Roland Schitt

Mayor Roland N. Schitt is the eccentric mayor of Schitt's Creek, and a fourth-generation Schitt. He later starts working at the motel. He is a main character on Schitt's Creek.

Character Description

Though not the sharpest tool in the shed, he’s no push over and delights in messing with Johnny Rose's head. With his beer gut and mullet, Roland is Johnny’s white trash nemesis.

Overview

Before marrying his wife Jocelyn in 1990, Roland enjoyed an active love life, making full use of every room in the Schitt's Creek Motel, even stating that if someone used a forensic flashlight in any one of the rooms the whole room would “light up”; a fact he likes to share around. In addition to being town’s mayor (and having been mayor since 1997), Roland considers himself the Law in Schitt's Creek, though he's willing to bend a few rules for the Rose family, but Roland loves to remind them not to bite the hand that feeds them.

Roland is highly attuned to the nuances of local politics, although he’ll rarely lift a finger to institute any actual change. He’s blunt, forthright, and will always tell you what’s on his mind, even if it didn't need to be heard.

Roland has gradually learned to put family first, and with a newborn baby, he wants to be more hands-on this time around. In fact, being a father appears to be the first job he really takes seriously. He is always willing to go above-and-beyond for his family, so long as he gets to play video games and watch his Julia Roberts rom-coms.

Personality

In season one, Roland acts like a bit of a bad boss, and although not technically Johnny's boss, he definitely appears like this. And though he sets them up in the motel, Roland still acts like a bad Samaritan, as he continues to make them miserable. All in all, Roland is uncouth and rude and initially embodies everything the Roses hate and fear about the town. However, he subverts the trope by being a tolerant, and in his own way, a sensitive person in the later seasons.

As the mayor of Schitt's Creek, Roland is mostly incompetent and ineffective, but it's very clear he wants to do right by the town, and the Schitt's Creek townspeople don't seem to mind him at all, and very much respect him.

Appearances

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Trivia

Roland's name is derived from the phrase "roll in shit".
Was a big fan of Sunrise Bay and Moira's character Vivien Blake in particular.
According to Jocelyn, she and Roland have been married for 27 years.^[1]
In "The Candidate", it is revealed that Roland has been mayor for 18 years.
Roland is a self-described "Noguchihead"^[2] an admirer of the works of American-Japanese artist, Isamu Noguchi.