When Shoresy premiered in 2022, Ted Lasso was at the height of its powers and in between Seasons 2 and 3. Now, the Apple TV+ soccer comedy is over (seemingly), and the Letterkenny spinoff has just premiered its third season on the 2024 TV schedule, and people are talking about what these shows have in common. While there are some pretty obvious commonalities between them, which the cast of Shoresy acknowledged, they also told CinemaBlend how their show is “a lot raunchier and punchier.”
When CinemaBlend’s Katie Hughes asked the cast of the Letterkenny spinoff about their hockey show being compared to the Emmy-winning comedy from Jason Sudeikis, they didn’t shy away from it. In fact, Tasya Teles, who plays Nat, agreed with it as she told us:
Shoresy’s a lot raunchier and punchier for sure, which is kind of true of hockey maybe within the sports world, that it's an edgier game. It's a harder game with the skates, and the fighting and the ice. It's just, you know, different energy all together. But I remember Jared [Keeso] telling me that he was like, ‘I want to make hockey players cry.’ And I remember being like, ‘Okay…’ He said that in the second season, and I had no idea where he was going with that. And then finally in Season 3, I started to understand more. I feel like this season you really see inside his mind of where he wants to take the show.
While Ted Lasso’s hilarious lines are countless, the soccer comedy’s heartwarming moments also stacked up across three seasons, and the same can be said about Shoresy. The more we learned about Jared Keeso’s titular character and his team, the deeper it gets. As Teles said, they’ve made a show with a big heart that’s also hilarious, and while it's significantly “edgier” than Jason Sudeikis’ project, it’s understandable why they’re being compared.
When Keilani Elizabeth Rose, who plates Miigwan, answered the question, she spoke about Keeso’s performance specifically, noting how committed he is to the role:
I feel like [Jared Keeso] really doesn't hold back. And I think that's what shows, and that's what people really resonate with. Like the story about him pulling out his tooth because that's how committed he is to this character and this, you know, element of being a hockey player. And you can feel that in everything that he delivers and everything that he offers to all of us to like, bring us together to create this story. And I feel like, I mean, yeah, it shows up in rowdiness and it shows up in heart and it shows up in so many ways.
This does speak to a major difference between Ted Lasso and Shorsey, seeing as the titular characters are wildly different, however, it also calls out a similarity. Jason Sudeikis plays Ted in a way that is three-dimensional and wholly committed, it’s not a one-dimensional bit. While extreme at times, he’s also super grounded and brings so much heart to the coach of AFC Richmond. The entire Ted Lasso cast does this, honestly, and so does the ensemble of Shoresy.
Obviously, the nature of hockey is more extreme than soccer, but, they’re both team sports that require a group to come together despite their differences and work toward victory as one. Both shows bring a whole host of personalities together beautifully and they track a team that goes from losing to winning.
However, when it comes to those personalities and the nuances of both sports, that’s where you’ll find the biggest differences in these shows, as Michaels actor Ryan McDonell said:
Well, Lasso is its own kind of show. But I think, like, where people might find those commonalities, like, is the group the large dynamic of the team and like, you know, seeing yourself in like those groups and coaches and staff. So yeah, there's similarities in a way. But, you know, we're very specific into the hockey. You know, they're very specific into the soccer. And those are very, very different sports, you know. So we're different things, a little more vulgar perhaps.
“Vulgar” is right. Roy Kent from Ted Lasso – who actually has so much in common with the titular character, Shoresy, especially when it comes to their career trajectories – might drop f-bombs left and right and Jamie Tartt can be quite “raunchy.” However, if you want the raunch kicked into high gear, watch Shoresy.
Overall though, these two shows as a whole tell emotional and funny stories about a team of characters that we’ve really grown to love the longer we get to know them. We see them struggle and find victory, and going on that relatable rollercoaster with them is what makes these shows great. As McDonnell said:
Comedy happens in life, whether it's, you know, like pain or emotional things. Like so this happens to be a comedy, but there's, you know, there's a lot of real things that are happening. And I think that's what people latch onto for sure.
Both shows share universal themes, and they use comedy and heart to depict them. I’d like to leave you with Teles comments regarding that and the journey the characters on Shoresy go on across three seasons:
And I think, you know, both the Ted Lasso and Shoresy, their success lies in talking about the stories of the players, you know, behind and everything that they go through to push their team to achieve great things. And that's the heart that's universal, that whether you play soccer or hockey or whatever sport, you know, we can all kind of identify with and connect to that.
I think people love both these shows because it’s so wonderful to see individuals grow into their potential and find great success as a team. While there are blatant differences between Shoresy and Ted Lasso, their hearts (among other things) are silly and similar, and we love them both dearly for it.
To draw your own comparisons and spot your own differences between these sports comedies, you can stream Shoresy with a Hulu subscription and Ted Lasso with an Apple TV+ subscription.
