Watch My TV Debut On "Shoresy" At Midnight On Hulu

Sometime last fall, Spittin' Chiclets producer Mikey Grinnelli and reps from the Canadian mega-hit TV show "Letterkenny" were discussing possible collaborations. Shortly thereafter, and thanks to my guy G, I was invited to take part in a new TV show that would be filming in December up in Sudbury, Ontario. As the pod's resident pseudo-thespian, I accepted faster than a four on "The Bachelor".

The show is titled "Shoresy" and it's a spin-off of the wildly popular "Letterkenny", a comedy about a small Canadian farm town and its citizens. Shoresy is a teammate of the show's hockey bros, Reilly and Jonesy. Somewhat like a profane Wilson from "Home Improvement", we don't see Shoresy's face on "Letterkenny" and only hear his voice (and whatever other sounds his body might be producing in a scene). But in "Shoresy", Jared Keeso, the brilliant creator and showrunner of both shows, fleshes out the character and gives him a depth that viewers of "Letterkenny" will never see coming. And it's terrific.

I flew up to Toronto then drove to Sudbury back in December to film my two scenes. I arrived on Saturday and would be filming on Monday so I'd have some time to work on my lines. It was the last week of production and a lot of people had been living out of the local hotel for several weeks if not a few months. But in addition to being polite, Canadians love to fucking party. And it was a Saturday night. So I bonded with Terry Ryan and the rest of my new castmates over grub and grog.

Leading up to my trip up north, I was genuinely excited to act in a TV show even if I was essentially playing myself. I had read my pages a handful of times in the previous weeks and planned on cramming all day and night Sunday. Early Sunday, I had to go get my covid test and swing by wardrobe to make sure everything fit my oddly-shaped physique.

On my way to greet the woman who was about to covid test me, I abruptly exited stage left and proceeded to puke into the snow between two trailers. She gave me a look of concern but I assured her it was just the after-effects of some good ol' Canadian hospitality. The negative (covid) test results would confirm this moments later. Then I swung by wardrobe and "Shoresy" did what I haven't been able to in 35 years; find a pair of jeans that fits (this is what happens when you leave your ass in the womb). Now I was ready to make my speaking role debut.

While out for the test and fitting, I got a great sense of just how big of a production "Shoresy" is. Tons of trailers. Dozens of very busy people. Large, expensive equipment. A noticeable buzz in the fresh, crisp air. Then I got back to my room to study, saw my name on the call sheet, held my 11-page scene in my hand, and started to shit myself a little bit. With so much at stake, you do not want to be the one to fuck it up. And then I realized I was in the very first scene of the very first episode of this brand new show. Lil more shit.

So I reached out to Jacob Smith, a hockey player-turned-actor who I met the night before, and asked him if he could run (script) lines with me. He happily obliged and I can't say enough about how helpful it was for me. Going through the scene a handful of times not only put me at ease but it helped me to set cues for myself when my lines were coming. He also told me not to worry about remembering every single word as written on the page and that I'd be instructed to convey the same point in my own way. "So...I can come up with my own stuff?". "Oh yeah, just get the same point across." The TV nerd/writer in me was ecstatic. (Thanks Fish, you were immensely helpful when I really needed it.)

After a few hours of sleep, I headed to base camp to put on my duds. 

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After getting dolled up, it was off to the set. The set on this day was the upstairs of a popular local bar that was converted to serve as the studio for a sports panel show---the show within the show that I appear on. We did a rehearsal which was when I test-drove some of the lines I came up with the night before. It if got a good reaction, it stayed. Then we did the scene two or three more times and went onto the next one. My scene co-stars were all super nice and we had a great rapport on and off camera. The crew was very workmanlike, professional, efficient, and polite as hell which makes for a nice set.

A few hours later, I was done with my two scenes and my work on Season One was done. I was fortunate to spend a few minutes shooting the shit with Jared about Chiclets, hockey, cheeseburger soup, and whatever else came up. He's a genuinely fantastic guy that makes you want to root for him. And after you watch "Shoresy", you'll be on your feet chanting his name once you catch your breath from laughing so much.

Yeah, no shit I have a vested interest in the show. But it really is that good and that fucking funny. U.S. television audiences have never seen a TV show like this before---a profane hockey comedy chock full of NHL-level chirps and loaded with heart. It's almost like it was made for Spittin' Chiclets fans. Even if you don't like hockey or don't know a puck from a cup, that doesn't matter. You can enjoy it just as much because quality is quality. And if you never saw a second of "Letterkenny", don't sweat it. You won't be lost at all (but you should put it on your To Do list for later).

Midnight. On Hulu. "Shoresy". Enjoy.