By Scott Campbell
During the first season of Shoresy, how would anyone predict the Sudbury Blueberry Bulldogs would have skated off the screen and into real-life playing National Hockey League Alumni teams?
Tasya Teles admits it was a surprise.
“The evolution of the show has brought a lot of gifts and a lot of excitement,” she said during a Zoom interview. “For instance, we just played recently in Los Angeles against the L.A. Kings alum.
“That was a huge surprise to even imagine that we would end up there has been incredible. [The team] is going to be in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. I’m really excited for those, but that is something that happened, that you would never know where the journey was going to go in Season 1.”
The Shoresy Classic features a series of hockey games, with a portion of proceeds donated to local charities. Shoresy streams on Crave and Hulu in the States, which also saw other games in Detroit, New York and Boston.
Now, five seasons into Shoresy, Teles has been around since the first, she portrays Nat, the owner and general manager of the Sudbury Blueberry Bulldogs in the fictional Northern Ontario Senior Hockey Organization (The NOSHO).
Shoresy is played by Jared Kesso, also the show’s creator. Which, technically, for those unfamiliar, is a spin-off, since Shoresy first appeared on Keeso’s other series, Letterkenny, as that show completed its run in 2023.
“I mean, there’s a lot of rough language that exists on the show,” said Teles. “You know, edgy stuff, but then there’s also these really beautiful, kind of heartwarming speeches that Shoresy gives or Nat gives and these endearing moments.
“You have that duality, and I think actually the [Shoresy Classic] hockey games themselves are great for families. I mean, the kids might have to be a certain age so they can handle the language, but that’s up to the parents’ discretion.”
Shoresy films on location in Sudbury, Ontario, and a season takes about six weeks to complete. Teles feels like Sudbury has become a second home in a way, as the community has embraced the show.
The cast does arrive a bit beforehand of production, though, for any preparation needed, like fittings.
Teles’ road to Sudbury began with an ask from her agent: record an audition and see what happens.
“Jared’s really specific about the people that he placed on the show, which has been amazing. Like he’s so good at understanding how he wants to put together a team, so to speak.”
The rapid-fire dialogue featured in Shoresy or even Letterkenny is not typically a style heard in other TV shows.
“At the beginning of the show, I wasn’t sure how to necessarily prepare in the best way,” Teles says. “But it’s something that over the course of the seasons, we’ve all just developed that muscle. We all know how to riff off of each other because it’s really like passing a puck.
“That’s how I describe it. It’s going here, it’s going there, it’s going back to you, you’re setting somebody up. It almost mirrors or mimics hockey in that way. And it’s just something that you learn how to do. How often these days do you see someone who creates their own style of comedy, their own unique form of comedy? I think it’s just brilliant writing.”
This fifth Shoresy finale drops on Crave on January 22 (a sixth season was just announced by Crave). Teles teased at the time of this interview that viewers have yet to see the face-off between the Euros and the Canadian and American teams. Shoresy is coaching for the first time, too, to find out if he is successful.
“When you start any TV show, you never really know what’s going to happen,” said Teles. “What the journey is going to be, or how many seasons you’re going to go into. Being a part of this team, and this show and being able to grow my character throughout the seasons has been so rewarding.”
Stream Shoresy anytime on Crave.
Images courtesy of Bell Media.
