Letterkenny Problems (and Thoughts)

[Matthew Dawkins Jub Jub]

What do the fine folks of Cook'd and Comb'd think of rural Canadian comedy show, Letterkenny (and perhaps even its successor, Shoresy)?

I made my way to it via Montreal-based cop show, 19-2, as several of the same cast members show up in both, notably Letterkenny lead Jared Keeso. It's a show where I really appreciate the quality of writing and wordplay, and the music choices are inspired (even when they're not to my tastes), but sometimes it feels more like a lengthy meme than a comedy sitcom, with its extended slow-mo, dance numbers, fight scenes, and unnatural banter between characters. Sometimes it feels a little Green Wing-esque. It requires a bit of investment to understand what a lot of the Canadian references are if you're not from there (plenty of hockey references, lots of colloquial uses of language, etc.), but I think it pays off.

I think of Letterkenny as one of the best comedies to emerge from Canada, though it seems pretty unknown in Europe. What are your thoughts?

[Hobo With A Shit Pun]

Last year, I asked my collected friends on social media to recommend me a Canadian comedy I wouldn't have heard of. The Canadian part was because I'd just watched Slings & Arrows and Less Than Kind, and the question was asked in a spirit of "why the Hell wasn't this on Channel Four, what else is Canada hiding?"

I'd never heard of Letterkenny, the most widely shared answer. I fell in love with the show from the get go. The lovely rhythms of entire scenes where it's just two groups telling each other to fuck off in interesting words. I was glad, in my ensuing megabinge, to find that that's pretty much what the entire show consists of.

My own speech patterns have been affected, most obviously by an inability to hear or say "to be fair" without making it a choral number. To a lesser extent, my listening habits too, although regular searches for what was on the soundtrack often turned up tracks that weren't as great as the snippet they used,in the context they used it.

Took me ages to realise that Mark McKinney wasn't the thread running between these three great Canadian shows (he produced Less Than Kind), because I convinced myself that he was the voice of Shoresy. Took me ages to realise that it was yer man playing a second character.

On a personal note, I had a very rare "if this isn't good, what is" moment in April, watching Letterkenny in bed after work, my wee calico cat snuggled into my back. Like Kurt Vonnegut's uncle recommends. Or therapists. Within a week, the cat died,  and I've not watched it since. So if there's a drop off in the last season, I've not encountered it yet. Don't imagine I will though, when I get back to it, as the quality of the writing was golden up til then.

[Matthew Dawkins Jub Jub]

Last year, I asked my collected friends on social media to recommend me a Canadian comedy I wouldn't have heard of. The Canadian part was because I'd just watched Slings & Arrows and Less Than Kind, and the question was asked in a spirit of "why the Hell wasn't this on Channel Four, what else is Canada hiding?"

I'd never heard of Letterkenny, the most widely shared answer. I fell in love with the show from the get go. The lovely rhythms of entire scenes where it's just two groups telling each other to fuck off in interesting words. I was glad, in my ensuing megabinge, to find that that's pretty much what the entire show consists of.

My own speech patterns have been affected, most obviously by an inability to hear or say "to be fair" without making it a choral number. To a lesser extent, my listening habits too, although regular searches for what was on the soundtrack often turned up tracks that weren't as great as the snippet they used,in the context they used it.

Took me ages to realise that Mark McKinney wasn't the thread running between these three great Canadian shows (he produced Less Than Kind), because I convinced myself that he was the voice of Shoresy. Took me ages to realise that it was yer man playing a second character.

On a personal note, I had a very rare "if this isn't good, what is" moment in April, watching Letterkenny in bed after work, my wee calico cat snuggled into my back. Like Kurt Vonnegut's uncle recommends. Or therapists. Within a week, the cat died,  and I've not watched it since. So if there's a drop off in the last season, I've not encountered it yet. Don't imagine I will though, when I get back to it, as the quality of the writing was golden up til then.

to be faiiiirrr

I hope you're able to recover from the grief of losing your cat. Never easy to lose a loved one.

[Ron Superior]

I've heard the show mentioned a lot by Canadian fans of Nirvanna The Band The Show, but never have it a watch for some reason. Is it available at all in the UK?

[Matthew Dawkins Jub Jub]

You can pay to stream the vast majority of Letterkenny on Amazon Prime, where bizarrely several seasons get lumped together. It's in the correct order despite that.

[letsgobrian]

It's also on ITVX.

I liked the early seasons a lot, but by the end it felt lazy. Presumably because they were more invested in the Shoresy spinoff, as that contained everything I thought was now missing in Letterkenny. Which was remarkable given how one note the title character had been in Letterkenny.

[Ron Superior]

Ah great, thanks. I'll get on it!

[dead-ced-dead]

May give this a go. Something about good Canadian comedy clicks with me. Horror movies, too. Love Kids in the Hall and Less Than Kind.

[evilcommiedictator]

I watched it all with my partner and did start on Shorsey afterwards, but only got a few eps in.
I'm a big fan of the early Trailer Park Boys, and I like the similarities (including the J Roc appearance), but to me it never hit 100% - not something I would say is a rewatchable classic, but good. My partner liked it a lot more, but Shorsey is aimed at very specific audience, and if you don't get the vibe of it I don't think it will stick at all?
I'm also stuck in "To Be Fair" country, and I am pretty much over it :)

[Famous Mortimer]

I love it. Not sure it's the funniest show ever created, but the vibe of it is great, especially earlier on (I've not watched the last few years, or Shoresy).

[ASFTSN]

Mix of pretty good and woeful. The Fartbook episode is really, really bad. I like the main characters though.

[Matthew Dawkins Jub Jub]

Fartbook is commonly regarded as the series low point, which considering it's in the first season really isn't that bad a trajectory for the rest. The Letterkenny Spelling Bee is a highlight for me.