Letterkenny Live Proves To Be A Big Hit For TFA in the US

By David Farrell

TFA VP Joel Baskin is touting the success the agency is having with a touring property of Letterkenny Live in the United States.

The agency first teamed up with the property’s owner New Metric Media in 2016, but this is the first time the live touring adaptation has played south of the border, with a show comprised of two 45-minute sets and nine cast members performing skits

Baskin explains that there was a sold-out Canadian tour in 2017 that included multiple arena dates as well as double-show engagements in large theatres. “In 2019, we tested out the US market and were thrilled with instant double-show sell-outs in Minneapolis, New York City, and Chicago. It was an amazing sight to see the sold-out marquee on Broadway in NYC.”

And then the pandemic hit and the tour had to be postponed twice before re-launching earlier this year.

The television show quietly become a Hulu's cult-favourite Canadian comedy in the U.S. and that is what led to the decision to launch the 35-city theatre tour that finally had its start in March of this year, yielding critical kudos and SRO attendances wherever the nine-member cast, that includes show creator Jared Keeso, showed up.

Opening with two shows in Portland on March 10, Letterkenny Live! is successfully playing in major cities across the U.S. including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Washington, and is set to wrap up in Minneapolis on May 4.

Keeso is also executive producer, co-writer and star of the show that is produced by New Metric Media, in partnership with WildBrain and Playfun Games in association with Bell Media, with the participation of Canadian Media Fund, OMDC Tax Credits and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund.

For TFA, Letterkenny Live is a high watermark on a fast-developing new frontier that is all about turning marquee IP properties into touring entities, and Baskin and team have all the contacts, chops and licks to make this new playbook an ongoing and growing success.