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As the bighearted, surprise hit comedy 鈥淪chitt鈥檚 Creek鈥� ended its run this week, viewers could be forgiven for never fully realizing it鈥檚 set in small-town Ontario.聽

Schitt鈥檚 Creek, where the cosmopolitan Rose family ends up after losing its money, resembles the rural communities that Canadians know well. The cast is Canadian, led by national icons Eugene Levy and Catherine O鈥橦ara. But there are no Canadian flags, no hammed-up accents, or over-the-top tropes.聽

Yet as the sitcom bows after its sixth season 鈥� leaving devastated fans across North America in its wake 鈥� it closes a curtain on a community that reflects the very values of openness, whether over class or identity, that are so often associated with Canada today.

Daniel Levy, who co-created the show with his father, Eugene, gave a nod to its Canadian ethos in an article published Tuesday 鈥� the day of the show鈥檚 finale 鈥� in Toronto鈥檚 NOW magazine. 鈥淲e shot the show in Canada, it was a Canadian cast and crew. And I feel like the show embodies the Canadian identity and the philosophy of acceptance, love, compassion, and empathy,鈥� he said in the interview.聽

The sitcom first aired on the CBC, becoming a hit in its home country and eventually across the border in the United States, where it earned four Emmy nominations. It begins when the gaudy Rose parents lose everything and are forced to move with their adult children to Schitt鈥檚 Creek, a town they once bought as a joke.聽

The humor in the first few episodes is more caustic 鈥� many of today鈥檚 fans actively disliked the Roses and some even the show itself.

Throughout the seasons, storylines and jokes rely on the Rose family鈥檚 hard go at adapting to life with no luxuries, but beyond the comedic punches 鈥� 鈥淥h, I鈥檇 kill for a good coma right now,鈥� says family matriarch Moira Rose 鈥� the family stays in and becomes an integral part of the town.聽聽

As the characters develop and transform, the sitcom softens and becomes sweeter, at the exact moment many viewers just wanted a half-hour of relief. 鈥淪chitt鈥檚 Creek鈥� came of age through the rise of the Islamic State and its spate of terrorist attacks, the Brexit vote, the unexpected election of U.S. President Donald Trump, and now a global pandemic.聽

Canadian values

While the comedy is built around the clash of cultures, from the beginning the townspeople accept the artifice and eccentricities of siblings David and Alexis Rose, and the overdone lexicon of Moira. (Ms. O鈥橦ara said in a live Instagram session recently that 鈥淔oyle鈥檚 Philavery: A Treasury of Unusual Words鈥� and 鈥淢rs. Byrne鈥檚 Dictionary鈥� inspired her script.) It exemplifies tolerance that reflects Canadian culture generally, says Greg David, a Canadian television critic and owner of 鈥淭V, eh?,鈥� a site that covers Canadian TV.

鈥淭here鈥檚 values in there, and maybe some things that we as Canadians like to think are more Canadian than in other countries around the world, when it comes to acceptance,鈥� says Mr. David. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e more laid-back, have a 鈥榣ive and let live鈥� type of attitude.鈥�

That openness is best illustrated in Daniel Levy鈥檚 portrayal of David Rose, who is pansexual and develops one of the most cherished relationships on the show with Patrick Brewer, played by Noah Reid. But their sexuality is not central to the storyline. It鈥檚 simply a loving relationship like any other 鈥� and there is an utter lack of homophobia to be found anywhere around them. That鈥檚 aspirational, but it鈥檚 been a watershed for LGBTQ communities. Mr. Levy has said he created a world in which he would want to live.聽

A sense of community

Laura Grindstaff, a sociologist at the University of California, Davis, who is from Canada and looks at cultural issues through media, says that she sees a show intentionally transcending particularism 鈥� whether that鈥檚 in nation or gender. 鈥淚t鈥檚 working against categorization, and against labels,鈥� she says.

Yet she does see hints of Canada, beyond its cast and production, in its central theme of collectivity. 鈥淭his is about getting to where you are by forming community and working together collectively. That is not quintessentially American,鈥� she says, 鈥渨here you鈥檝e got the rugged individualism, 鈥榩ull yourself up by your bootstraps鈥� stuff. For the Rose family, she says, 鈥渢hey don鈥檛 arrive in this sort of new space geographically, or more importantly emotionally, without being part of a community in a collective.鈥�

That鈥檚 a message that has inspired fans across North America, and helped them form their own communities. Louise Downs, a superfan in Nova Scotia who runs the fan club 鈥淪chitt鈥檚 Creek Fans Shoot the Schitt,鈥� says her Facebook group grew from a few hundred in the first weeks she started it in 2017 to more than 23,000 members today. The majority are Americans.

She says she, and legions of others, are 鈥渄evastated,鈥� especially while much of North America is in lockdown over the coronavirus. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like, jeez, couldn鈥檛 we have a few more episodes? Because it鈥檚 such a highlight for us to be able to watch this every Tuesday night, and we鈥檙e in the middle of a pandemic, and it鈥檚 over,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t feels so silly, but it really does feel like I鈥檓 losing a best friend. I can鈥檛 even imagine life without Moira Rose.鈥