He's Got Fans

While I'm still honoured and a little starstruck by the fact that we had Canadian actor Jared Keeso on The Hockey Show a few times before he became a household name with his show Letterkenny and the former police drama 19-2, the announcement of a spinoff from Letterkenny is something that proves that Jared Keeso might be the hardest-working man in Canadian show business. Shoresy, the foul-mouthed, advice-giving, refereeing bud of Reilly and Jonesy, will be getting his own series, aptly named Shoresy, in 2022 with the tenth season of Letterkenny set to premiere on Crave TV on December 25, 2021.

The plot of Shoresy is that the title character moves to Sudbury and joins a struggling Triple A-level hockey team with the idea that he's turn the team around and never lose again. Some of the names Keeso has recruited to appear in the show are recognizable from their work on the ice, and they include Terry Ryan, Jon Mirasty, Brandon Nolan, and Jordan Nolan. Needless to say, Shoresy looks like it's going to an absolute blast with the actors he's assembled for the show!

However, I realize that The Hockey Show doesn't have the same listenership as, say, a Jim Rome Show or a Tim & Friends on either side of the border, so it's a little mind-blowing when you see some of the names who have talked about Letterkenny in the public's eye, and it proves that all the hard work Jared put into making these shows successful is paying off when his A-list acting peers start name dropping the show.

There's a definite Fight Club theme to the people mentioning Letterkenny, but check out Edward Norton's comments from last September about the Canadian-made, Jared Keeso-created show!

Ok, so one Hollywood star knows about Letterkenny. You're not that impressed yet, I can tell, so let's double-down on Fight Club stars who mentioned Letterkenny without being asked or prompted. Yes, that's Brad Pitt name-dropping Letterkenny in the eTalk interview with Ben Mulroney, so it's pretty clear that the Ocean's 11 star has been watching if he just threw that comment into the mix. How cool is that?

It's not just the Hollywood types who are noticing the show, though. Edmonton Oilers forward Devin Shore admitted to NHL.com's Jeff Svoboda that he watches the show as well. He doesn't mention when he started watching it, but the interview was from his days in Columbus during the 2019-20 season, so it seems pretty clear that the had been watching it while with the Anaheim Ducks as well. That prolonged watching of the show would make Devin Shore a Letterkenny fan in my humble opinion. Perhaps he'll be a Shoresy fan too once it debuts on Crave TV?

Jeff Svoboda: "I've never watched Letterkenny, but I know there's a Shoresy on the show. Have you ever seen it?"
Devin Shore: "I've seen the show, yeah. I'm not crazy up to date, but Shoresy has always been my nickname even before that show. That's the standard hockey nickname -- you add an -ey or an -er or an 's' to the end of the guy's last name or shorten it up and it seems to work."
JS: "Shoresy is a great hockey nickname."
DS: "For sure. I don't say it much, but I would like to think it rolls off the tongue for others."
JS: "You're nothing like the TV Shoresy though, right?
DS: "Ha. I don't think you ever see his character. He's a guy who's always chirping in the background. He's a little different. I don't think I'm much like the character on the show."

It's pretty clear that Letterkenny has a great following from it's grown into an entire spin-off from its original debut as a YouTube short. It speaks volumes to the effort that Jared Keeso, Nathan Dales, and producer/director Jacob Tierney have put into the show from its humble beginnings to where it stands now. I'm proud of "the boys" for realizing their dream, and having some A-list celebrities pay them their respects.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!