Is Shoresy Worth Watching? Yep

Get this guy a Puppers, eh? Initially, it didn’t feel as though Shoresy would do much for Jared Keeso and those that came with him to put up this Letterkenny spinoff, but upon watching the show it became kind of obvious that such a sentiment wasn’t correct in the least bit. Those that have watched Letterkenny up to this point obviously already know of Shoresy, the foul-mouthed hockey player that spends almost as much time on the toilet as he does on the ice, and is one of the dirtiest players to ever lace up his skates. But while Letterkenny managed to keep Shoresy’s face hidden most of the time, the voice was kind of hard to mistake for anyone else since Keeso has had a bit of fun playing the characters of Wayne and Shoresy for a while. Bringing the latter into the starring role isn’t too hard to get into since Shoresy doesn’t change at all, though the audience does get to see a different side of him in this show, and it’s all kinds of great since while it’s true that he’s a jerk and is proud of it, he also has other aspects to his character that Keeso added in to make Shoresy kind of likable. 

While Letterkenny focused on several different issues within its own borders, Shoresy focuses intently on hockey and the lives of the players that make up the Sudbury Bulldogs, who are seen to be experiencing a losing streak that has their owner, Nat, ready to pull up stakes and call it a day. When Shore, aka Shoresy, makes a bet with her that under his control, and that of Sanguinet, his teammate and friend, the team will never lose again, Nat agrees to keep the Bulldogs afloat for as long as she can. The delivery, jokes, and overall feel of this show is roughly the same as Letterkenny, but it feels a little rougher, a little edgier in some ways, though not so much that it pulls away completely from Letterkenny. What it does do is introduce a lot of new characters that are fun and engaging since they each bring their own special touch to the show, much as the original cast did to Letterkenny. 

One thing that is kind of hard to miss is that the women in this series are by far and large kind of vicious since Nat and her two yes-women, Ziigwan and Miigwan, are usually ready and willing to launch a quip or an insult at any given moment, while the men that make up the team and the rest of the cast kind of have to take it or find a way to fire back as quickly as they can. The rest of the women in this show tend to be there for background and aren’t quite as forceful or tough, but it creates an interesting contrast. When the quest begins to bolster the Bulldogs for the upcoming season however and to get bums in seats as the saying goes, things start to get even funnier since while the characters take a bit to get used to, there is the feeling that they bring the same kind of flat, comedic intensity to the show that was seen in Letterkenny with those who made the program so great. 

Shoresy is definitely far removed from the character of Wayne since he’s louder, brasher, and fully ready to deliver one quip or another when he feels the need, not necessarily when it’s warranted or desired. If anyone remembers, and I’m certain that many fans do, Wayne is quiet, reserved, and has a certain way of doing things that are far removed from the way Shoresy does things. This character is great since he’s kind of just out there, for lack of a better description, meaning that he’s bound to say what’s on his mind and not care if anyone else is ready to hear it. One might think that a real-life Shoresy would be the kind of guy that a lot of people might steer clear of, but the reality is that a lot of us have likely known a guy kind of like Shoresy in our life at least once since he’s the type that people say ‘he’s a jerk, but he’s OUR jerk’. 

That’s a big part of the appeal of a character like Shoresy since he’s the kind of guy that might not be the nicest or the most polite, but he can be counted on to be there when a friend needs something. His antics on the ice and his attitude off the ice are what makes this character a lot of fun, and Keeso obviously had a good time bringing Shoresy to life. And much as it happened in Letterkenny, he’s apt to tell someone to give their balls a tug now and again, and while it’s not exactly comedy gold, it’s tough to keep from laughing at the delivery of such a line.