Letterkenny may not be a show that's very large in scope, but the trials and tribulations of the town's 5000 residents have made for nine seasons full of fun. Exploring Canadian comedy through fictional along the likes of Schitt's Creek, thanks to a deal with Hulu.
The slice-of-life comedy follows the lives of the Hicks, Skids, Hockey Players and First Nations Natives who live in the farming town and who may not understand each other's issues but always have each other's backs. Creator Jared Keeso plays the role of Wayne, who stands in the center of the quotidian chaos along with his sister Katy (Michelle Mylett) and best friends Dan and Daryl (Nathan Dales).
The beleaguered hockey team spoke to Screen Rant about the friendships and rivalries within their squad, how characters develop from actor interactions, and where they hope the show goes next.
Even though everything stays the same, you guys always keep the show fresh and keep it moving as the cast chemistry keeps evolving. How do you keep yourselves on your toes for 9 seasons?
Dylan Playfair: I think a lot of it is written based on some of the interactions that we actually have as actors, not just as the characters. Jared is very, very observant, and I think he really does actually write the characters based on our strengths as actors. So, seeing our dynamics evolve over nine season as friends and co-workers has really, in my opinion, influenced how the characters interact on screen as well. That's been a part of it.
Andrew Herr: And I think everyone still has a lot of fun. It's not like, "Oh, I have to do this now." It never gets that point where it's a drag; we genuinely enjoy each other's company. It's always light and funny, and I think a lot of times it's fresh for us when we go on set.
Mark Forward: It's also the most team-feeling cast I've ever been a part of. No one feels higher or lower than the rest; it just feels like everybody's working towards one common goal.
Andrew Herr: And we all want it to be funny and good.
Mark Forward: It's a comedy?! Coach's life is a bit of a tragedy.
Speaking of Coach, how would you say that his feelings for the team - or these two - have evolved? We started off in a not so positive place.
Mark Forward: Yeah, he's almost become more of a father figure-ish to them, which has sort of grown organically almost. He's still quite horrible to them. He's not a good father. But he definitely cares about the two of them. I mean, they won him a ship, right?
It's gonna be interesting to watch his life progress now that he doesn't have any goals; it'll be interesting to watch that psychotic mind when it's idle. But yeah, he definitely cares about those two guys, for sure.
And the two of you deeply care about each other. Dylan and Andrew, can you speak to that almost co-dependent dynamic between Riley and Jonesy?
Andrew Herr: I mean, Dylan and I have been through a lot together in real life. From the moment we met, it's been pretty effortless how we get along. Even though we don't see each other all the time, nothing really changes when we see each other.
We've just been through so many things: we've worked together before Letterkenny, we used to be roommates, we've traveled together, we've partied together. We've just done so many things together, so I think we have a genuine bromance off the screen. When we work together, we really enjoy working together. And it's pretty effortless.
Dylan Playfair: It's such a cool thing. At the time, it's just the things that are happening and the things that are right in front of you. But to look back and to be on this show that we're both known for, having the history of being genuine friends before, during, and after that that process took place> It's kind of a trip, and I think it works out really well for who Riley and Jonesy are, given that Dylan and Andrew are actually really good friends. That helps a lot. It's easy.
Season 9 actually had a bit of a hockey-related clipping. Going into season 10, how are we feeling about our wins and losses?
Dylan Playfair: I think, obviously, you want to win. I think that the motivation of Riley and Jonesy and Coach every year is to win a 'ship, even if it is a beer league 'ship; you want to win hockey games.
So, if that answers the question, we for sure want to win. But I think, as Mark was saying, there's different stakes now. They've lowered in a way for them, as far as what's on the line here, so discovering what becomes really important to Reilly and Jonesy and Coach in the next couple seasons is gonna be really funny. They go through these ebbs and flows where they're full of confidence and energy, and then they get knocked down and they become the butts of jokes and doormats a little bit. I'm excited to see what our next sort of energizing storyline is.
You've got two more seasons coming. Is there anything that each of you would like to see your characters do, or someone else you'd like to interact more with?
Andrew Herr: I was just telling Mark, I always like when Riley and Jonesy are learning something new. Because it's such a hard thing for them to do, and it always makes interesting choices for us as actors. There's just always this comedic gold coming out of that.
I really like the "Mitzvah" episode when we're learning about Judaism, and we're really putting things together slowly. It's just really fun. We like getting girls, we like winning, but when they're learning, it's a nice thing that kind of takes away from the caricature a little bit. They're actually people trying to learn, so I like when that happens.
All nine seasons of Letterkenny are available to stream on Hulu.