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I started viewing Schitt’s Creek a couple of years ago after a previous roommate (who was Canadian, like the show) recommended it. So, without any high expectations, I dove into the two seasons available on Netflix—and I don’t think I’ve ever burned through so many episodes so quickly in my life! The premise was perhaps familiar—an out-of-touch rich family loses everything and starts over in a humble small town—but with its amazingly specific, quirky characters, sharply funny dialogue, and underlying warmth, I could see how exceptional the show was, and it quickly became a favorite of mine to watch and rewatch over and over again.
But more than its entertainment value, Schitt’s Creek does a wonderful job of conveying positive messages about fluid identities. David Rose, the acerbically witty and boldly stylish son of the family (who has partially inspired my own clothing tastes), is revealed to be pansexual in season one and has experienced a number of sexual and romantic events throughout the show, such as sleeping with his best female friend Stevie, dating the same man as Stevie, and presently exploring a relationship with his business partner Patrick. All of the main characters are written with full, layered development, but this is particularly evident with David, who is hilarious in personality, has inspiring professional endeavors, and is thriving (if messily) as a sexually-fluid person.
Beyond this mere representation, the show’s portrayal of queer identities feels groundbreaking in its quiet normalization. While LGBTQ+ representation in media has become more positive over the years, many historical depictions have given the idea of queerness a lot of stress, often bringing it about as a large shock or revelation that needs to be addressed and debated. But on Schitt’s Creek, sexuality is but one facet of a person, as equal as any other part, and it is not treated as a problem or something that needs regular mention. One may have expected particularly more fanfare around pansexuality, a part of the spectrum so rarely represented; but, in truth, the word “pansexual” has only been uttered once on the series (when David’s orientation is disclosed). Instead of addressing this topic with argument or scrutiny, the writers simply allow David and the other queer characters to simply live through their identities, letting the idea of non-heteronormative lifestyles to be seamlessly integrated within the show’s world.
And this idealistic depiction was a purposeful choice: Dan Levy, co-creator of Schitt’s Creek and portrayer of David, has asserted that he will never incorporate bigotry or intolerance into the narrative and will instead always illustrate queer people existing as normally as anyone else. As he stated in an interview with People, “If you talk about it, you’re giving it weight. If you can just show people how life should be, then they can’t help but open themselves up to it.” Besides definitely supporting this viewpoint—it is refreshing to see a queer story that does not involve homophobia or repression—I found myself relating to those words dearly, as I’ve come to realize that I choose to live by a similar philosophy. I don’t discuss my asexuality because I consider it a nonentity, and I hope for a future in which sexual orientation becomes a nonissue and sex and romance in general are not so heavily emphasized by society. The principle also applies to my feelings about gendered clothes: when we continue to categorize fashion as women’s and men’s, it just gives more weight to the harmful and reductive gender binary, and I wish to work towards a world in which the deterministic, automatic power of gender is no more.
I have recently seen many enlightening pieces regarding Schitt’s Creek and its currently-airing fifth season, and I couldn’t be happier that the series has grown so immensely in popularity since its premiere in 2015. Outside of simply being an extremely welcome piece of entertaining and well-written escapism, its novel approach of celebrating same-sex relations and fluidity is, I believe, a necessary step towards normalizing queer identities in reality and one that more shows, films, and other items of media should take. Cultural transformation does not happen quickly, but through innovative series like Schitt’s Creek and hopefully more fearless successors to come, the beginnings of change can start now.