Comedy and sports don’t have a lot in common. Sports are all about wins and losses and the thrill of competition. The best players in the world can fall to bad luck, and every underdog can have their day. It’s serious, high stakes stuff. Comedy is the opposite. Flighty and loose, it’s all about making a mockery of the absurdities we encounter everyday or, occasionally, inventing totally new ones. But there is one thing comedy and sports have in common—the importance of timing. And the best sports comedy streaming now offers up a masterclass in timing unlike any other.
Shoresy is the brainchild of Letterkenny’s Jared Keeso, who stars as the titular Shoresy. The off-beat Canadian-ness is dialed up to 11 this time, shifting focus from rural rubes to club hockey players. Think Ted Lasso by way of Trailer Park Boys. Keeso doesn’t bring the same Golden Retriever energy as Jason Sudekis. He’s definitely an outside dog. But his crass and crude exterior belie a similar zen-like confidence that makes the impossible seem possible.
Photo via Hulu
Don’t Call It a Comeback
Shoresy follows Keeso’s foul-mouthed, braggadocious hockey enforcer after he joins the struggling Sudbury Bulldogs, a senior AAA team on the brink of collapse. Shoresy takes over the locker room with his signature chirps (trash-talk if you’re from south of the border) and relentless energy. Longtime Letterkenny fans will recognize Shoresy from his mythical appearances on the show where he is revealed to be one of the toughest (and dirtiest) players in the game.
Determined to turn the Bulldogs into a winning team, Shoresy recruits a roster of tough, skilled players, including a trio of bruising enforcers and dynamic scorers with major league experience. Alongside new coach Sanguinet (Harlan Blayne Kytwayhat) and team owner Nat (Tasya Teles), Shoresy injects the team with a new attitude, rallying them toward an improbable comeback.
As the seasons progress, the Bulldogs clash with rival teams, local media, and their own self-doubts. Shoresy’s relentless pursuit of victory is balanced with moments of surprising heart, revealing the depth beneath his crude exterior. There are no throwaway characters here. Even smaller roles, like the hulking, reticent trio of enforcers known as the The Jims (Jimmer, Jimmy, and JimBob respectively) are given space to grow into an on-screen presence.
What brings Shoresy to the next level is Keeso’s honed comedic ear. Something about the phrase “Shut the f–k up, Sanquinet!” is still funny even after you’ve heard it a dozen times. Terms like “aqua dump” and “give your balls a tug” will work their way into your daily vernacular. The real showcase for these comes on the ice, where Shoresy’s penchant for chirps is given the free range it needs to realize its full potential.
Screenshot via Hulu
Cool as Ice
This is a show about hockey, after all. The show blends this fast-paced, brutally hilarious dialogue with intense, well-choreographed hockey action. This is a comedy that understands how to do contrasts. One moment you’re doubled-over laughing at some genuinely filthy dialogue, and the next it’s slick slo-mo hockey action and a slobberknocker of a fistfight. (Keeso is a former minor league hockey player and an admitted aficionado of hockey fights, and it shows.)
Shoresy also deserves recognition for its casting. There are numerous Indigenous actors cast in significant roles on the show, a feat in and of itself that helps defy the stereotypes of First Nations people as only living on reservations. Instead, we see Indigenous characters chirping and brawling with the best Sudbury, Ontario has to offer.
And if this is all sounding a little bro-heavy, don’t worry. Shoresy has a lineup of strong female characters who can stand toe-to-toe with the boys. Tasya Teles shines in her role as Nat, owner of the Blueberry Bulldogs. Another standout is her protege Ziig, played by Blair Ramora. Both provide excellent foils for Keeso, who manages to steamroll the toughest hockey thugs but can’t get anything past them despite his charismatic profanity.
Shoresy is the rare sports comedy that captures all of the necessary components in the right measure to formulate success. It brings together absolutely killer joke writing helmed by one of the most underrated comedic actors on television with a genuine love-letter to ice hockey. The cast is stacked with talent, the story is full of heart, and the on-ice action is some of the best ever captured on screen.
