Conception Dan Levy came up with the idea for the show while watching reality television. "I had been watching some reality TV at the time and was concentrating on what would happen if one of these wealthy families would lose everything. Would the Kardashians still be the Kardashians without their money?" He turned to his father Eugene to help develop the show, who came up with the series title. Dan decided to make the location of Schitt's Creek vague, but has said that it is in Canada. The premise of being forced to move to a town they once bought as a joke was inspired by actress
Kim Basinger's $20 million purchase of the town of
Braselton, Georgia, in 1989. Eugene Levy said, "My wife had an idea for a television show about
boomers not having money or moving in with their kids. Their situation was described as being up sh–'s creek . It just made us laugh. Then my son Daniel came in with an article one day about an actress,
Alec Baldwin's ex-wife (Basinger), who bought a town. She was hoping that film people would come to the town to use it as a location area and she lost a lot of money. The idea of wealthy people buying a town went back to the ''Schitt's Creek'' idea." The Levys initially pitched the show to several networks in Canada and the United States. Cable networks
HBO and
Showtime passed on the series, while a broadcast network in America and the
CBC in Canada expressed interest. The show was first sold to the CBC, but the Levys decided against major U.S. broadcasters after getting nervous about their reputation for creative interference. ''Schitt's Creek'' eventually found a U.S. home on Pop TV after striking a deal with network head Brad Schwartz, who had previously hired Dan on
MTV Canada. Dan Levy initially envisioned the series ending with season five, but agreed to a sixth season after receiving a two-year renewal following the show's fourth season.
Casting Catherine O'Hara was the series creators' first choice for the role of eccentric family matriarch, Moira Rose. O'Hara had previously worked with Eugene Levy on
SCTV and several of
Christopher Guest's films. She initially turned down Levy's offer to star, citing "laziness" and an aversion to long-term projects. Levy reached out to another (unnamed) actress, but continued to court O'Hara for the role. O'Hara eventually agreed to participate in the presentation pilot with no obligation to continue in the role after ''Schitt's Creek'' was ordered to series. After the show was picked up by the CBC, O'Hara agreed to continue in the role.
Annie Murphy was offered the role of spoiled socialite Alexis Rose after actress
Abby Elliott was unable to continue due to scheduling conflicts. Murphy was on the verge of giving up on acting since she had not worked in over two years when she got an email inviting her to audition for the role. She first auditioned in Los Angeles, where Dan Levy said she stood out due to her "wonderfully natural likability." Eugene Levy was unsure of Murphy's casting because she did not possess the blonde hair he had pictured for the role of Alexis. Murphy was subsequently called back for a second audition for a different role, sarcastic motel clerk Stevie Budd. After this audition, Dan Levy convinced his father that Murphy could dye her hair blonde, and she was officially cast as Alexis Rose.
Noah Reid was offered the role of David's business partner and love interest, Patrick Brewer, in season three. Dan Levy was socially familiar with Reid and invited him to audition on the suggestion of
Stacey Farber. Reid had never watched the show before he auditioned and was unsure how long the character would be a part of the series. Dan Levy was not present during the audition process and did not "chemistry test" with Reid before he was cast. Sarah Levy, the daughter of Eugene and sister of Dan, was asked to be a part of the show before it was fully developed. She says she was glad not to be cast as Alexis, as being out of her family's orbit on the show allowed her to "do [her] own thing."
Production ''Schitt's Creek'' is produced by Not a Real Company Productions in association with the CBC and Pop TV.
ITV Studios Global Entertainment also partnered with the CBC and Pop to distribute the show worldwide. Eugene Levy, Dan Levy, Fred Levy (Eugene's brother), Andrew Barnsley, and Ben Feigin have served as
executive producers throughout the show's entirety. Eugene Levy served as
showrunner alongside co-creator and son, Dan Levy, during the series' first season; Dan Levy took over as sole showrunner beginning in season two. ''Schitt's Creek'' was part of a "new direction" in programming taken by both the CBC and Pop TV during the 2014–15 television season. Premiering alongside 12 new primetime shows on the CBC, the series represented one of the network's efforts to produce more "serialized, scripted" content, as well as more "cable-like" shows. The series was also the first original, scripted program to air on Pop TV after its re-branding in January 2015. Formerly known as
TV Guide Network, Pop TV was re-branded as a channel "filled with optimism, passion, fun and excitement".
