Season 1, Episode 1
Our Cup Runneth Over
The doorbell rings at the opulent Rose mansion, and a servant answers the door to find officers from the department revenue. The Rose family - Johnny, Moira, David and Alexis - watches as their possessions are seized, each trying desperately to cling to various items. Their business manager has taken everything, but the government is going to allow them to retain the town of Schitt’s Creek, a small town Johnny bought for David as a joke. Their lawyer suggests they could live there until they get back on their feet. The other option he offers is homelessness.
The Roses arrive at the town’s motel via bus and unpack their many suitcases while Alexis complains about the trip to her boyfriend over mobile phone. Mayor Roland Schitt, looking more like a handyman than a mayor, introduces himself and offers to help them get settled. Stevie, the motel clerk, finds no reservations for them, but Roland says to book the family into two rooms. They ask for three rooms, to which Roland says no and says two rooms is generous.
Roland takes the family to their run-down rooms, reminiscing about the sex he had at the motel as a teenager. Alexis stays on the phone with her boyfriend as David inspects their room. Roland sits down and watches tv, as Johnny hints that he should leave.
David goes to the front desk and asks for an extra towel and inquires if they have a business center. Stevie deadpans that it’s right next to the Hamam Spa. Johnny again hints that Roland should leave, and Roland asks to use their toilet. He shuts the door behind him.
David and Alexis bicker over who gets the bed furthest from the door, and Alexis says he can have it when she leaves with her boyfriend of three months, Stavros. Johnny continues to hint that Roland should leave before finally yelling at him to “get the f*ck out.” Johnny quickly apologizes, but a clearly offended Roland leaves.
The family goes to eat at Cafe Tropical, and Alexis keeps praising the town to her family’s chagrin. She finally admits Stavros is flying in to get her, which angers the rest of her family. The waitress, Twyla, arrives to give them menus and says she’s read about them. She says what they have been through is super crappy. She tells the story of a cousin who ran an illegal telemarketing business and went to prison. Alexis and David bicker as they peruse the giant menus.
The family arrives back at the motel to discover the doors of the rooms have been removed. Johnny goes to complain to Stevie, and she tells him to take it up with Roland. Meanwhile, Moira screams because she can’t find her diamond earrings. She continues to shriek.
Johnny walks to Roland’s house. Johnny confronts Roland about the doors, and Roland admits he looks them and accepts an apology that Johnny insists he didn’t give. Moira asks Stevie about her earrings, accusing her of taking them. This clearly offends Stevie. Moira tells David, who is worried that he won’t get his towel. He finds Stevie and apologizes but also worries she’s going to take it out on the whole family. They banter, and she agrees to get him a towel.
Johnny returns and tells Moira he hid her diamonds in her shoe. Alexis cries that Stavros isn’t coming because he is going to Diddy’s White Party. Johnny says he never liked him, and David asks if she still thinks the motel is cute. Later that night, Alexis weeps and talks about all the lousy things Stavros did to her. David tells her to never repeat any of it to anyone she respects. Johnny and Moira come in to wish them goodnight. Johnny tries to stay positive, but the rest of them have none of it. They say goodnight, and Moira says she hopes they all won’t wake up.
Schitt's Creek Snarker of the Week: Moira Rose
Tropes That Appear In This Episode:
- Aloof Darkhaired Girl: Stevie Budd is this and remains this for most of the series, even as she gets closer to David and the Roses.
- Ambiguously Jewish: The Roses come off as this.
- Absurd Phobia: Johnny tells Roland his son is afraid of moths.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Johnny is remarkably calm until he loses his temper with Roland.
- Big Fancy House: The Roses frantically pack their clothes as the revenue agents swarm their gorgeous mansion.
- Call-Back: The fact that David and Stevie meet when he asks for a towel is the subject of a poignant call-back in the Season 5 Season Finale.
- Conspicuous Consumption: Johnny defends buying the town for the deed as a joke, insisting that it wouldn’t be as good if they didn’t actually have the real deed.
- The Dandy: David is dressed to the nines in Rick Owens, and he claims he can't help his father with the doors because his hair is air drying. His desire for an extra towel is a major plot point.
- Deadpan Snarker: Stevie, Moira, and David get quite a few moments of snark.
- Establishing Character Moment
- Johnny is gathering his suits and decrying the business manager he trusted.
- Moira wails and doesn’t want wigs that don’t like each other packed together.
- David snarks on the revenue agents and demands they answer his questions.
- Alexis chatters on the phone to an unseen boyfriend she hopes will save her.
- Roland is crude and obnoxious, yet craves Johnny’s attention immediately.
- Stevie speaks in her deadpan monotone, snarking the truth at the Roses.
- Twyla tells the story of her jailbird uncle.
- The Fashionista: Moira, David and Alexis are all decked out in designer clothes.
- From New York to Nowhere: While it is unclear where the Rose mansion is located, Schitt's Creek is a major step down.
- Local Hangout: The Roses make their first visit to Cafe Tropical, which will become their local hangout.
- Lots of Luggage: The Roses’ luggage takes up most of the bus’s cargo area.
- Mayor Pain: Roland seems to delight in making Johnny and the other Roses miserable.
- Riches to Rags: The complicating incident that kicks off the action.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Even without his tie and jacket, Johnny looks out of place in his expensive suit.
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky: David continues to be this through the whole series, when he's not crippled by his own insecurities.
