My Guilty Letterkenny Pleasure Binge

I returned from abroad on January 30, 2020 because of COVID-19. I was in Mongolia teaching English and having a great time! There wasn’t much on the Netflix lineup in Ulaanbataar, so my daughter had a lot of shows she wanted me to see when I arrived on her doorstep that rainy, winters evening.

We thought I would only be home for a couple of weeks before I had another job and left again for parts unknown, little did we know the Pandemic was just beginning and I would not be leaving for quite some time.

I was jet-lagged when she first showed me Letterkenny. I couldn't figure out what was going on. We shelved it for awhile until I was more receptive and open to trying this series again.

On New Years Eve 2020, COVID-19 still prevented us from socializing or going out, so we of course stayed home for the evening, and began early in the day with the drinking of mimosas and the snacking on cheese and crackers, and we started Letterkenny again.

The show began its life as a YouTube series called "Letterkenny Problems." This is a Canadian show, so the actors are all Canadian and all the music used is Canadian as well. We are in Washington State and it is only a few hours to drive up to Vancouver BC, so we are familiar with Canada. At least the Pacific Northwest side of Canada. The show became a hit and now it is shown on Crave TV in Canada and distributed by Hulu in the United States. There are nine seasons so far, so definitely classified as binge-worthy.

This series is about Mid-West Canadians, Ontario to be exact, in the fictional rural community of Letterkenny; named after the town in Ireland. Hence the hockey team is called the Letterkenny Irish. The main characters fall into each of several groups, the farmers, or "hicks," the out-of-towners on the local hockey team and others who come to visit, some visitors can be considered degens, (short for degenerates), the local drug addicts called “skids”, and the "natives," who are members of the local First Nation.

The show starts out the same just about every time, the main character, Wayne, mentioning something someone did or said the other day. This is often a clue as to what the episode will be about. He lives with his sister Katy, the local “hottie” but with a brain, and his friends Squirrely Dan, who takes a college course in Women’s Studies and often quotes his teacher Miss Patricia; and Daryl who wears his barn clothes all the time thus leaving himself open to many odiferous jokes. The two of them work the farm and produce stand with Wayne and Katy; but it is unclear where they actually live, as they are always at Wayne and Katy’s farm. They also don’t really mention Wayne and Katy’s parents, they aren’t dead, but they have, so far, never made an appearance on the show.

Much of the action takes place with the four main actors talking to each other in front of the produce stand, drinking beer. They drink a staggering amount of beer sometimes. They refer to it as being hammered and make sure they have a sober driver, or they don’t go anywhere. Needless to say, they often stay put.

They all have particular ways of speaking. Wayne is completely dead pan. Always. He has never really smiled that I recall. Squirrely Dan has an extremely broad accent and always adds an ‘s’ on all his words. For example, he says almost daily “that’s what I likes most about yous Miss Katy’s” her response is usually, “oh is that what you like about me?

One of my favorite characters is the “skid” or druggy named Stewart. He has the most impressive understanding of the English language. Listening to him speak you can’t understand why he isn’t in college getting his PhD instead of dancing in the parking lot of the Dollar General.

There are other minor characters in the series, but they add so much to the show each and every one is priceless. Like the preacher who is unabashedly gay. His innuendos are delightful, they just roll off his tongue in a continuous stream until you are helpless with laughter.

In Canada, hockey is really big. There are all kinds of teams just like we have a million different soccer franchises in the US. The two main hockey players on the show are, Jonesy, and Reilley who are so brain numbingly stupid they are actually brilliant. Their constant back and forth repartee is stunning. They were both dating Katy in the beginning, but she became bored with them and convinced the boys they would do better on their own. They are gullible and easily led. Half the time I can only shake my head and think that if they were real people, they would be too stupid to live.

The show has introduced many interesting and endearing words to my vocabulary. They use the word “soft” when they mean a bit feminine or emotional, but not exactly gay. For example, Daryl’s Super Soft Birthday Party each year includes a frost-your-own cupcake station and horses dressed as unicorns. I would not have expected this crew to be into that kind of thing, making it even more funny! When Wayne is impatient, he says Tick Tock! When he wants to get going, he says Pitter Patter!

The scripts are so witty and beautifully written, even when they are discussing a sexual encounter. The wordplay between the cast members is often dazzling, I am in awe of their ability to remember their lines, let alone not laugh while they are saying the most absurd things. The episodes are only about 20 minutes each so you can watch for hours!

There is Canadian hick slang and long running jokes, some of the one-liners are negative based humor. They talk frankly and extensively about sex; they use curse words on a regular basis; and they are unapologetic about their values and standards. The characters on the show are confident, uncompromising, and loyal to their friends. One of the sayings from many episodes is “If a friend asks for help, you help ‘em.” No question. I find myself answering affirmatively with “can confirm” instead of yes and “hard no” when I mean a negative.

I consider myself at least a little sophisticated, so some of the town’s traditions and annual activities amaze me as a complete waste of time, or just abysmal. For example: The Annual Adult Spelling Bee, complete with really big trophy.

Living in a small town is completely foreign to me, I was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. It boggles the mind that these people can be happy living in a town where they constantly assert that everyone will have heard about IT, no matter what IT is, as it is a small town.

This show is a guilty pleasure for me because it uses language I find crass, it makes really unimportant things seem meaningful, and it allows me to laugh at fart jokes. There is a whole episode where the crew developed their own social media platform called “Fart Book”.

The take-away from this show, although they probably didn’t intend it, or in fact care if I have a take-away, is that this program grants you a peek at a completely different lifestyle from your own, and brings out a motley crew of characters you can care about.

Or you can just think, “Thank God I am not like those people!” and they make you feel good about yourself.

Check out this compilation of Letterkenny, I believe you will come back for more!