You were watching some of the best episodes of Letterkenny the other dayee when it hit you that this show is one of the most explosive pop culture dynamos to come out of TV in recent years. Not to mention, an essential key to the surprisingly vast appeal of this satire about life in rural Canada – streaming exclusively in the U.S. on Hulu – is how the Letterkenny cast pay tribute to recognizable moments in pop culture, such as The Social Network, for instance.
Given the rapid-fire structure and unique slang terms that Letterkenny has become iconic for, there are only so many shots at pop culture from its current 11 season run that one can keep up with. To be fair (“To be FAIR”), we decided to narrow the selection down to just a few references that we believe are the funniest and most memorable thus far. Pitter patter, let’s get at ‘er.
Pop Culture-Inspired Farm Animal Names (Season 8, Episode 4)
This Season 8 moment sees the other Hicks introducing Daryl (Nathan Dales) to the joys of naming farm animals and taking turns coming up with names that resemble public figures and popular titles. For instance, Wayne (co-creator Jared Keeso) suggests “QuacKkKlansman: A Spike Lee Joint” – inspired by 2018’s Oscar-winning crime thriller, BlacKkKlansman – for a duck, and Katy (Michelle Mylett) strikes gold with “Hamela Anderson” – after Baywatch star, Pamela Anderson – for a pig. Though, there are way too many gems in the scene to choose from.
Shows That Don’t Age Well (Season 8, Episode 1)
There are some movies, as well as TV shows, that would never be made today and Letterkenny poked fun at this phenomenon in its Season 8 opener that sees a heartbroken Wayne turning to an old sitcom called Miss Fire – described as Canada’s version of M*A*S*H – for comfort. However, as Squirrely Dan (K. Trevor Wilson) points out, “that shows did not age well,” due to its homophobic plot involving the macho General Public and his effeminate troop of military personnel.
Annoying Movie Tropes (Season 11, Episode 2)
Sometimes a movie or show aging badly is caused by a reliance on oversaturated movie cliches – some of which the Hicks call out directly in Season 11. Before Katy describes her least favorite example – sharp, dramatic inhales before a line – the other Hicks take turns guessing what it could be. Daryl suggests a loud monologue followed by a whisper, Wayne mentions the way female characters turn the tables on a man by using his own insult against him after kicking his ass, and Dan points out how non-English-speaking children often help lead the main characters away from danger.
Agatha Christie Novels (Season 11, Episode 2)
Many of the cliches above end up playing a role in the same episode, when Glen (Jacob Tierney) questions some Letterkenny natives about a parish theft that, as we eventually learn, was committed by Stewart (Tyler Johnston). As it turns out, he only committed the act so he could “solve” it himself by coming up with scenarios that – as Rosie (Clark Backo) points out – heavily borrow from Agatha Christie novels like Murder on the Orient Express. In fact, the twist that the detective is the guilty one comes from the final Hercule Poroit novel, Curtain.
TikTok (Season 10, Episode 5)
As you will see from this list, internet trends have been a great source for Letterkenny gags, such as in Season 10, when two of the toughest non-Hick side characters Reilly (Dylan Playfair) and Jonesy (Andrew Herr) – and their butts – go viral on the series’ own in-universe version of TikTok called “VidVok.” Meanwhile, the Skids make an extremely misguided attempt to compete with the hockey players by posting videos that expose their illicit drug habits.
Social Media Influencers (Season 11, Episode 5)
The topic of people profiting off of viral fame came back with a twist in Season 11 with Katy competing with the McMurrays (Dan Petronijevic, Melanie Scrofano) to profit off of out-of-town influencers looking for the perfect barn to photograph clients at. The episode savagely pokes fun at influencer culture, from one’s egregiously frequent use of the way Cardi B pronounces “Okurr!” to how Gail (Lisa Codrington) mistakenly calls them “influenzas,” which is also the episode’s title.
DMX’s Barks (Season 6, Episode 5)
This fun Letterkenny cold open reveals Katy's “low-key” love of DMX. Wayne also expresses his admiration for the “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” rapper, particularly as an animal lover “on account of him always barkin’ like a dog in his songs.” After Daryl’s fail to imitate the gruff essence of DMX’s signature “arf, arf” earns comparisons to a cat, Katy demonstrates the barks' power by concluding an impromptu hardcore rap verse with an underwhelming "meow."
Dating Apps (Season 1, Episode 1)
Letterkenny’s pilot episode showed how risque the show was willing to be with this bit that sees Daryl take the recently dumped Wayne to a singles function at the local church where they run into devout Christian, Margaret (Kelly Lamb). When Daryl explains that Wayne has been spending a lot of time on Tinder, Margaret – under the impression that Tinder is just gay dating app Grindr in disguise – condemns the use of such technology with an unnecessarily in-depth description of its users’ activities. This also serves as a perfect introduction to the series’ use of side characters who are a little too open about their close-mindedness.
The Social Network (Season 1, Episode 3)
In the aptly titled Letterkenny episode, “Fartbook,” Dan invents a flatulence-based social media platform in which users can catalog the various ways they let ‘er rip online. Curious about cashing in are Skids Stewart and Devon (Alexander De Jordy), with the latter more interested in recreating scenes from The Social Network – the Academy Award-winning dramatization of the rise of Facebook – but at the least appropriate opportunities. For instance, he suggests dropping the “the,” because “Fartbook” sounds cleaner (like Justin Timberlake’s Sean Parker does), before Wayne points out there was never a “the” to begin with.
Cable Access TV In General (Season 7, All Episodes)
While “Fartbook” would be the first of many episodes made almost entirely for lampooning a certain topic, the show would later spend an entire season making fun of one particular topic – in this case, cable access television. Season 7 sees Wayne, Daryl, and Dan host the agriculturally minded call-in program, Crack N Ag which is basically Letterkenny’s own version of the classic SNL sketch-turned-movie, Wayne’s World, complete with its own, much different Wayne.
K. Trevor Wilson’s Cap’n Crunch Bit (Season 2, Episode 3)
In one cold open, the male Hicks toss around a baseball while talking about the differences between Canadian and American food practices when Squirrely Dan mentions how six different kinds of Cap’n Crunch exist in the U.S, something he learned from a comedian. The stand-up in question is the actor who plays Dan, K. Trevor Wilson, whose commentary on the popular cereal brand is one of his better known bits. This was only Dan’s first reference to the comedian who plays him, whom he describes as a “big feller, hell of a storyteller, handsome as the day is long” despite not being able to remember his name in the Season 4 episode “Letterkenny Talent Show.”
America’s Got Talent (Season 4, Episode 4)
Speaking of “Letterkenny Talent Show,” said episode is host to a number of pop culture tributes which are judged by Wayne and Katy equipped with buzzers to express their disapproval – much like on NBC’s popular competitive reality program, America’s Got Talent. One notable talent show participant is Pastor Glen’s "Christian post alt-rock emo super band” My Tattered Journal, whose outfits resemble My Chemical Romance in the “Welcome to the Black Parade” video. The first act, however, is Modean’s owner Gail performing a passionate monologue from an adult film parody of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator with a clever title that, apparently, exists in real life.
Shark Tank And Many Other Reality Shows (Season 2, Episode 5)
The first time Letterkenny made fun of America’s Got Talent (along with many other reality shows) came about in this episode in which Wayne and Katy decide to invest their recent inheritance in something to benefit the community. They set up a meeting in the style of Shark Tank – complete with Bonnie McMurray (Kamilla Kowall) unnecessarily volunteering as a pitch announcer – for locals to present their ideas. Each pitch just happens to be a scathing, unsubtle riff on a certain reality show, from Intervention to The Bachelor, and more, concluding with a send-up of Duck Dynasty’s anti-gay controversy from 2013.
A Few Iconic TV Ads (Season 2, Episode 2)
Earlier in the second season, Letterkenny had a similar concept in mind to take shots at the marketing industry, which also pokes fun at political campaigns. When Wayne decides to run against McMurrray as Agriculture Hall President, the Hicks, Skids, and hockey players team-up to produce an attack ad in his favor that also recreates a couple of famous commercials for no other reason than to laugh at their random inclusion.
Katy channels an infamous Carl’s Jr/Hardees ad with Paris Hilton by simultaneously eating a cheeseburger and suggestively washing a truck, while Stewart, Jonesy, and Reilly bring back the Budweiser “Whassup!” all the while proclaiming McMurray to be “a piece of shit.”
It is parodically familiar moments like these and the series’ cleverly hilarious way of executing them that we especially appreciates about a show like Letterkenny.
What do you think? Are these the pop culture references on Letterkenny that made you laugh the hardest or is that hard no for you? Well, we would appreciates it if you let us know how you fell in the comments and be sure to check back for additional information and updates on this modern Canadian comedy classic, as well as even more retrospectives on the most essential moments of your favorite TV shows, here on CinemaBlend.
