Although there’s been a growing desire for a Schitt’s Creek prequel focusing on Alexis Rose’s teenage years since the season 6 finale, such a series would ultimately be detrimental to the characters. Schitt’s Creek’s finale bid farewell to the beloved Rose family and their friends and neighbors, but the demand for spinoffs, movies, or sequels hasn’t ceased. Given the outlandish history of the Rose family frequently alluded to throughout the series, as well as the finale setting up exciting futures for each character, there seems to be plenty more story for co-creator Dan Levy to tell.
Following the series finale, the idea of a potential movie floated around, but David Rose actor Dan Levy said it would take a premise too good to pass up for him to return to the characters. Nonetheless, the wishes for a spinoff or movie have been growing, with one of the most popular ideas being a prequel series about the misadventures of Annie Murphy’s character, Alexis Rose. Each Rose family member had their quirks related to the past, often used by the show to demonstrate how much they’d grown. Alexis’ quirk was constantly telling wild, presumably true stories from her young adult years—from being held hostage in a Thai drug lord’s car to dating numerous celebrities. Alexis’ unrestricted youth became more concerning with every story she told.
While the story arcs of every Schitt’s Creek character wrapped up nicely in the series finale, there were still different adventures the series could have launched afterward. However, an Alexis Rose prequel about the misadventures of her youth wouldn’t be as captivating as it seems at first glance. Instead, a Schitt’s Creek Alexis prequel would contradict the entire point of the original series with no emotional or developmental payoff.
The desire for an Alexis Rose spinoff prequel series truly began after she auditioned for the Cabaret musical in season 5. When Alexis auditioned, she sang the theme song to her brief reality TV series, A Little Bit Alexis, which was a hilarious bit perfect for the character and led many to wonder what this reality show would have actually looked like. The abundance of jaw-dropping stories that Alexis tells about her adventures as a teenager and young adult could fill different episodes of a series by themselves, made more bizarre when realizing that her family had little to no idea that she experienced any of these events. Schitt’s Creek also featured an episode where a few of her friends from her rich past passed through town, with many believing that these girls would make perfect characters alongside Alexis in a prequel series. However, while Alexis’ stories are fantastical and fans demand to see them on screen, putting this era of her life into a series wouldn’t be as fun as it sounds.
The stories of Alexis’ youth are one of the best running gags in Schitt’s Creek, but they wouldn’t make for a successful prequel series. For starters, the Rose family that audiences came to know and love wouldn’t be the same characters during this time frame – they barely knew each other as people, let alone as a family. The charm of Schitt’s Creek lies in seeing a family become a family when the “kids,” David and Alexis, are in their 30s. The Rose family would be nonexistent during an Alexis prequel. Perhaps there could be a David cameo where he sends Alexis money or tries to help her while he’s at home worried sick, but, ultimately, a Schitt’s Creek prequel series would be sad.
Not only would Johnny, Moira, and David be strangers to Alexis during a prequel series, but she would also be making the terrible personal mistakes that she spends all of Schitt’s Creek learning from. Alexis would have no personal growth during a prequel, as all of this development takes place over the course of Schitt’s Creek’s six seasons. The humility and self-love that Alexis learns would be entirely absent in a series about her youth. Instead, each misadventure or poor decision with men that she makes would just leave audience members screaming at their TVs that she has a great life waiting for her once the Roses lose their money and move to Schitt’s Creek. Since the Roses demonstrate that money can’t buy happiness, a prequel series would simply explore the sadness of their lives before they learned to be a family. This would make for a series with no emotional payoff for its main character, even if it presented the opportunity to see a few of Alexis’ hilarious global misadventures or dates with celebrities.
Schitt’s Creek already showed what a prequel series would look like during the season 4 episode “Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose.” The episode featured flashbacks to the Roses’ extravagant Christmas parties back in their old mansion, filled with luxury suits, champagne, piano performances by Paul Shaffer, and a variety of their wealthy acquaintances. While Moira looked back on them fondly, Johnny viewed them with sadness, realizing they meant nothing
aside from flaunting their wealth. At the end of the night, Johnny would be left standing alone while Moira took her sleeping pills and went upstairs, with Alexis and David having already left long before without saying goodbye.
The Schitt’s Creek Christmas flashback episode proved that as fun as it might be to see the Roses when they were still rich and influential, a prequel series would ultimately be a tragic look at these characters before they grew into better versions of themselves. The uplifting emotional core and incredible character growth of Schitt’s Creek would be missing in an Alexis Rose prequel, as all of the crazy nights and near-death experiences would stem from the emptiness of the Rose family’s lives during this time. The Roses would not be nearly as compelling or lovable during a prequel series as they are without their money, living as a cohesive family in Schitt’s Creek.
