‘When You Know, You Know’ – Creator and Star Jared Keeso Talks About His Decision to End LETTERKENNY in an Exclusive Podcast Interview

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede With LETTERKENNY heading into its 12th and final season, debuting Dec. 25 on Crave, Jared Keeso talked about everything to do with the beloved series in a compelling new interview with the LETTERKENNY-focused podcast, The Produce Stand. Freshly released today, the episode features Keeso – creator and star of Crave’s first-ever original series LETTERKENNY – answering all sorts of questions about himself and the award-winning show, including why he has decided to end it now. “I think we’ve done everything that we can do on that show,” replied Keeso, who plays lead character Wayne. “I’ve written, or had a hand in, writing all 81 episodes. I’m always looking for something new and exciting to do with the characters, a new opportunity to develop them, to help the audience understand them just a little bit better. And it gets tough around the 50 mark, and it gets really tough around the 70 mark. I guess I decided at the 80 mark that that was it.” Keeso said he always wanted LETTERKENNY to go out on a high note, with the series still immensely popular. “This show had so many firsts for me,” Keeso said. “First time as a comedy lead. First time as a TV writer. First time as a TV producer, showrunner. Outside of being captain of a hockey team, it’s the first time that I was the boss. And, you know, another first, after doing so many episodes, was figuring out if maybe I was done. And then deciding I was done. And then telling everybody I was done. And that wasn’t easy. But, when you know, you know.” Of course, Keeso is also the creator and star of the LETTERKENNY spinoff SHORESY, which is in production on its third season now (the first two seasons are on Crave). With LETTERKENNY wrapping up, Keeso was asked if any of those actors might find their way onto SHORESY at some point, either playing the same characters, or in new roles. “I’m not too sure yet,” Keeso said. “It’s not something that I’ve put a ton of thought into, to be honest. You know, it has been a year since we wrapped on LETTERKENNY, and I just started looking at the road ahead immediately. SHORESY is a very different world than LETTERKENNY, I think. My gut tells me it’s very hard to picture anybody from LETTERKENNY in there, but crazier things have happened.” Keeso used that exact same phrase when the possibility of a future LETTERKENNY movie was raised. “Crazier things have happened,” he said. “I think just about anything is on the table. Right now, I’m pretty focused on the road ahead. But yeah, I think all of us would be very interested in that, as a prospect.” Keeso had been a dramatic actor for a decade back when LETTERKENNY began, but as he recalled, he essentially had to take matters into his own hands to break into the comedy world. “I’d been auditioning for 10 years, and you know, in the Canadian industry, they really complicated comedy, and I don’t know who you can attribute this to,” he recalled. “It was a lot of the same thing from casting directors. If there was a comedy coming out, you would get the question, or your agent would get the question, ‘does Jared get comedy? It’s really a game of inches. It’s like chess.’ And I disagree with that. I think you’re funny, or you’re not. And it’s really no more complicated than that. And so I guess I just kind of understood that I wasn’t going to get the opportunity unless I made the opportunity for myself. So I started writing stuff, and chucking it on the wall at YouTube, and seeing what stuck. But, it certainly very quickly became my passion. I didn’t know that I would take to it the way I have.” The hosts of The Produce Stand podcast wondered how Keeso stays humble and grounded, given all the success of LETTERKENNY and SHORESY, both of which have legions of devoted fans not only in Canada, but around the world. “I don’t know, I think it’s just my mom and dad, and my brother and sister, and how I was raised in Listowel, Ontario,” he said. “It’s also 10 years of the grind, 10 years auditioning. A successful actor might book 30% of the auditions that they get. So that’s 10 years of hearing ‘no’ a lot. So when I find myself in this very fortunate position, it’s not lost on me, the time spent. It’s a very fresh memory, the time spent working my way up, and grinding in that life. I’ll never take being at this stage for granted, because yeah, it took me a while to get here.” Given all the jobs he does on LETTERKENNY and SHORESY, plus his hockey skills, and he’s a drummer as well, is there anything Keeso can’t do? “I couldn’t fix a sliding screen door,” he revealed. “I’m not handy around the house. I grew up doing labour at our family sawmill in Listowel, from 12 to 19. There’s nobody better to help you move. I can get your stuff from point A to point B quickly and efficiently. But, small tasks around the house – fixing a sliding screen door, or you may be replacing a toilet seat – even if there’s a very simple YouTube tutorial, I can’t figure it out. I’m completely useless to my family there, to answer your question.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv