Schitt’s Creek - Beyond the sitcom
Culture
Art Source: https://www.reddit.com/user/513calltur/
The Emmy Sweep
In the 72nd Edition of the PrimeTime Emmy Awards this year, the Canadian sitcom Schitt’s Creek broke all records by becoming the first comedy to win all four main acting categories in one year and also the most awarded comedy series in a single year by bagging 9 out of its 15 nominations for its final season.
Schitt's Creek premiered on the Canadian network CBC in 2015. It garnered limited fandom in the initial seasons but became a global phenomena after Netflix took it over. Although its quirky storyline and whimsical characters are reasons enough to make it a success, its unique and fresh representation of the LGBTQ+ community set it apart and won hearts throughout the world.
Not a side story
The romantic relationship between David, who identifies as pansexual and Patrick, who is gay, when introduced in the later seasons of the series was not a parallel track but the main part of the narration. The sexual identity and the relationship was never the subject of any punchline. By letting the relationship be the core of the narration the show steer clear from any form of tokenism.
Normalise LGBTQ+ Relationships
Perhaps the best line of the show was when David talks about his sexuality and says “I like wine and not the label. Does that make sense?”. This simple yet powerful line was one of the many ways the show treated the topic of being a part of the LGBTQ+ community as the most natural thing ever. Throughout the show there is a non-reaction to David’s queerness focusing on how it is as natural as anything else about him.
Imagining a world without homophobia
The unique thing that the show does is imagining a world when nothing changes for the characters when they come out, helping us imagine a world where our sexual identity would never be questioned. This fresh perspective is different from the usual portrayal LGBTQ+ representation which focuses on their struggle and the tragedy of the community.
As the creator Dan Levy (who also plays David) claims that while they do not want to rainbow wash the marginalization or struggles faced by the community. Rather, they want a positive LGBTQ+ portrayal that shows what an affirming family would look like as opposed to a homophobic one which is mostly what we see in pop culture.
The love received
The GLAAD Media Award recognized the show twice. First in 2019 when Dan Levy won the Davidson/Valentini Award for making a significant difference in promoting equal rights for the LGBT community and in 2020 when the show won the best comedy series.
The creators were also invited to be grand marshals for the NYC Pride Parade.
More than 1800 mothers of LGBTQ+ kids from a facebook group “Serendipity Doo Dah” sent out a heartfelt note to the creators thanking them for the show’s hopeful message of acceptance.
The battle of acceptance still has a long way to go. Here shows like Schitt’s Creek, Atypical, Sex Education, Please Like Me, by normalizing the relationships helps us imagine a future where we will be free to identify as who we are. In a word that seems bleak right now, the show shines like a ray of hope.