"I Don't Want to Pretend that We're Just Coworkers": Starring Bert and Ernie, Patrick and David, and Kelvin and Keefe

 

Ernie: I don't want to pretend that we're just coworkers.

Bert: But we are just coworkers. Try a pink block next, and watch your angles.

David:  I don't want to pretend that we're just coworkers.

Patrick: But we are just coworkers. The aloe moisturizer arrived this morning; these are ready to shelve.

More coworkers after the break

Schitt's Creek: Quirky small town (in Canada, but don't tell anyone) has gay/bi guys and a lot of beefcake

In the Canadian sitcom Schitt's Creek (2015-20), video magnate Johnny Rose (SCTV alumnus Eugene Levy) loses his fortune to a shady business manager, and he and his former-actress wife Moira and adult children David and Alexis  are forced to move into a cheap hotel in the desolate small town of Schitt's Creek, where they try to adapt to such hardships as sharing a room and making their own beds.

They butt heads with many curious, eccentric, and passive-aggressive smiling-as-they-dump-on-you residents, like Mutt (Tim Rozon), the mayor's son, who lives in a barn and collects compost.

It reminds me a bit of Gilligan's Island, with the castaways trying to survive on a desert island, their plans to escape constantly falling through at the last moment.

Schitt's Creek is so small that it has only one hotel, restaurant, and "general store," and the same six people do everything.  But still, there's a lot going on, and the Roses throw themselves into town life, getting jobs, joining clubs, running for city council, dating -- a lot of dating.  David (Dan Levy) develops a friends-with-benefits relationship with a girl, Stevie (Emily Hampshire), who appears to be the hotel's only employee, and Alexis has a steady stream of boyfriends, like Mutt and  town veterinarian Ted (Dustin Milligan, left).

That's one of the things I like about Schitt's Creek -- it's overloaded with beefcake, hot guys in tight shirts -- or out of tight shirts -- everywhere you look.

The other thing I like is the writing.  The dialogue is witty, sardonic without being bitter.  There is no us vs. them, normal v. hicks or normal v. snobs.  Everyone has foibles, but almost everyone comes across as likeable.



What I don't like is:

1. David states that he is pansexual, and he is played by Dan Levy, who is gay, yet his relationships are exclusively heterosexual until the third season, when his ex-boyfriend Sebastian (Francois Arnaud) rolls into town. 

 Later he and Stevie get into a three-way relationship with Jake (Steve Lund, left).  

More bi/pan after the break

Kevin from Work Episode 1.2: Keefe plays a creepy gay guy who's jealous of Noah Reid's boyfriend

 

Kevin from Work (2015-2016) stars Noah Reid as a nebbish who's been in love with a female coworker for years, but too chicken to say anything.  He thinks he's being transferred to Italy, so he expresses his love in a grand gesture before leaving forever.  Whoops, the transfer falls through.  Now they have to continue working together...awkward!

 Episode 1.2 features Tony Cavalero as a creepy gay guy.

Scene 1:  Kevin gets a ride to work with his best friend, gym rat Brian (Matt Murray, below).  He asks about Don (Tony Cavalero), the guy in the back seat who is leering at him and invading his body space.  

Brian explains: "When you left me for Italy, I had to look after myself.  You made me turn to the internet to find a friend. You search 'fit man seeking man,' you're going to find some crazy stuff."   

The viewer is expected to interpret "crazy stuff" as "gay men," and sympathize with Brian.  Creepy gay guys responded!  He must have been horrified!  But he doesn't mean that: some of the guys who answered were not as fit as they claimed to be.  And you thought he meant gay men,

Creepy Don in the back seat points out that he and Brian are a good match, because he has only 2% body fat. "What's your body fat percentage, Kevin?"  Jealous, Don?

Kevin ignores him. "I thought I saw Audrey!  Go around to the back!"  We get a montage of his awkward close encounters.  "I could have lived a happy, fulfilled life if only I hadn't told her that I loved her!"  

Scene 2: When Kevin catches a ride with Brian the next day, Creepy Don isn't there. "He's at his mom's. I'm supposed to pick him up in an hour. We're going to the driving range, and then he's going to take me to his orthotics guy (foot doctor)."  Rather a random series of events for Date Night.   

Actually, Brian needs a way out: he isn't interested in Creepy Don anymore, now that Kevin is back: "You're my 100%."  Awww.  Now how do they dump the rebound boyfriend?

Scene 3: Brian brings Creepy Don into the office, and asks Kevin, "Explain to him that we are reunited, and his friendship services are no longer required."  That's not what you said in bed last night, Dude. 

He continues: "You and I got a bond stronger than any friend matching website can calculate." 

Kevin tries to negotiate the Brian-Creepy Don breakup: "Sometimes people make choices, and they second guess, and they don't mean to hurt your feelings, but it just happens."  But he's looking at Brian, who asks "Do you mean it?"  Awww

Realizing that he's being dumped, Creepy Don protests: he and Brian are soul-mates, and besides, Kevin left him.  You don't get a second chance.

But the guys are adamant that they belong together.  

Don: "It's clear to me that I'm not going to be able to break up what you guys have, so could you add a third?"  He wants a three-way romance?

Nope. "That's another website." Wait -- why couldn't they add a third person to their friend group?  It's not like they're boyfriends, right?

Gay Subtext: The Brian-Kevin friendship is being framed as a romance for a joke, but the guys lack physical attraction and exclusivity.  They refuse to add Creepy Don to their friendship group, but the whole series is about Kevin being in love with someone else. 

Gay Character:  Creepy Don is jealous of Kevin.  He does not respect heterosexual men's body space. He wants an exclusive relationship with Brian, but he will accept a three-way.  This all suggests that Don is gay, either in the script or as presented by Tony Cavalero.  The other guys don't express any discomfort with having a gay friend, but the "creepy" presentation still strikes me as troubling.

Cavalero would go on to play Keefe, Kelvin's boyfriend on The Righteous Gemstones.  Noah Reid (Kevin) would go on to play Patrick, David's boyfriend and eventual husband on Schitt's Creek.  Sort of ironic.

See also: Schitt's Creek: Quirky small town in Canada (but don't tell anyone)

I Don't Want to Pretend that We're Just Coworkers: Starring Bert and Ernie, Patrick and David, and Kelvin and Keefe