt's Creek with his son, Dan.

In the comedy, Levy portrays obscenely wealthy video-store magnate Johnny Rose. He and his former soap-star wife, Moira (Catherine O'Hara, SCTV, Best in Show), find themselves suddenly penniless (it was a tax thing) and move to the small backwoods burg of Schitt's Creek, a town they had bought as a joke for their son's 16th birthday.

Coming with them are their adult children -- art gallery owner David (Dan Levy, Admission), and career socialite Alexis (Annie Murphy, Rookie Blue).

Thus begins a fish-out-of-water tale with the Roses fondly remembering their erstwhile pampered lifestyle while dealing with a gaggle of colorful locals. They include Mayor Roland Schitt (Chris Elliott) and the town's only waitress, Twyla Sands, played by Eugene's daughter, Sarah Levy.

At its core, the comedy is a story about family and relationships. Think of it as a sort of show about the Kardashians if they lost all their money and moved to Hooterville and shopped at Drucker's Store instead of along Rodeo Drive. Would they still be the Kardashians? Somehow I think they'd all kill one another before long.

Schitt's Creek is in Season 4 with the Roses trying to make the most of their new lives despite Moira's incessant whining about escaping.

Johnny is running the local motel with his partner Stevie (Emily Hampshire). Business is just fine, but Johnny is trying to balance work and family while dealing with Roland.

Moira is looking for ways to use her acting talents and helping Alexis with event planning. David is managing his gallery and giving romance another shot despite a lack of success in the past.

In Wednesday's episode, "RIP Moira Rose," Moira is at first horrified to read online rumors of her death, but once she reads the heartfelt condolences, she starts to relish it.

Meanwhile, Roland asks Johnny to be his child's godfather and Johnny searches for a way to politely decline.

Trivia: For those (like me) who wonder about these sort of things, all the exteriors of Schitt's Creek are filmed in Goodwood, Ontario, Canada.

If you check out the show and like it, the first three seasons are available on Netflix.

Want more? If you enjoy the offbeat humor of Schitt's Creek, stick around for another original comedy, Let's Get Physical, which follows at 7:30 p.m.

The sitcom is also an ensemble comedy which "captures the zeitgeist of 1980s aerobics." At the center of the sitcom is slacker Joe Force (Matt Jones, Mom, Breaking Bad), who makes a reluctant comeback in the fitness industry after his dad, the "Godfather of Aerobics," unexpectedly passes away and wills Joe the shabby family gym.

Naturally, there are some "eccentric provisions attached" before Joe can get his fortune and estate. Hilarity ensues.

The lovely and talented Jane Seymour (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) plays Joe's mom, Janet. Once widowed, she takes over the family business in order to keep up the legacy.

Once Joe returns home, he has to deal with his arch nemesis, Barry Cross (Chris Diamantopoulos, The Starter Wife), and his teenage love, Claudia (AnnaLynne McCord, 90210), who is now Barry's wife.

The Amazing Race. Finale warning: Season 30 crowns a winning team at 8 p.m. Wednesday on CBS. For the final stretch (Leg 12), the contestants will race from Hong Kong to the finish line in San Francisco.

The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:

mstorey@arkansasonline.com

Style on 02/20/2018

Upcoming Events