Letterkenny, Ontario, which is the site for the hit comedy series, Letterkenny, is fictional and inspired by the small town of Listowel in Ontario, and surrounding areas.
Letterkenny is the 2016 Canadian hit comedy series that premiered in Canada in 2016. The series has garnered a US cult following in recent years due to its placement on Hulu, an American streaming service.
Credit is given to the collective premise and overall tone of the series, which is filled with quick wit and distinctive Canadian slang. This is something new for US viewers.
The story takes place in the fictional town of Letterkenny, Ontario. It is inspired by the creator’s own Canadian small-town experiences and hometown – Listowel, Ontario as well as the surrounding areas he experienced as a child.
What is Letterkenny?
Before Letterkenny became the television hit series it has since become, the sitcom was a YouTube web series created by lead, Jared Keeso, who plays Wayne in the sitcom.
The idea of the series came while Keeso was working on the 2014 police drama, 19-2. Imagined as a five-part YouTube series, the series went viral and earned a nomination at the Canadian Screen Awards for the Digital Media category.
In 2016, the television spin-off series aired its first season with Keeso still at the helm, along with co-star and series director, Jacob Tierney who was also the co-writer of the series.
The premise is, “Quick-witted, fast-paced snappy comedy about rural folk getting by in a small town.”
Is Letterkenny a real place?
The name of the sitcom is based on the fictional small Canadian town of Letterkenny, Ontario with a population of 5 000.
The town is filled with divergent contingents who have their own references in the story, such as “skid” which refers to goth-punk criminals; “degens” which refers to delinquents that were not born in the town; and “hick” which refers to farmers.
A hick is the lead and creator of the series. Jared Keeso portrays Wayne – the toughest and most opinionated guy in town.
Keeso leading the cast is fitting, as the series is based on his experiences from his hometown of Listowel, Ontario, which, besides the archetypes of the characters featured in Letterkenny, is the inspiration of the show.
Keeso later explained that even the surrounding towns inspired the series stating that, “I lived in a lot of small towns playing hockey and picked up a lot of that stuff along the way.”
Where is Letterkenny shot?
Given that Letterkenny is fictional and inspired by Jared Keeso’s experience growing up in Listowel, Ontario, the series aimed to capture the feeling and look of an authentically Canadian small town.
As such, most of the series is shot in Sudbury, Ontario, which is an estimated four hours north of Toronto.
The site is one of the more popular locations for shooting films and television shows as it is large enough to accommodate regular filming and large crews, but still keeps its small-town aesthetic.
One of the other projects shot there was the first live-action film of the X-Men franchise in 2000.
Is Letterkenny Live cancelled?
Following the success of the television series, the cast and crew further capitalised on its growing success by launching Letterkenny Live.
As the name suggests, this is the live version of the series where the actors take the stage to perform skits and comedy sets for a live audience.
In 2020, just before the US leg of the US/Canada tour, the show announced they were postponing touring the US in light of the pandemic.
However, in January 2022, they went on to social media to share the new dates which started in March 2022, and is set to end the US leg in May 2022.
Where is Littlekenny season 2?
Given the popularity of the series and its supporting live performance with main cast members of the series featured, Jared Keeso created the animated version of Letterkenny called Littlekenny in 2019.
The premise was, “Animated shorts that provide an origin story for the friendships of the Letterkenny Hicks.”
The first season had a total of six episodes which suggests that the animated series with an adult-focused tone was a limited mini-series as there has been no news of whether a second season is coming or not.
Moreover, the actors are still on tour for Letterkenny Live in the US.
Final thoughts
Letterkenny marks another YouTube sitcom web series that not only had critical acclaim, but also commercial acclaim following its adaptation into a television series.
Think Insecure, if the premise was of a small town in Canada called Letterkenny, Ontario, with a population of 5000 and not Inglewood, California.
While Insecure may have been based on an existing location, Letterkenny is purely fictional and based on co-creator, Jared Keeso’s life growing up in Listowel, Ontario and the surrounding areas as he would go on hockey trips and competitions when he was young.