Jared Keeso, Georges St-Pierre and Jonathan Torrens in I Kill the Bear, the Crave Original comedy.
Photo credit: Bell Media / Crave
Bell Media has not announced I Kill the Bear as a spinoff or sequel to Letterkenny or Shoresy. Jared Keeso’s new six-part Crave comedy introduces the Thibaults, a Franco-Ontarian family whose business involves handling bears for film productions. The series premieres November 6 with Keeso, several actors from his earlier shows and the same production company behind both.
There is a substantial connection between the productions. Shoresy grew out of Letterkenny, while Keeso’s 2023 agreement with Crave includes plans for additional spinoffs and entirely new series. Bell has announced familiar performers in I Kill the Bear, although none of its descriptions has identified a returning character or an established storyline from the earlier comedies.
Is I Kill the Bear a Letterkenny or Shoresy spinoff?
Letterkenny debuted on Crave in 2016, with Keeso playing Wayne, a resident of a fictional rural Ontario community. The comedy follows Wayne, his friends and the people around them, including two hockey players. One of the characters from Letterkenny, the hockey player Shoresy, later became the centre of his own series. That official spinoff premiered in 2022 and follows Shoresy, again played by Keeso, and the Sudbury Blueberry Bulldogs.
I Kill the Bear has a different announced premise. Keeso plays one of the Thibaults, a fourth-generation Franco-Ontarian family that has handled bears for film productions for a century. The family plans to make its current movie job its last. Georges St-Pierre, Sarah-Maude Beauchesne and Jonathan Torrens also play members of the family, whose encounters with the film industry provide the central situation described by Bell.
Neither Wayne nor Shoresy has been announced as a character in I Kill the Bear, and Bell has disclosed no continuation of either earlier show's storylines. That leaves open the possibility of references or surprise appearances once the episodes become available.
What does Jared Keeso’s 49-episode Crave deal cover?
On December 6, 2023, Bell Media and New Metric Media announced an exclusive multiyear agreement for 49 new episodes of Keeso-related programming. The agreement included the development of all-new series and further spinoffs from Letterkenny. The two types of programming were part of the same partnership, so the agreement alone does not establish whether a new show belongs to the Letterkenny universe.
New Metric Media, the Toronto-based company behind Letterkenny and Shoresy, is also the producer of I Kill the Bear. Bell announced the new series by name in October 2025, when production was underway in Sudbury, Ontario. Keeso created and wrote it and is an executive producer, while Dan and Sean Skene direct and executive produce. New Metric is producing in association with Play Fun Games and in partnership with Crave.
The returning creative personnel and the new cast’s earlier credits provide verifiable connections among the productions. Bell's announcements stop short of establishing a shared fictional setting.
Which Letterkenny and Shoresy actors appear in I Kill the Bear?
Keeso has played two different characters across Letterkenny and Shoresy: Wayne in the first series and the title character in the second. His role in I Kill the Bear belongs to the Thibault family, which Bell has presented as the focus of the new comedy.
Several performers from Letterkenny are involved. Dylan Playfair, who played hockey player Reilly, joins the I Kill the Bear ensemble. Torrens, a Thibault family member in the new show, previously appeared as a guest performer on Letterkenny. Michelle Mylett, who played Wayne's sister Katy, and Melanie Scrofano, who played Mrs. McMurray, are announced as guests in I Kill the Bear. Kim Cloutier, who played Anik on Letterkenny and has appeared on Shoresy, is also on the guest list.
Viewers of Shoresy will recognize other names. Eliana Jones and Frederick Roy appear in the I Kill the Bear ensemble; Roy played Delaney in Shoresy, while Jones appeared as a guest performer. Ryan McDonell, who played goaltender Michaels, and Andrew Antsanen, who played Goody, are announced as guests on the new series. Scott Thompson, another Shoresy guest performer, is part of the ensemble.
Bell has identified these actors without disclosing every character they portray in I Kill the Bear. There has been no announcement that they are reprising any of their earlier roles.
Do you need to watch Letterkenny or Shoresy first?
The premise Bell has announced gives newcomers a starting point without requiring knowledge of Wayne, Shoresy or the Sudbury Blueberry Bulldogs. I Kill the Bear follows the Thibault family as they undertake their last film-production assignment after generations of working with bears. Their unfamiliarity with parts of the Hollywood world is part of the setup.
That assessment is based on the information released before the November 6 premiere. Any callbacks or crossovers in the finished episodes remain to be seen, but Bell has presented I Kill the Bear through its own family and situation.
Read more: Premiere announcement
