The popular comedy series Letterkenny has continued to extend its fan base far beyond its native Canada as it returns for its 11th season on Hulu. The eponymous small rural town has its residents debate various aspects of the human condition while trying to find love, keep up with their chores, and engage in regular bouts of drinking and fisticuffs. Guiding viewers through all the flannel-wearing hilarity is Katy (Michelle Mylett), who helps run her family farm with her brother Wayne (Jared Keeso), and Gail (Lisa Codrington), who runs the local bar along with a series of additional odd jobs.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Michelle Mylett and Lisa Codrington shared some of their favorite moments from Letterkenny Season 11. The pair praised the cast and crew for constantly raising the bar of comedic quality 11 seasons in and explained how they continue to grow into their respective characters.
CBR: The Women's Day episode, with the pageant and everyone trying to one-up each other with raunchy stuff, strikes me as a lot of fun to put together. How was it filming that?
Lisa Codrington: It was really fun! That was also the first time we had shot since the pandemic had started, and it was so much fun to have an audience of amazing background performers who were just so excited. There was such a great crowd feeling that it was like, "We're on stage! We're actually at a pageant!" It was a blast!
Michelle Mylett: It's also the first episode where it was just the girls -- even the audience was just girls. All the female cast was there on stage, either in the pageant or judging, so we were all there, and that was nice. There are always the girls around, of course, but Letterkenny is a lot of dudes. [laughs] It was a really nice day. We all had a lot of fun. We all had a blast, and I was revolted many times. [laughs]
I love that when the dude element does come back in, we see how much Wayne really loves his sister. That was always there, but we get to see it beautifully articulated. How has it been working with Jared Keeso to layer in that relationship between Wayne and Katy?
Mylett: That was always so clear to me, the relationship between Katy and Wayne just being solid. I have an older brother, and it's not like we're constantly telling each other how much we love each other or are hugging each other. We're rarely touching or being mushy with each other. It's just an understanding, and I think a lot of people with siblings can relate to that. I think there's a lot of respect between Wayne and Katy. Yes, he's protective, but he also trusts her to take care of herself. There's mutual respect, and it was a very nice moment for Wayne to be a little vulnerable with Katy. I think that was nice and appropriate, given the episode.
Lisa, the last time we spoke, you mentioned it's the boots that help you find the character of Gail.
Codrington: I'm desperately trying to keep my feet up, yes. [laughs]
Is that where her constant movement comes from?
Codrington: I think the boots have a lot to do with it, but I also think Gail is always ready for whatever is going to happen. There's always a party in her body a little bit, so she's always just kind of gliding to her own music. I think it's a combination of the boots and her inner rhythm. She's just having a grand time.
Michelle, the last time we spoke, you were saying you really like it whenever you get to drive the truck, which you do this season. How has it been, as Katy continues to grow into her own woman, to get behind the wheel?
Mylett: I think it's more of a personal thing. I'm not a truck-driving gal in my normal life. I just think it feels really cool to drive this big, intense truck. I grew up in a small town where there were a lot of truck drivers, and something about it just feels really... it's sort of cheesy to say, but powerful. It's fun, and I also just like driving in general!
Gail's gotten to evolve over the course of the show, getting to participate in more activities rather than just tending bar and letting everyone know she's DTF. How has it been tracking that growth?
Codrington: I think Gail's growth has been tracked by the bars that have burnt down. She's had lots of bars and probably a lot of insurance deals, but it's nice to see her doing all these different jobs. She's training dogs and doing this and that. I love being behind the bar, but I love to see what happens when Gail is at a pageant or at the barn. It's nice to see all the aspects of her.
Mylett: She's a true entrepreneur!
Michelle, while Letterkenny does have a tendency to be dude-heavy, there are a lot of scenes this season between Katy and Rosie. How is it working with Clark Backo?
Mylett: I love Clark! She's the best. She's so lovely, fun, and talented. I think we all love working with her, and she and I have become close. It's an easy day when I know I get to do scenes with her. I love their dynamic of a brother's girlfriend who is really like a sister that I think Katy likes to have because she's always been surrounded by male friends. I think it's nice to have a woman in her life that she can trust, is close with, and is starting to see as a sister. All of those dynamics are nice to play with, and Clark is the best.
11 seasons deep, how is it having Jacob Tierney behind the camera, and what is your creative shorthand like with him?
Mylett: Jacob's the best! I'm obsessed with him. He's so good at his job and so annoyingly smart. He's one of my dearest friends now, and I hope that he feels the same way. He's a very hands-on director, but he really trusts all of us to play around and bring ideas. If an idea isn't working, he'll transition it somewhere else without it feeling hurtful. [laughs] He's got those skills in that way with actors. He's an actor himself, so he really understands what we're trying to do.
He's very good at being supportive while also making sure we're staying on pace. I don't think I've ever worked with a director as good as him, especially in the comedy space and especially at our pace. We shot 20 pages in a day, which is sort of unheard of. A set will usually shoot 2-4 pages -- we're shooting 18-20 on most days, and he keeps us on schedule, which is insane. I really don't have enough good things to say about Jacob.
Codrington: I agree! I also think he has a way to make you feel confident and excited to play and ready to play because I think you have to be when you're doing comedy -- excited, fun, and ready to jump in. I feel like he cultivates that feeling on set when you're diving in. It always reaps really wonderful benefits, and I trust him. He's like, "We're good. We got that!" and I'm like, "Okay, Jacob knows what he's doing!" and you just continue on.
How do you keep that comedic energy going and find new directions to take your characters 11 seasons in?
Mylett: For me personally, I've seen a lot of growth in Katy, and at the same time, [have] seen her just be the person she is. There's just that authenticity that's always there, and the writing is always leveling up, which gives us a lot of inspiration just on the page. We all come really prepared and wanting to make each other or step it up a notch for ourselves. There is that healthy competition between the cast that's not about trying to one-up each other but just [trying] to elevate and make it a better season than the last. I've noticed that with the entire cast, everybody's just coming correct. Nobody's trying to slack off or be complacent, which is really nice.
Codrington: I agree 100%. There are also so many wonderful additional characters that come in, and the opportunity to play with new people also brings new energy to your character. Just playing with different people in the cast who maybe you haven't had a lot of scenes with before, that always kind of brings new life into something. Like, what's Gail's relationship like with Jim versus Katy and Rosie? It's always kind of fun to see how many characters there are on the show because that's so many opportunities to have new relationships.
Created by Jared Keeso, all 11 seasons of Letterkenny are available to stream on Hulu.