The perfect Ted Lasso replacement, Shoresy currently boasts a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. For fans of dramas and comedies alike, Shoresy is also the perfect modern-day update of a 47-year-old cult classic sports movie starring Paul Newman. Given that the show is a spinoff of the hugely popular Letterkenny — a Canadian sitcom set in rural Ontario — it makes sense that the always-humorous and often-irreverent Shoresy is also resonating with audiences. Created by star Jared Keeso, Shoresy also succeeds by grafting the Ted Lasso-style formula on to Letterkenny‘s signature brand of comedy.

Once again, Jared Keeso plays Letterkenny‘s Shoresy — the spinoff’s titular Triple A–level ice hockey player. At the beginning of the six-episode first season, Shoresy moves to a small town to play for the ever-struggling Sudbury Bulldogs. Much like Ted Lasso‘s fictional English Premier League soccer team, AFC Richmond, the Sudbury Bulldogs are a bit of a joke. In the standings, the Bulldogs are dead-last thanks to an embarrassing 20-game losing streak. As a result, the league threatens to shut down the team — unless Shoresy’s scheme to boost the Bulldogs’ popularity succeeds.

Shoresy Is An Incredible Modern Version Of Paul Newman’s Slap Shot

The Three-Season Sports-Comedy Hit Pays Homage To The 1977 Cult Classic Film

The plot and cast of Shoresy have a lot in common with Ted Lasso, but the series is perhaps even more closely linked to 1977’s Slap Shot. Starring Oscar-winning performer Paul Newman and hockey player-turned-actor Michael Ontkean (Twin Peaks), Slap Shot chronicles the efforts of a struggling minor-league hockey team. In order to win over fans and gain the needed popularity to stay afloat in the declining factory-town community, the Charlestown Chiefs resort to increasingly violent tactics on the ice. As Newman’s player-coach Reggie Dunlop discovers, the crowd goes wild for on-ice brutality.

Although Dunlop, who has zero prospects beyond hockey, tries to creatively manipulate the outcome of the Chiefs’ games, it all backfires. The violence becomes over-the-top, with matches devolving into brawls. While Shoresy goes differently than one of the best hockey movies ever, the titular character does make a bet with the team’s general manager, suggesting that the Bulldogs won’t lose if he’s given control of the team’s trajectory. With a new roster of players — not unlike Slap Shot introducing the violent Hanson brothers — Shoresy desperately tries to stop his beloved (yet unpopular) hockey team from dissolving.

Jared Keeso Frequently Pays Tribute To Slap Shot In Shoresy

Slap Shot’s Influence Is Alive & Well Nearly 50 Years Later

Clearly a fan of Slap Shot, Jared Keeso often references and pays homage to the Paul Newman sports-comedy classic. It’s fun to see Shoresy keep the spirit of Slap Shot alive and well nearly five decades after the film hit theaters and became a cult classic. In fact, Shoresy season 3’s references to Slap Shot put it in direct conversation with the sports-comedy drama as a whole, which enriches the series’ story and humor. Not only is Keeso aware of Shoresy‘s similarities with Newman’s film, but he understands just how enduring and influential Slap Shot remains today.

All three seasons of Shoresy are streaming on Hulu in the US.