"Littlekenny": A kid-sized version of "Letterkenney," with a gay kid, less homophobia, and some grown-up butts

  

Someone told me that Letterkenney, one of the numerous comedies about quirky small towns in Canada, was "quietly queer-friendly."  So I watched the first episode. Umm...it was about trying to get the central character Wayne to fight by saying that he was like a woman, or that he was gay, with more homophobic slurs per minute than a high school locker room after gym class.  Interestingly, one of the homophobes told his chums that he was, in fact, gay.  

The head homophobe said "We know, and we support you.  Now let's get back to implying that Wayne is gay to get him angry enough to fight."  That is way homophobic. Imagine if, instead of gay, they figured that the best way to get Wayne angry was to imply that he was Jewish. 

Other guys in the episode get gay or woman accusations for dating a "good Christian girl,"  for having his girlfriend stolen by another guy, and for using the Tindr heterosexual dating app. Definitely not "quietly queer."

So when Hulu dropped a kid's version, Littlekenney, I streamed it out of curiosity: kids are usually much more homophobic than adults, but six homophobic slurs per minute would be a tough record to break.  How low could they go?

It's not actually for kids, it just features child-versions of the characters.  There are only six episodes, each about two minutes long, and about a third is taken up by a "Mature" proviso and Hulu displaying the name Hulu over and over -- you don't notice how annoying it is until you see it every two minutes.  Half of the episodes don't have a plot: they consist of the boys reciting the problems of other kids at Letterkenny School, like getting in trouble for farting or eating paste.

Episode 1: Two boys recite some of the problems.  They promise that with 500 kids, there will be 500 problems, but we only hear eight or so. No homophobic content.

Episode 2: The teacher tries to mentor the mentally disabled Darryl.  Then two bullies harass him.  Next, she tries to mentor the surly outcast Wayne.  After school, the bullies harass Katy.  Wayne intervenes, and they all become friends. 

I think Wayne grows up to be the central character, played by Jared Keeso, who everyone is trying to force into fighting by calling him gay and a woman.

Bonus: Jared Keeso's butt.

Episode 3. More problems. Three involve being gay, or Dad trying to prevent you from "turning" gay:

"Your friend showed you his dick and said it was a mouse, and you said that was the only one-eyed mouse you ever saw."

"You and your friend touched tubes, and your Dad got real cross, but he got even meaner when Mom said he probably did that as a boy, too."

"You got campiest camper award at the Cub Scouts, and now Dad wants you to play football instead,"

Episode 4: Daryl invites his friend to a "super soft" birthday party, with a unicorn and boas to wear. The bullies make fun of him, so Wayne douses them with mud and then invites them to the party.  They come.  No homophobic slurs.

Here Daryl seems to be presented as gay, but I think he grows up to be Wayne's heterosexual life partner, who has an unrequited crush on one lady and starts dating another

I think the bullies grow up to be Reilly and Jonesy, played by Dylan Playfair and Andrew Herr, the main antagonists in the "Wayne is gay/a woman" slurs.  They are heterosexual-ish life partners who often have three-ways with women, and befriend a gay couple at the gym.  Maybe they were homophobic for just that one episode.

Bonus: Dylan Playfair butt.  It's on a hookup app screen. 

Episode 5: The problems.  One involves the implication of gayness.

"You want to sing in the all-boy's choir, but Dad says singing is for fairies."

Episode 6: A new boy arrives, Daniel. He has a crush on Katy.  The bullies harass him, but Wayne intervenes, and they become friends. 

Daniel grows up to be a main character, Squirrelly Dan,  played by K, Trevor Wilson. His crush on Katy continues, and he also dates other women.

Left: Jacob Tierney doesn't appear in the cartoon, but in the regular series he plays Glen, an evangelical Christian minister who gets vulgar gay hints, like fellating a popsicle.

My Grade:  It's hard to tell with less than ten minutes of text, but it looks like we have a gay kid, plus the problems gay and feminine boys have growing up with unsupportive fathers.  I remember being pushed into sports a lot, plus excessive jubilation when I mentioned a girl, however casually.  So it resonates. B-.

See also: Schitt's Creek: Quirky small town in Canada with gay characters.