Crossing borders, inspiring beer, viewers
Letterkenny creators find series has few limits as it expands into U.S. market
When it comes to turning their humble little TV show into the next big thing, the folks behind Letterkenny are not about to pump the brakes. Six fresh episodes of the CraveTV original series debuted over the Canada Day weekend as part of an order of 42 episodes by producer Bell Media. The deal will bring the total to 75 by 2020.
“It’s a lot of Letterkenny,” says creator and actor Jared Keeso as he prepares for the show’s debut on the U.S. streaming service Hulu on July 13, where it’s sure to amuse U.S. viewers thrown by such other uniquely Canadian TV comedy exports as Red Green, Corner Gas and Trailer Park Boys.
Keeso stars in the series as Wayne, a small-town guy who has raised to an art form the practice of “chirping ” — or putting down — his hockey-playing rivals. Same goes for the local “Skids” who frequently have run-ins with Wayne. It’s a slightly ramped-up version of characters Keeso encountered over the years in his southwestern Ontario hometown of Listowel.
Will U.S. viewers get what all the chirping is about? Absolutely, says executive producer and New Metric Media president Mark Montefiore. U.S. rapper T-Pain is a fan, as is filmmaker Kevin Smith.
Montefiore says he’s been tracking comments and merchandise requests from all 50 U.S. states — including Hawaii and Alaska — before the series even officially debuts in the U.S. A lot of those requests are for beer — a trademark beverage of the show.
Montefiore says he scouted craft breweries near the series’ production base in Sudbury, Ont., eventually teaming with Stack Brewery to make Puppers Premium Lager. It was “tested” by the cast and crew before it went to market.
At the moment, Puppers is available in Ontario at LCBO stores with Montefiore pushing to get it sold in other provinces.
“The beer regulations in this country,” he says, “are even tougher than the TV regulations.”
One way folks outside Ontario have cracked open a Puppers can is by getting tickets for one of the live cast shows that took place earlier this year in 26 cities across the country. Besides Keeso, cast regulars Nathan Dales (Darry), as well as standup veterans K. Trevor Wilson (Squirrely Dan), and Mark Forward (Coach), also made appearances.
Since its debut, Letterkenny has been once of the biggest draws on CraveTV, Bell’s streaming service. The network says CraveTV subscriptions spike with every new six pack of episodes.
The latest season is almost certain to generate plenty of interest and perhaps even attract new fans, helped by a guest appearance from Jay Baruchel.
Three years ago, Montefiore and his production team made the savvy decision to shoot the series in Sudbury, a northern town previously famous for nickel production. Now, thanks to tax incentives, more producers are also flocking there. Montefiore calculates he will have poured $100 million into Sudbury by the time the new episode order concludes. Besides Letterkenny, the 37-year-old is currently shooting the second season of the Citytv mob drama Bad Blood in the area.
Other Letterkenny plans are also afoot.
An animated spinoff series, Little kenny, is heading to Snackable, Bell Media’s free mobile video app. Toronto-based animation studio Little Blackstone Inc. is tasked with taking Letterkenny back to its roots, with Wayne and the others reimagined as their schoolyard selves.
Montefiore says a feature film version of the series is also on the drawing board, but the challenge is fitting it into an already packed production schedule.
A summer ago, Keeso was reduced to typing out scripts from the passenger seat of his car as he tried to squeeze in an East Coast vacation.
Besides beer, introducing a Letterkenny-branded whisky is on Montefiore’s to-do list. Since this is Canada, his marketing team has also explored the possibility of a marijuana tie-in.
For now, Montefiore remains high on the series’ potential — but not too high. He says despite its success so far, he doesn’t want to take it for granted.
“We don’t see it as a big show,” he says, “which keeps us hungry.”