Everything about Letterkenny, eh?

Letterkenny, Littlekenny

Good things come in small packages: Littlekenny debuts June 28 on Crave

From a media release:

There are 500 kids at Letterkenny Central School, and audiences will soon learn about all of their pint-sized problems. The new Crave Original Series LITTLEKENNY, an irreverent, short-form animated extension of Crave’s smash-hit comedy LETTERKENNY, premieres on Friday, June 28 with all six episodes, just in time for the Canada Day long weekend.

Created, written, and directed by Jared Keeso, LITTLEKENNY tells the origin story of The Hicks, and how standing up for each other in the schoolyard resulted in their friendship. Featuring the voices of LETTERKENNY stars Nathan Dales as young Daryl; K. Trevor Wilson as young Dan; Keeso as young Wayne; and Canadian actress Kandyse McClure as the voice of Ms. Tricia, these wee-hicks may seem adorable, but as with their original incarnations, their quick wit packs a Texas-sized punch.

LITTLEKENNY will also be available on other Bell Media platforms including:

  • SnackableTV (all six episodes drop on June 28)
  • On CTV.ca as part of the SnackableTV collection (all six episodes drop on June 28)
  • The Crave YouTube channel (sampling)
  • TheComedyNetwork.ca (sampling)
  • MUCH.com (sampling)
  • MTV.ca (sampling)

Additionally, Episodes 1 and 2 will be available as a sneak peek on the Letterkenny Problems YouTube channel on June 27.

As LITTLEKENNY gets introduced to the world, its big brother LETTERKENNY is also in the spotlight over the Canada long weekend with:

  • A LETTERKENNY Season 5 marathon on Crave on Sunday, June 30 beginning at 9 p.m. ET, followed by a Season 6 marathon on Monday, July 1, beginning at 9 p.m. ET
  • New LETTERKENNY-inspired collections on Crave including “LETTERKENNY Cast’s Favourite Comedies” chosen by cast including Mark Forward and Nathan Dales, “The Best of Squirrely Dan,” and “The Best of Daryl”
  • A “Best of LETTERKENNY” five-episode marathon airs on Much on Saturday, June 29 at midnight following THE SIMPSONS. Select LITTLEKENNY episodes will also air on Much on Friday, June 28 during the Much Friday Night movie.

Another six-pack of LETTERKENNY is set to debut on Crave on October 11, as production gets set to begin on Season 8 this summer.

LITTLEKENNY is produced by New Metric Media in association with Playfun Games and Bell Media, with the participation of Canadian Media Fund, OMDC Tax Credits and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and distributed by DHX Media with New Metric Media as sales agent. Animation services for LITTLEKENNY were provided by Little Blackstone Inc.

For LETTERKENNY, Jared Keeso is executive producer, co-writer, star, and creator, Jacob Tierney is executive producer, director, and co-writer and Mark Montefiore is executive producer for New Metric Media.

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Bad Blood, Industry News, Letterkenny

New Metric Media bolsters original slate with three development deals from critically-acclaimed authors

From a media release:

New Metric Media, the independent production company behind Hulu’s hit series “Letterkenny” and the popular Netflix series “Bad Blood”, has optioned the rights for multiple projects from three renowned authors including bestselling Criminologist Dr. Michael Arntfield (“Murder City: The Untold History of Canada’s Capital of Serial Homicide”), veteran author and Toronto Star’s lead investigative reporter for organized crime Peter Edwards and popular online personality Anne T. Donahue, announced today by Mark Montefiore, President, New Metric Media.

Based on the book by best-selling true-crime author Dr. Michael Arntfield, “Monster City” divulges the true account of the serial killers who terrorized Nashville’s music scene for over three decades in recent history — and the cold-case Murder Squad determined to bring an end to the sadistic killing sprees of ‘The Motel Killer’, ‘The Fast Food Killer’ and ‘The Rest Stop Killer’ among others. An industry-leading consultant on crime trends and emerging forensic methodologies, Arntfield is attached to consult on the project. Monster City is published by Little A, the literary fiction and nonfiction imprint of Amazon Publishing.

New Metric Media is extending its partnership with Peter Edwards, currently serving as an Executive Producer on the hit TV series “Bad Blood” which is based on one of his books. The indie prod-co will develop multiple television series to create the “Peter Edwards Universe”, based on optioning the rights to a selection of his novels. Some of his most notable books under the deal include “Unrepentant: The Strange and (Sometimes) Terrible Life of Lorne Campbell, Satan’s Choice and Hells Angels Biker” and “The Bandido Massacre: A True Story of Bikers, Brotherhood, and Betrayal”, both of which were national bestsellers as well as upcoming titles such as “The Wolfpack” to be published by Penguin Random House this year.

 “Nobody Cares” is a frank, funny personal essay collection by the author of popular newsletter ‘That’s What She Said’ Anne T. Donahue.  The prolific and raw memoir about work, failure, friendship, and the messy business of being alive in your twenties and thirties also deftly tackles the subject of mental health. As she shares her hard-won insights from screwing up, growing up, and trying to find her own path, Anne’s essays offer all the honesty, laughs, and reassurance of a late-night phone call with your best friend. Donahue is attached in the adaptation.  “Nobody Cares” is published by ECW Press.

