A genius Chris Elliott, Roland Schitt is the mayor of the town of Schitt’s Creek, a title inherited through his family. Serving as one of the show’s greatest sources of comic relief, Roland plays up the comedic stereotypes of the small-town unrefined rural persona through his lack of manners, common sense, and understanding of social norms. However, a popular Schitt’s Creek theory suggests this may not actually be the true Roland.
Roland’s cringe-worthy behavior and oafish image are often used in Schitt’s Creek to contrast the more highbrow, sophisticated demeanors of Johnny and Moira Rose. When the Rose family first moves to Schitt’s Creek, they’re taken aback by the unpretentious, casual, rustic demeanors of the townspeople, which doesn’t help when considering Roland, who is the most exaggerated form of these rural stereotypes, is the first Schitt's Creek character they meet. This dynamic between the Roses and Schitts is continued throughout the majority of the six-season sitcom, with Roland even calling out the Roses for their prejudices on rare occasions.
According to one theory (via Schitt’s Creek’s Rose family. Schitt’s Creek is a small town where not much happens, so it’s not too unrealistic to imagine that Roland simply got bored, and when a formerly wealthy family arrived with their sophisticated prejudices, he decided to have some fun with their expectations of country life.
The Schitt’s Creek theory suggests that while some of his actions may not have been purposeful, Roland proves on several occasions that he’s actually quite intelligent and perhaps even more observant of social dynamics than the Roses. The theory also solves one common question asked about Schitt’s Creek. Many viewers have wondered why Jocelyn, who is fairly socially aware, is married to Roland. Roland simply putting on an act for the Roses and then being himself at home in front of his wife solves this mystery. The theory still doesn’t change how infuriating Roland’s character is to Johnny and Moira Rose during their time in Schitt’s Creek, but it does prove that he’s a master of goading the other characters into the hilarious reactions he craves.
There are several occasions in which it appears that Roland is purposefully trying to confuse or elicit reactions from the Roses because he finds it to be funny, such as when he gives Johnny extremely confusing directions to his cabin in Schitt’s Creek season 1. Roland will very rarely have moments of brilliance that completely undermine the unintelligent act he puts on, suggesting he just likes to have fun with the expectations others have of him while thriving off of the humor of the Rose family’s discomfort. If the Roland theory is true, then it changes him into perhaps the smartest character in Schitt’s Creek.