What happens when you mix the feel good vibes of Schitt’s Creek, the small town shenanigans of Parks and Recreation, and enough running gags to power an army of Canadian geese? You get the breakout comedy series Letterkenny, which just premiered its 9th season stateside on Hulu. The deeply Canadian series, which debuted in 2016, has since racked up a devoted fanbase thanks to its loveable characters, its rich vernacular, and its strong writing.
“There are 5000 people in Letterkenny. These are their problems,” reads the opening text of every episode. The series centers on siblings Wayne (show creator Jared Keeso) and Katy (Michelle Mylett) who run a small farm and produce stand with their fellow Hicks Daryl (Nathan Dales) and Squirrelly Dan (K. Trevor Wilson). Other groups in town include dimwitted hockey bros, drug dealing Skids, and a host of townsfolk who share a love of drinking, brawling, and hooking up.
As one of the few women in the series, Mylett’s Katy embodies and upends many female stereotypes. A prototypical guy’s girl, Katy is confident and laid-back, sex positive and openly bisexual, and more than willing to engage in a brawl or two. As the only girl among the Hicks, she never plays the scold or the mom, but is instead an equal part of the group. Her tight-knit relationship with Wayne is the emotional core of the series. The end of season 8 saw Katy get her heart broken by cheating American bro Dierkes, which resulted in the entire town of Letterkenny storming Dierkes house to kick the crap out of him.
Season 9 sees Katy bringing her scorched earth dating strategy back to Letterkenny, and relying on her friends to help see her through her heartbreak. We sat down with Mylett to talk about Katy’s journey this season.
The Mary Sue: Katy has such a diehard fanbase both within the world of the series and outside it. What was it like filming that final battle scene at the end of season 8?
Michelle Mylett: That’s my favorite scene, that whole final montage. I feel like it really represents what the show is truly about at its core. Regardless of our differences, we’re a community and we look out for each other. We don’t take bullying, we don’t condone it, we don’t respect it, and we’ll fight it to the end. I remember filming it and it feeling really special, and then watching it back it really hit me, it almost made me a little bit emotional in kind of a funny way, even though I knew what to expect obviously. It just has such heart, and it’s cool to feel so supported, and because of that support she gets to feel herself completely, and that’s a really special thing.
TMS: The premiere of season 9 features you performing a spoken word piece shot in black and white. How did that come about?
MM: Jared (Keeso) told me that that was the plan for the season opener, usually each season opener is kind of Jared’s, he chooses a risky, different monologue to start the season, so it was really cool he asked me to do this. And he wrote a really cool, very intricate, very fast rap kind of spoken word poetry thing. I was quite nervous about it to be honest, we shot it with a lot of cast behind me and I did it a capella the whole way through. I was quite nervous but it was really fun and it was definitely out of my comfort zone, which is always fun to do.
The inspiration was this Eminem freestyle track dissing Donald Trump, not saying my performance was similar or anything, but that performance was the visual inspiration and the tone.
(Jared Keeso and Michelle Mylett, photo by Amanda Matlovitch)
TMS: Where would you like to see Katy go from here?
MM: I think, what I like so much about this role is, as a female sometimes there’s a lot of romantic, you know, Katy dates a lot and that’s part of the storyline, and that’s part of her journey from time to time, it doesn’t really define her for me. Like, she’s kind of been exactly who she is from season one to now. She’s very strong, she’s got very strong values, and she doesn’t change for anybody. She isn’t defined by a relationship, she’s not defined by a job. She’s got her community, her life, and she just knows who she is.
It’d be cool to see her outside her comfort zone. She went to the city previously, but I’d be curious to see Katy and the Hicks and all the rest of the gang in a city or in LA or something, see them in a fish out of water situation. Anything could happen with Katy, time will tell!
TMS: Do you have a favorite running joke or gag in the series?
MM: I love so much of it and so much of it makes me giggle genuinely, as a person watching the show. I really have a soft spot for the Coach’s (Mark Forward) laugh – that giggle, there’s something about the absurdity, it makes me uncomfortable, but I love it, but I’m afraid of it. It throws me off every time.
Oh, and the Skids dancing. I just love the dancing Skids, they make me so happy. I hope they dance more in the future.
All nine seasons of Letterkenny are currently streaming on Hulu.
(featured image: Amanda Matlovich/Hulu)
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Published: Jan 10, 2021 02:57 pm