— This article contains details of events in seasons 1 of Shoresy. If you haven't see it and you'd rather avoid spoilers, head directly to to start at the beginning —
It might be filled with crude jokes, explosive fight scenes and a constant stream of profanities, but dig beneath the surface and viewers will find that Shoresy – now in its second season at SBS on Demand – is a surprisingly sweet Canadian comedy about family, friendship, ice hockey… and ice-cream.
The English-language series’ creator and writer, Jared Keeso, has taken a minor character from his cult series Letterkenny – also available – and turned him into a loveable underdog.
He wasn’t always this way.
For years, Shoresy was a motormouthed hockey goon who hung around the small town of Letterkenny, Ontario, peppering opponents and team mates alike with creative insults in his obnoxious high voice. His face was never seen, although he was portrayed by Keeso, who also plays the lead role in Letterkenny as the taciturn farmer, Wayne.
Jared Keeso stars as Wayne in ‘Letterkenny’. Keeso is co-creator of the series with Jacob Tierney, who plays Glen. Credit: Distributor
A hugely popular character with fans, it was inevitable that Shoresy would one day get his own spinoff series. Keeso portrays the titular character, finally putting a face to that irritating voice.
As season one opens, the abrasive Shoresy is now a member of the struggling Sudbury Bulldogs in a tiny four-team league in Northern Ontario.
Fed up, owner Nat (Tasya Teles) fires the coach and threatens to close down the perennial cellar-dwellers if they lose another game. However, Shoresy begs for a chance to turn around the Bulldogs’ fortunes, boldly declaring, “This team will never lose again.”
Season 1 sees Shoresy (Jared Keeso) join the Sudbury Bulldogs. Credit: SBS On Demand
Together with new coach and friend Sanguinet (Harlan Blayne Kytwayhat), he sets about recruiting some “veteran presence” to get the team back on the winning ledger.
In a stroke of casting genius, Keeso uses genuine hockey players, who add realism to both the locker room and on-ice scenes.
This includes former National Hockey League journeyman Terry Ryan as “Hitch” and former player turned rapper “Dolo” (as himself), who only speaks French and sets the tone for the Bulldogs’ aggressive new direction when he knocks out his opponent in his first game.
Seeking more team enforcers, Shoresy also recruits three tough Native prison guards – “Tough Native is redundant,” adds Sanguinet – all with the same first name, and henceforth known only as “the Jims” (Jon Mirasty, and brothers Brandon and Jordan Nolan).
Somehow, Keeso makes these characters likeable and their behaviour even quite wholesome at times.
This is epitomised in an early scene in the first season when Shoresy picks up the new recruits from the airport and takes them to his apartment.
Dolo discovers there are ice-creams in the fridge and these scarred, gap-toothed hard men are soon standing around the kitchen eating ice-creams (using bowls, no less, to avoid making a mess). They then realise they haven’t called their parents to tell them they’ve arrived in Sudbury.
“Ma will be right rotted,” says Hitch in his near-incomprehensible Newfie accent.
Next scene, they’re all on their phones while Shoresy berates them for being so thoughtless.
It’s an unexpectedly heartwarming moment that shows how important family is to these guys, and it’s not isolated – the show isn’t afraid to tug on viewers’ heartstrings.
... in Shoresy, we see a more open and vulnerable guy.
Keeso’s superlative performance holds the show together. He fleshes out what was essentially a one-note character on Letterkenny, presenting viewers with someone who’s a womanising boofhead, but also loyal, hard-working and sentimental (he cries during the Canadian national anthem and, frankly, sheds a tear at pretty much anything anytime).
“We saw Shoresy in Letterkenny and he was just some guy ripping on hockey dudes, talking about their moms and all the other stuff,” Kytwayhat tells . “But in Shoresy, we see a more open and vulnerable guy.”
Similar to Letterkenny, Shoresy is packed with clever wordplay and rapid-fire jokes that will have viewers hitting the rewind button to catch them all.
Teles found it a challenge getting used to the dialogue, explaining to , “It’s such a specific style. It’s like its own percussion. It’s a rhythm. Jared does a really good job of setting up all of the jokes, and the comedy is in a lot of the specificity.”
The first season ends on a hopeful note for the Sudbury Bulldogs with the players enjoying a post-match ice-cream in the locker room while calling their parents.
Jared Keeso in the new season of 'Shoresy'. Credit: New Metric Media / Play Fun Games
When the second season begins, viewers learn that the Bulldogs are now defending champions and on a 20-team winning streak in the league. This success has created its own problems as the team fully enjoys the temptations provided by small-town fame.
Nat is worried the players are growing complacent, as they’re constantly distracted by the ungodly number of beautiful women in Sudbury.
Or, as Shoresy succinctly puts it, “We’re hammering too much ass.”
There’s also a looming threat to the Bulldogs’ dominance with a powerful new American team joining the competition.
It’s a testament to Keeso’s sharp scripts and snappy dialogue that Shoresy makes you care about this team of misfits and, in fact, care about ice hockey in general.
It will also have you craving an ice-cream afterwards.
Season 2 of Shoresy is available at SBS On Demand on Friday, 27 October. Double episodes will also air on SBS VICELAND weekly Saturdays 9.30pm from 31 October. Season 1 of Shoresy, as well as all seasons of Letterkenny, are also at SBS on Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Letterkenny
