The core "Letterkenny" cast made the rounds over the holidays with select press, and Idaho Today got to speak with them about the ending of the series after twelve seasons, five live tours, including sold-out shows in Boise, and seven unique specials.
One of the "hicks," K. Trevor Wilson, who plays [Squirrely] Dan, told us that he was working on his material and stand-up, "But if [Jared] Keeso creates something new, I will happily put the overalls back on."
The hicks are the ag kids, the farmers, and the group that picks stones from the fields on Sundays, lead by showrunner and star Jared Keeso as Wayne, the burly toughest guy in all of Letterkenny.
His little sister, Katy, played by Michelle Mylett, explained their sibling dynamic, "Katy's a tough chick, and we saw that in the beginning. We've seen that kind of progression. She's got some walls up, with Queen Bee energy in the town. She holds a lot of power within the dynamic of her and [brother] Wayne. And Wayne is the toughest guy. They have this kind of respect that goes back and forth, which is cool. But she is a human being, vulnerable with ups and downs. So, having the support of the people in her life and giving that support to them is a beautiful dynamic. It's been fun to play out and emotional to see."
Mylett referenced the pivotal moment in season 8 where she and the townies of Letterkenny figured out Katy's beau, Dierks, was cheating. Wayne summoned Letterkenny's hicks, skids, and hockey players to descend on Dierks's house to, quote, "beat the bleep out of Dierks." Mylett said, "Obviously, that scene with Dierks where they all run from the trucks to come to Katy's aid encapsulated what I think the show is about staying loyal to the people in your life."
This fictional town of Letterkenny and its "Letterkenny Problems" brought many Canadian TV talents to the attention of fans in the lower 48 landscape. It also spawned live touring shows of this quirky ensemble and even sells branded clothing and spirits, as well as a successful spinoff, "Shoresy," all found streaming on Hulu.
Of her last time in Boise and the lower 48, Mylett said: "That tour, we all had so much fun. We traveled around North America on this huge tour bus for two months. It was really special and surreal, and we had so much fun. I think we would definitely love to do that again. It was such a bizarre thing for a TV show to do."
Writer and director Jacob Tierney, who also plays Pastor Glen, worked with Keeso to flesh out these cliques of kids who, despite their profound differences, had each other's backs at the end of the day.
Keeso had success in Canada and eschewed landing in Los Angeles, a city the Hicks often made hay on "Letterkenny" by goofing on "the best tacos" and the way LA people talk.
One of the featured hockey players who crushed on Katy was Reilly (Dylan Playfair). Dylan gave us hope for more Letterkenny spinoffs. When asked if he was game, Playfair said: "I would love to be [involved]. I can't say much about it now, but I know that the doors seem to have been left open for future spinoffs, and I know Hulu and Crave recently announced plans to do more with Jared. And speaking for myself, if I get the knock or the tap on the shoulder, I would love to work with any of the very talented casting crew from Letterkenny. They're awesome. So I'd be first in line."
The series popped in specials, often tied to specific holidays, to showcase as much of the large cast as possible. Part of that ensemble included Kaniehtiio Horn, cast as Tanis on "Letterkenny," who also became a consulting producer on "Shoresy" and appeared on FX's "Reservation Dogs" as the Deer Lady. Under Keeso and Tierney, "Letterkenny" respected the authentic Indigenous characters and effortlessly weaved them into riotous arcs and the overall story fabric.
Tanis was also a big part of a special that Mylett and K. Trevor Wilson appreciated. Of their favorite specials, Mylett said, "Definitely International Women's Day [special]. It was so much fun to film that with the ladies of Letterkenny all together on that stage. We had so much fun and laughs, making me feel really proud. And it was quite sentimental to watch the men of Letterkenny's feminist experience and teachings in that way. And Katy and Wayne come together in a tender kind of moment. I thought that was a really beautiful, fun episode."
That special reunited K. Trevor with an old friend who was an actor, cast in "Letterkenny" as his oft-mentioned professor Tricia of his women's studies group.
"Shooting International Women's Day episode was a ton of fun. We finally got to meet Professor Tricia and the actress; they hired Nazneen Contractor, a dear old friend of mine. We went to high school together way back when. And so when I showed up that season, they said, have you met Professor Tricia? And I was like, actually, yes, I have."
One of the more endearing "Letterkenny" moments was between lead skid Stewart (Tyler Johnston) and hick Wayne (Keeso), who bonded over hockey fights.
"So that was one of my favorite episodes for sure," said Johnston. "Jared [Keeso] and I were friends before Letterkenny. We did the Don Cherry miniseries where he played Adult Don Cherry. I played teenage Don Cherry, so it was a hockey miniseries. That's when we initially became friends. So for us to have that episode of 'Letterkenny,' where it's just him and me sitting across from the table talking about hockey, hockey fights, was special for both of us. I think Jared would say the same thing. Hockey was a big part of my life."
Andrew Herr was cast as Jonesy, the always present bro dude bud of Reilly, who added, "I played a bit of tier two junior A and junior B and a little bit of junior C, but I got the acting bug in high school theater and could've played a couple more years, but I pulled the shoot on hockey then. We all met at beer league [hockey] in Vancouver and came together on this team. We all kind of knew each other before the show officially started. So hockey's always been a part of my life."
Tune in to stream all 12 seasons of Letterkenny on Hulu.