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Welcome To Schitt's Creek: Inside The NYC Pop-Up For One Of The Best Shows Of The Past Decade
By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 13, 2019
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 13, 2019
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Immersive experiences never really go far enough for me, which is probably why I've only ever been to two. If they reached the level I'm looking for, then I — a person who attended the Schitt's Creek pop-up on Thursday night — would not be typing this right now. Instead, I would be starting my new life at a roadside motel in the middle of nowhere. And unlike the Rose family, I think I would welcome this change, a bare-bones existence in a one-restaurant town that, god-willing, has spotty WiFi. But here I am, immersed in my usual life, telling you about an hour I spent in some facsimile of another world.
So, why did I go when I kind of loathe an immersive experience? As Sebastien Raine said (S3, E10), "There's something oddly cathartic about stepping into someone else's world." But also because this show oddly and unexpectedly helped get me through some rough shit this year. I never watched a second of the series until this summer, kind of blowing it off as something that wasn't for me, but as I sought some escapism through streaming, I gave it a shot. Starring Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Dan Levy, and Annie Murphy, it promised to humorously disappear me into a strange land... and it did! It helped. And it is now my go-to comfort watch (replacing, weirdly, Interstellar).
That's Cafe Tropical in the clip, one of the few locations in the fictional town, on the show, and in the immersive pop-up, where you'll also be able to pose at the Rosebud Motel's front desk, alongside the giant Rose family portrait, Moira's wig wall, Alexis's bike, the Schitt's Creek town sign, and Moira's costume from The Crows Have Eyes III: The Crowening. There's also a motel room, and David and Patrick's Rose Apothecary, which acts as a gift shop (items are pretty pricey: $45 for a Cafe Tropical baseball shirt, $70 for a Rose Apothecary sweatshirt, $20 for a tote, $15 for a votive candle, etc).
And finally, you can pose with the backdrop of the Rose family's iconic holiday card (from their former life).
Here I am with our photographer Scott Lynch in front the Rose family's holiday card backdrop, when they lived in NYC
Schitt's Creek is streaming on Netflix and POPTV.com, and the final season will premiere on January 7th, 2020. I highly recommend you watch! Below are some clips to get you started, which also correspond with the photos in the above gallery. The pop-up runs all weekend at 123 W 18th St, but is currently sold out (check back at that link for spots opening).
Tagged
immersive experience
pop-up
schitt's creek
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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