Schitt’s Creek’s Alexis Rose has become an iconic television character, even garnering an Emmy win for Annie Murphy, but the role was nearly played by a former Saturday Night Live actress instead. Although considered a sleeper success because its wide critical and audience acclaim was achieved in its later seasons, Schitt’s Creek is now known as one of the greatest modern cult comedy series. Supported by a talented cast of Canadian comedy legends like Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek is still making big names for its formerly lesser-known stars Dan Levy and Annie Murphy as David and Alexis Rose.
The Rose family’s journey to Schitt’s Creek follows them losing all of their vast wealth and socialite status, landing them in a podunk Canadian town as their only remaining asset. Alexis, as the younger child and only daughter of the Roses, takes the role of the young, naïve socialite whose complicated past is reminiscent of real-life socialites Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian. From starring in her own reality tv series A Little Bit Alexis to a long list of past celebrity boyfriends, Alexis begins as the stereotypical rich girl, though without the spoiled demeanor. As Schitt’s Creek progresses, Alexis becomes much more humbled and embraces relationships with people over status, money, and possessions.
Although it’s difficult to imagine anyone other than Annie Murphy playing the role, Alexis Rose was originally supposed to be played by SNL actress Abby Elliott, per an interview with Murphy in Vulture. Known for being a featured cast member on SNL from 2008 to 2012 as well as recurring roles on shows like How I Met Your Mother and Odd Mom Out, Elliott is also the daughter of Chris Elliott who plays Roland Schitt on Schitt’s Creek. When the show was first in development, Elliott was cast as Alexis both for her comedy experience, familial relationship to Chris Elliott, and the fact that she was blonde - a trait Eugene Levy always imagined for Alexis.
Elliott eventually dropped out due to other commitments, leaving the Levys to audition other actresses for Alexis. When Annie Murphy auditioned for the role Dan Levy encouraged his father Eugene to cast her, but Eugene was skeptical because he was set on Alexis being blonde. Once Murphy dyed her hair to more of a dirty-blonde look, she sealed the deal and Schitt’s Creek added another relatively unknown Canadian actress to the cast.
Though the all-in-the-family connection for multiple Levys and multiple Elliotts in the cast would have been interesting, Schitt’s Creek is much better off with Annie Murphy in the role. Considering Murphy and Elliott’s comedic and physical demeanors are very different, Alexis would have been a very different character. Murphy gives off a more naïve, bubbly aspect to Alexis that makes her hard to not like, where Elliott likely could have done too much with the brash, socialite voices sometimes heard on SNL. Much of the random insertions of “Ew, David” with hand motions into her lines were ad-libbed by Murphy, so the iconic Schitt’s Creek mannerisms from Alexis likely never would have happened without her.