Filming style and locations ''Schitt's Creek'' was filmed using a
single camera set-up with no live audience or
laugh track. The interior scenes for the first two seasons were filmed at
Pinewood Toronto Studios in the
Port Lands area of Toronto, Interior scenes were also filmed at Revival Studios in (
Leslieville) Toronto for an unknown number of seasons. The remainder of the series is filmed on location in
Goodwood, the
Regional Municipality of Durham in the
Greater Toronto Area,
Brantford and
Mono, where the motel scenes are filmed. Goodwood was one of 30 towns scouted for the fictional location of Schitt's Creek before production of the series began in 2014.
The Canadian Press wrote June 27, 2019, that Goodwood had become a "tourist hot spot" as filming for the current season concluded. The series was filmed in several additional locations during its run. The opening shot of the first season features
Lisa Vanderpump’s former
Beverly Park estate in
Los Angeles as the facade of the Rose family estate. Interior shots of the Rose family estate were filmed on location in a
Sistine Chapel-inspired mansion in Toronto (30 Fifeshire Road near Bayview Avenue and York Mills Road). In the season four episode "
The Jazzaguy," scenes involving a spa retreat were filmed on location at Monte Carlo Inn in
Vaughan, Ontario. Exterior filming also took place at
Rattlesnake Point in
Milton for season five's "
The Hike". In season six's "
Smoke Signals", the series shot on location at Graydon Hall Manor, a wedding venue in Toronto. The series also filmed in
Bay-Adelaide Centre and
Toronto-Dominion Centre for the season six episode "
The Pitch". The former Hockley Motel in Mono, where the exterior shots of the Rosebud Motel were filmed, was marketed for sale by its owners in November 2020.
Music The ''Schitt's Creek'' soundtrack is composed by Canadian film and television composer/songwriter
Maribeth Solomon. The show features several musical performances from its main and supporting characters. The majority of these performances feature the town singing group, the Jazzagals. The Jazzagals' main members are Moira Rose, Jocelyn Schitt, Twyla Sands, Ronnie Lee, and Gwen Currie. Throughout the series, they covered "
It's Raining Men"; "
Baby, I'm Yours"; "Takin' It Home"; "
Silent Night"; and "
Islands in the Stream". In season one's "
Carl's Funeral", Moira sings an unaccompanied version of "
Danny Boy" as a distraction when Johnny's eulogy goes awry. She performs the same song a second time later in the episode. In season four's "
Asbestos Fest", David and Moira perform a duet known as "The Number". This medley of holiday songs was regularly performed at the annual Rose Christmas party and included "
Oh Come, All Ye Faithful", "
Deck the Halls", and "
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". The song was arranged by Moira's portrayer, Catherine O’Hara. In season four's "
Open Mic", Patrick sings an acoustic cover of
Tina Turner's "
The Best" as a declaration of love to David. The song was arranged and performed by Patrick's portrayer, Noah Reid. After airing on ''Schitt's Creek'', Reid's version of the song was released on
Spotify and
iTunes, where it reached No. 1 on the Canadian charts. All proceeds from the single were donated to the Ontario charity, LGBT Youth Line. In season five's "
The Hospies", Alexis auditions for a community theatre production by singing "
A Little Bit Alexis", the theme song from her "critically reviewed, limited reality series" of the same name. Alexis's portrayer, Annie Murphy, who wrote and performed the song for the show, says she drew inspiration from the pop songs of
Paris Hilton and
Lindsay Lohan. Menno Versteeg and Nixon Boyd of the Canadian band
Hollerado also helped produce the song. "A Little Bit Alexis" was released as a single on Spotify and iTunes, where it reached No. 28 on the Canadian charts. Partial proceeds from the single were donated to
MusiCounts, a Canadian organization providing music resources to schools in need. In season five's "
Life Is a Cabaret", several main characters perform "
Willkommen" from the musical
Cabaret. Stevie also sings a second number, "
Maybe This Time", as her
Cabaret character,
Sally Bowles, in the same episode. Both songs were performed in front of a live audience during filming. In season six's "
Happy Ending", the series finale, the Jazzagals sing a cappella versions of
James Morrison's "Precious Love" and
Tina Turner's "
The Best" at David and Patrick's wedding. Noah Reid's Patrick also sings a portion of
Mariah Carey's "
Always Be My Baby" as part of his wedding vows to David in the same episode. ==Broadcast==