Tasya Teles, Blair Lamora: Women rule 'Shoresy'

LOS ANGELES, June 21 (UPI) -- Actors Tasya Teles and Blair Lamora said that even though the Hulu show Shoresy is named after the Sudbury Bulldogs hockey team captain, their female characters are really in charge.

Season 3, premiering Friday on Hulu, finds Shoresy (Jared Keeso) butting up against owner and general manager Nat (Yeles) and her assistants, Zig (Blair Lamora) and Mig (Keilani Elizabeth Rose). Keeso also created the show.

"I remember Jared saying to me a season or two ago that he really feels that women run the show," Teles told UPI in a recent Zoom interview. "He really wanted to have this strong trio of women to embody that and show that on screen to keep the boys in check."

Shoresy did lead the losing Bulldogs to victory in previous seasons. However, he is not camera-friendly and resists Nat's mandates to be more of a public figure.

Nat has Zig and Mig to back her up against Shoresy's resistance. Lamora said their guidance is more vital than the players want to admit.

"We're behind the scenes guiding the boys," Lamora said. "They have all the force and they have a lot of fun but we definitely try to steer the ship as much as possible."

Shoresy and the women trade barbs just as Shoresy smack-talks the opposing players on the ice. Teles said the comedy comes from "that duality of having the female energy and the men's energy in the locker room. That conflict creates so much of the fun."

With a character as brash as Shoresy, he overshadows even the other hockey players. Ryan McDonnell plays Michaels, whom the actor says believes Shoresy mocks him out of love.

McDonnell said he enjoys playing Michael pining for Shoresy's approval in their dysfunctional bromance.

"I feel like playing the guy that never gets the girl, that's always fun," McDonnell said. "Things like that, constant looking and searching always leaves for good material."

For all his attitude, Shoresy also believes in motivating the underdog. His mantra is "find a way to continue" no matter what the Bulldogs face.

This season puts "find a way to continue" to the test in episodes, the specifics of which won't be spoiled in advance. Teles said she appreciated the show moving in a dramatic direction without sacrificing any comedy.

"The message of playing through anything, that can be something that feels like life sometimes," Teles said. "Sometimes you need your family or friends to be there to check you and to make sure that you're not pushing yourself too far."

Lamora agreed that the message of Shoresy applies far beyond the world of hockey or even sports in general. Any setback requires finding a new way to continue.

"It touches on things that I think a lot of people will be able to relate to," Lamora said, adding that these themes are new directions for the show "because we've just been so comedy focused."

For Rose, too, the dramatic arc of Season 3 "was a checkpoint for us" after two and a half seasons of trading zingers back and forth.

Lamora and McDonell said Shoresy does not easily fit into the comedy genre, like many shows cross genres in modern television. Shows like The Bear and Ted Lasso are qualified as half-hour comedies but contain a lot of drama.

McDonnell even cited the HBO drama Succession, which was full of comedic banter between the privileged siblings.

"That emotional stuff is what comes from real moments," McDonnell said. "And humor comes in really sad moments too."