Although the desire for a Schitt’s Creek prequel following Alexis Rose’s teenage years has grown since the season 6 finale, the series would be much worse for the characters than expected. Schitt’s Creek’s series finale said goodbye to the beloved Rose family and their friends and neighbors in the eponymous town of Schitt’s Creek, but the demand for spinoffs, movies, or sequel series hasn’t stopped. 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, it seems there’s still plenty more story for show co-creator Dan Levy to tell.
Following Schitt’s Creek’s series finale, the idea of a potential movie floated around, but David Rose actor Dan Levy said it would take a premise that’s too good to pass up for him to return to the characters. Nonetheless, wishes for a spinoff or movie have been growing since the series came to an end, with one of the most popular ideas being a prequel series about the misadventures of Annie Murphy’s character Alexis Rose. Each of Schitt’s Creek’s Rose family characters had their own quirks related to the past, usually used by the show to demonstrate how much they'd grown throughout the series. Alexis' quirk, of course, 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 and 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 nearly 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.
Why Schitt’s Creek Fans Want An Alexis Prequel Series
The desire for an Alexis Rose spinoff prequel series truly began after she auditioned for the Cabaret musical in Schitt's Creek 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 that was 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, which are all 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 in which a few of her friends from back when she was rich were passing through town, with many believing that the girls would have made perfect characters alongside Alexis in her prequel series. Alexis Rose's stories in Schitt’s Creek are so fantastical that fans have demanded seeing them on screen, but putting this era of the character’s life wouldn’t be as fun as it sounds.
Why An Alexis Prequel Series Is A Bad Idea
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 in Schitt’s Creek would not 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 is getting to see a family actually become a family when the "kids," David and Alexis, are in their 30s, but the Rose family would be nonexistent during an Alexis prequel. Perhaps there could be a David cameo in which 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 in Schitt’s Creek 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 TV that she has a great life waiting for her once the Roses lose their money and move to Schitt’s Creek. Since the Roses in Schitt’s Creek 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 ultimately 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’s Christmas Episode Already Proved Why A Prequel Wouldn’t Work
Schitt’s Creek already showed what a prequel series would look like during its season 4 episode “Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose.” The episode featured a variety of flashbacks from Johnny to the Roses’ extravagant Christmas parties back in their old mansion, which was filled with luxury suits, champagne, piano performances by Paul Shaffer, and a variety of their disposable wealthy acquaintances. While Schitt's Creek's Moira Rose looked back on them fondly to remember the incredible parties they hosted back when they had money and status, Johnny looked back on this event with sadness, as he realized it meant absolutely nothing aside from being able to flaunt their wealth. At the end of the night, Johnny would be left standing alone while Moira took her sleeping pills and went upstairs, as Alexis and David had already left long before without saying goodbye.
The Schitt’s Creek Christmas flashback episode proved that as much fun as it would be to see the Roses when they were still extremely rich and had influence, 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 be a product of 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 as a cohesive family in Schitt’s Creek.