 Michael Arntfield is repped by Sohrab Merchant at The Characters, Grace Freedson at Grace Freedson’s Publishing Network and Danny Webber at Hall Webber LLP. Peter Edwards is repped by Juliet Forrester from Top Left Entertainment and Premier Artists’ Management. Anne T. Donahue is repped by Addison Duffy at UTA and Carly Watters at PS Literary.

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Featured, Letterkenny

Mark Forward aims to win All of the Awards in fantastic Crave stand-up special

The last time I spoke to Mark Forward, it was in 2014. Back then he’d implored Canadian comics to support “rather than slag” each other to spread the word about our homegrown talent.

Since then, Forward has taken on the memorable role of Coach on Crave’s smash-hit Letterkenny, produced his own comedy special Mark Forward Presents, available for rent or download, and revived his podcast with Eric Andrews. And, most recently, he’s also one of three Canadian comics (D.J. Demers and Robby Hoffman are the others) who has landed their own Crave original stand-up specials.

Mark Forward Wins All of the Awards is available for streaming on Crave and features new material. It is, to put it simply, hilarious. Forward ranges around the stage, riffing on death, dogs, talking bees and finding the time to make sandwiches as a single dad, discussing the absurdities of each topic and pushing his personal boundaries to get a laugh. We spoke to Forward about Mark Forward Wins All of the Awards and his experience on Letterkenny.

Where was the venue, and when was this recorded?
Mark Forward: This was recorded at JFL 42, this past September, at Longboat Hall.

In your act, you made a joke about themes and how every comedian tries to have one in their act. You were just out there being silly, and having fun. Why was that important?
MF: Because I think that’s what I’ve always done. I have the odd stuff that’s a bit rantier, but I’ve always lived in the silliness. I went to the Edinburgh Festival, and I just saw a lot of serious standup shows. So, after my first experience there, I went home and wrote this one. Silly is where I live, and what I like. I like people that let go once they come in the door, and they giggle the whole way through. That’s what I like. I have nothing against the other things, but I sure like taking the piss out of it.

This was all-new material? 
MF: It’s a complete new hour. A couple of the bits have a longer life than the actual special, but they were all about death. I think the bee bit for one, was something I’ve been working on. So yeah, it was put in, it was something I wrote over a year, and I really like it. Can I say that?

Does it take a year to write? Does it sometimes take longer? How does that work?
MF: I never know when it’s coming, and I’m terrified it’s gonna stop. So, luckily for that show, I had an idea and a theme. But I’m always terrified that’s the last one.

Your stand-up act has evolved quite a bit, from the traditional to what you do now. Has it evolved organically?
MF: Totally organically. I wouldn’t have come up against doing that stuff when I was younger, because I didn’t have the confidence or the backing behind me. You have to grow organically as a comic, and start doing the stuff that makes you laugh, and that takes years to get there. But, the real initial point for me is, I was seeing Jon Dore for the first time, and he was just breaking all the rules, and it was just an eye-opening moment for me. I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t have to be what everybody else is. I can do the things I want to do.’

I wanted to ask you about the podcast, and the reason for you and Eric getting back together again. You joke that no one’s listening to it, and yet, you came back.
MF: We felt we needed to take some time away. I’m a big proponent of, if we’re not having total fun, then let’s not do it. So, we took a step away, and I missed it. I called him, and said, ‘Would you be willing to do it some more?’ And he was in. I think we’re having more fun than we had before, so yeah, I’m enjoying it a lot now.

Letterkenny has been a huge hit in Canada. People love it around the world, and you’ve been out on the Letterkenny tour. What’s it been like, being part of this whole world?
MF: It’s been a wild ride, and to get to know [creator] Jared [Keeso], and what a solid human being he is, it’s just been amazing, and I always text him every season, and say, ‘Is coach dead, or am I coming back?’ He has given me so much and been so kind to me, and that tour was unreal. I can’t thank that guy enough, for letting me be a part of his work ethic. I can’t say enough about that guy. He’s just a solid, solid dude. I see real joy in that he’s getting to do this, which is rare as well. He’s just happy. He should be exhausted, he should be bitchy, he should be … screaming, calling the shots, and he just doesn’t. The pressure is just … He’s unreal under it because he just loves what he’s doing.

Mark Forward Wins All of the Awards is available now on Crave.

Check out Mark’s website for upcoming stand-up dates in Ontario and Australia.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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Letterkenny, Wynonna Earp

Link: Letterkenny: Melanie Scrofano on being part of TV’s craziest couple

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Letterkenny: Melanie Scrofano on being part of TV’s craziest couple
“I did the same thing and the knee-jerk is that it’s for dudes and jocks. Then you realize that it’s so subversive and smart. I just love what they’ve done with it.” Continue reading. 

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Letterkenny

Link: “Letterkenny” is the surprisingly queer Canadian comedy you’ve been sleeping on

From Valerie Anne of AutoStraddle:

Link: “Letterkenny” is the surprisingly queer Canadian comedy you’ve been sleeping on
On paper, Letterkenny isn’t the kind of show I am normally into. So imagine my surprise when suddenly I found myself finished with all six seasons within a week, squealing about the unexpected amount of queer content that somehow never crossed my radar in the three years it’s been airing, and delighted to have found a new “happy place” show. Continue reading.

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