Explaining Schitt's Creek's meteoric rise is difficult. Over five seasons, Dan Levy has helmed this world full of absurd characters and musical moments and memeable scenes, and it grew into something bigger than even he realized. As the season enters its sixth and final season this week, Schitt's Creek has become the perfect form of escapism for this era of television: a perfect world devoid of prejudice that has become the internet's favorite binge watch as of late. That's partly due to a near-perfectly timed Netflix drop. The streamer released three past seasons just in time for the Season Four premiere. From there, it just blew up.
But a lot of shows get that same treatment without ever ascending to the point Schitt's Creek has. That could be due to a great cast or good writing, but more than that, Schitt's Creek gets at something strangely familiar. Five years ago, the bougie Rose family landed in a podunk town and moved into a motel, and the series seemingly functions under the premise that they'd do anything to get out. But as the finale nears, the Roses are more adjusted than they've been in years. The only person who needs out of is the one character who was always bigger than the town that raised her. Schitt's Creek has always been about Stevie Budd, the flannel-wearing receptionist-turned-motel owner.
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The purpose of Stevie's journey has never been more obvious than in the Season Five finale, "Life is a Cabaret." Playing the lead role of Sally Bowles in the Schitt's Creek town production of Cabaret, I had to take a minute to remember that Stevie (Emily Hampshire) used to be the curt, socially aloof, sharp-tongued receptionist who seemingly existed to make puns and be a foil to new resident David (Daniel Levy). But slowly over the course of five years, Stevie's journey has quietly become the most compelling arc on the show. Among a cast of characters who needed a dose of humility, Stevie was the opposite, steadily amassing the self-confidence that her character so desperately needed. In a town of people who all lacked competence, it was always Stevie who managed to be the smart person in the room, whether she realized it or not.
Heading into the final season, Stevie is the last remaining character who deserves that final evolution. Over five seasons, we've seen David open a business and find love, coming to care about something more than himself. Alexis has gained a sense of independence, earning her GED, going to community college, and starting her own business. After the failure of Rose Video, Johnny has learned how to relinquish a bit of control, and Moira... Well, Moira is still Moira. But she's also learning how to navigate this part of her life, post-fame and fortune. That leaves Stevie: the most relatable of the main cast, and yet, the last one to leave the nest.
That's always been the allure of Stevie. You want her to finally get that moment of self-realization. Amid the chaotic fantasia of Moira Rose and the self-importance of the Rose children, Stevie always offered a humble foundation. A legacy resident whose family had been around Schitt's Creek for generations, this town is all she had known her whole life. The motel she works at, though initially a bit dilapidated, wouldn't have stayed afloat without Stevie. But instead of leaning into that authority, Stevie just kind of... existed in this place, never considering the possibility that she could go elsewhere. But the series has been priming her for a move for a while now. Early in Season Three after Stevie's aunt died, she is surprisingly bequeathed the Schitt's Creek motel. Owning that motel was the first time that Stevie considered what her future might look like and whether she should tether herself to a town she might have outgrown.
As the series moved on, Stevie stepped squarely into the role of turning the motel around. The better she did with her duties, the farther she moved from Schitt's Creek. Business took her to obligations outside the parameters of her small hometown. A visiting hotel reviewer briefly became her love interest, and while Stevie had flings in the past, this long-distance relationship represented something more profound for her character. All of this spelled out a thesis to Stevie: you're worth it. That's a universal kind of feeling—the moment you realize that you deserve all the good things surrounding you. It might have taken five years, but the sweetest payoff of Schitt's Creek is not just watching Stevie come into her own, but subsequently realize that she might be capable of even more.
In "Life is a Cabaret," Stevie is still doubting her place in this world, confounded by the news of her best friend, David's engagement. Mid-act of Cabaret, she looks at Moira (who is almost always resplendently absurd) and candidly says, "It's just... I wish I wasn't watching it all happen from behind the desk. It feels like everyone's growing up all around me." In a rare, sober moment, Moira (Catherine O'Hara) launches into a speech about leaning into "the pain" for the performance. When Stevie asks Moira if she's talking about her character or herself, she says:
Sally, of course. You I'm not worried about. What the hell is your secret, Stevie? You just stand your solid ground, refusing to be anything but you. Never thought I'd say this about anybody in this town, but you—you're very, very cool. Whether you set sail or stay put, that's never going to change.In its final season, I hope Schitt's Creek allows Stevie to flourish in an even bigger way than she did in the last finale. The sweetest part of the series has always been the inside jokes and over the top humor, but the most satisfying moments are the ones where its viewers have been able to see themselves in the characters. No one has been a better mirror than Stevie, and the series has slowly been building up to her big finish. While the rest of these characters may have found what they were searching for within the bounds of Schitt's Creek, it feels inevitable that Stevie's next chapter is elsewhere because that's what Schitt's Creek is about: finding the best in yourself and applying it to the next stage of life.
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