Dan Levy Reveals How ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Got Its Name

While the name Schitt’s Creek may seem like an odd title for a show that focuses on family, love, and acceptance, it is actually a perfect fit.

Screen Rant recently discovered that the name for the show and its fictional town came from a real-life conversation co-creator and star Eugene Levy had with some friends.

In the Schitt’s Creek behind-the-scenes book Best Wishes, Warmest Regards, Levy’s son Dan, who also plays the iconic character of David Rose, revealed that the name came about when Eugene and his friends were mocking a hypothetical town in which local shops like “Schitt Hardware” would openly feature the profanity-laden name. While it began as a pun to mock small-town sentimentality, the father-son duo later realized this was the exact message Schitt’s Creek would need to avoid.

Instead, those who mock Schitt’s Creek are the villains, and the Roses’ change of heart toward loving the town is secured once they embrace the name. This exact moment was written into the second season, parodying Eugene’s real-life dinner by underscoring how wrong he and his friends were to mock it.

In the particular episode, Johnny and Moira Rose are having dinner with some of their old, wealthy friends when Roland and Jocelyn Schitt show up to join them. The Roses’ old friends know that they lost their fortune, but don’t know the details of their current living conditions. At first, the old friends are mercilessly mocking “Schittsville,” a small community they passed on the way to the restaurant, but by the end of dinner, Johnny has had enough.

“And that town you passed through?” Johnny says, “It’s not called Schittsville. It’s called Schitt’s Creek, and it’s where we live.”

Dan made it clear that using Schitt’s Creek as the title was a powerful way to “celebrate small towns” and make them as intelligent and legitimate as big cities, acknowledging that they aren’t oblivious to the jokes of the town name. To further this distinction, he explained they made a conscious decision to not use the word “shit” in the series as an expletive in order to avoid more jokes at the town’s expense.

For more great behind-the-scenes info, check out Best Wishes, Warm Regards, which is in bookstores now. All six seasons of Schitt’s Creek are available to stream on Netflix.

Photos Courtesy of Schitt’s Creek Social Media