Murder in a Small Town Gives Schitt’s Creek’s Noah Reid a Darker Role

Schitt’s Creek fans are in for a treat with Noah Reid‘s not as wholesome — but just as intriguing — appearance on Murder in a Small Town‘s two-part season finale.

In Us Weekly‘s exclusive clip of the Tuesday, November 19, episode, Reid, 37, is introduced as a teacher at Holly’s (Dakota Guppy) school who assists Karl (Rossif Sutherland) on a case.

“You know, your daughter has got that spark [for art] too. I am not sure she believes that but Holly could be special,” Reid’s character Tommy tells Karl, who replies, “She already is to her dad.”

The art teacher opens up about himself, adding, “I don’t doubt that. I don’t have kids myself. One day, maybe. But that father daughter bond, you would do anything for her, wouldn’t you?”

In response, Karl pivots the conversation to a case he is working on.

“The Egyptians believed a dead person’s soul could return to their portrait,” he says. “I am guessing you knew that. We found a body a couple nights ago. A woman with no ID and we have no clue who she is.”

Tommy doesn’t seem surprised by Karl’s insight. “Far better than any photograph. You bring yourself to a painting,” he noted. “That poor woman in the woods, huh? It is just terrible isn’t it? And the investigation is still going on?”

Karl swiftly cuts Tommy off, however, by revealing that he needs somebody to “bring her back to life.” According to the show’s synopsis, the first part of the season 1 finale has Karl examining the mysterious deaths of two women who are each found in the forest with their bodies arranged in eerily similar poses.

Tommy is a much different character compared to Reid’s popular role as Patrick in several seasons of Schitt’s Creek. While Tommy initially appears to be trustworthy in Murder in a Small Town, the promotional images for the season finale tell a different story. Tommy is seen badly bruised and is holding a knife, which could hint at him being the killer.

“The investigation to find a possible serial killer in Gibsons continues,” read the synopsis for the episode, which airs Tuesday, November 26. “Alberg and his team piece together clues and discover an unusual pattern that relates back to familiar works of art. The unsettlement amongst the detectives prompts an urgent search to identify the killer.”

Before Reid’s cameo on Murder in a Small Town, he stole everyone’s heart in the fan-favorite role of Patrick on Schitt’s Creek. Reid joined the hit Canadian sitcom as a love interest for Dan Levy‘s character David. The fictional couple stayed together until the series finale in 2020.

Ever since the show came to an end, fans have been asking about a potential Schitt’s Creek movie. No one has ruled it out as a possibility but there hasn’t been any news about continuing the pop culture phenomenon — yet.

“My hope is that one day we can all get together. I see these people all the time. We’re in constant contact with each other. So the love is there. The desire to work together is there, and the desire to tell more stories is there,” Levy, 41, told People in 2022. “I think it just comes down to making sure that it’s the right story to tell. And I think we’re also proud of the work we did on Schitt’s. And when you end on such a high, it really forces you to think very carefully about what the next step is.”

He continued: “I think when you have an audience that’s paid attention to you for 80 episodes of a television show, the last thing you want is to put something out that makes them think this feels like a cash grab. And that’s not what we’re about. So TBD, but a TBD with an exclamation mark on the end.”

For now, Schitt’s Creek fans can get their fix by watching Reid play an art teacher on Murder in a Small Town, who is hopefully not involved with the crime being investigated in the two-part season finale.

Based on novels written by L.R. Wright, Murder in a Small Town follows a police chief named Karl who — along with the help of others, including his girlfriend Cassandra (Kristin Kreuk) — investigates mysterious murders.

“It’s funny because I always feel like the title gives it all away. But it’s a murder mystery show. It’s a detective who is new to this small community, and he is basically confronting the fact that all of a sudden there are a whole bunch of murders,” Kreuk, 41, quipped to Us in September. “And he has to solve them. But it’s also set in a gorgeous setting because we shot in the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. It’s beautiful there. It’s on the ocean and there are trees and it’s gorgeous.”

Kreuk pointed out that there was more to the show than just murder, adding, “The other part of our show is that it’s a love story. It’s a love story between Cassandra and Karl. It is them trying to find their way and find something that’s lasting and meaningful.”

Murder in a Small Town airs on Fox Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.