15 Trivia Tidbits About ‘Letterkenny’

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15 Trivia Tidbits About ‘Letterkenny’

In addition to basketball, Celine Dion and relentless unnecessary apologizing, one of Canada’s most popular exports is Letterkenny, the wildly popular, oddball comedy about the residents of a fictional Ontario town. Since there are already a whopping 11 seasons of this show that only began in 2016 (thanks, metric system), we were able to put together some hoser-friendly trivia, like how…

The Town Shares Its Name With a Ghost Town That Once Housed Al Capone

While Letterkenny is fictional, creator and star Jared Keeso reportedly based it off of his real-life hometown of Listowel, Ontario. Weirdly, though, there was a real Letterkenny, Ontario; a hamlet in Renfrew County, now a ghost town, that was once rumored to have housed a cottage belonging to Al Capone. Maybe someone should make a show about that Letterkenny. 

It’s Set and Filmed in Alex Trebek’s Hometown

The fake town of Letterkenny is supposedly near Sudbury, Ontario, which is where they film the series, which also, by the way, is the birthplace of Alex Trebek. Or rather, “What is the birthplace of Alex Trebek?”

Jay Baruchel Was a Guest Star

In 2018, Baruchel appeared in two episodes as “Hard Right Jay,” a hilariously pathetic white nationalist protesting the decision to rename the Letterkenny Chiefs.

The Actor Who Plays Noah Was a Canadian Talk Show Host

Local Mennonite Noah Dyck (that’s Dyck “with a Y”) is played by Jonathan Torrens, who also writes for the show.

But back in the 1990s, Torrens was best known for being the host of Jonovision, the CBC’s youth-oriented talk show.

Keeso Was in ‘Elysium’

Before creating Letterkenny, Keeso was a struggling actor in Hollywood. If you need further proof, you can see Keeso briefly in the Matt Damon turd Elysium.

He Also Played a Famously Obnoxious Hockey Personality in a TV Miniseries

Keeso did land a larger role when he moved back to Canada, starring in the CBC miniseries Keep Your Head Up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story playing notorious Canadian celebrity Don Cherry, the former NHL coach/broadcaster/annoying racist blowhard.

It Has Been Praised for its Indigenous Representation

As writer Kelly Boutsalis points out, “Letterkenny is a character-driven show that has humanized a lot of the players, no matter which group they identify with, and the show’s choice to represent the Indigenous characters so well is incredibly meaningful.”

Brad Pitt Is a Fan

During the 2020 Oscars red carpet, Pitt paused to tell a Canadian reporter how much he likes Letterkenny.

It Won Several Canadian Screen Awards

The Canadian Screen Awards are basically like if the Oscars and Emmys were combined, but were also less exciting and more polite. Letterkenny's wins include one for Best Comedy Series in 2017.

Some Fans Want Keeso to Play Wolverine

There is a movement of fans who are demanding that Marvel cast Keeso as the new Wolverine — who, to be fair, is canonically Canadian. 

It Has Inspired Two Spin-Offs (One of Which Is a Cartoon)

The success of Letterkenny has led to two spin-off series, Shorsey, all about the falsetto-voiced hockey player whose face was previously never seen (also played by Keeso)…

…and, more bizarrely, the animated Littlekenny, which is basically the Muppet Babies of the Letterkenny-verse. 

You (yes, you) should follow JM on Twitter (if it still exists by the time you’re reading this). 

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