The 'Trailer Park Boys' Animated Series Gives Fans The Perfect Sendoff For Mr. Lahey

The Trailer Park Boys have spent years upon years at Sunnyvale Trailer Park, but they've also gone Out of the Park for special seasons in the U.S. and Europe. Now, Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles are going where they've never gone before — the world of animation. On March 31, the show is debuting an animated season — which is pretty on-brand considering the boys are always looking for new ways to do the same thing. But seeing the characters go digital might make you wonder if the IRL Trailer Park Boys will return for Season 13 (or Season 14? It's a little unclear how the animated version fits into the regular show). Unfortunately, there's no news on that front yet, but going animated does have a major upside for anyone missing Jim Lahey.

In the Season 12 finale, Ricky, Julian, Bubbles, Jacob, Cory, Randy, and Mr. Lahey all consumed a huge amount of mushrooms to avoid major jail time. But while in the jail cell, the shrooms kicked in and they all became cartoons. Immediately following that reveal, the season ended with a tribute to John Dunsworth, the actor who portrayed trailer park supervisor Jim Lahey. Dunsworth died in October 2017, but had filmed Season 12 before his death, so he was still featured in the show. And while Mr. Lahey will never be able to get extremely drunk and antagonize the boys again in the flesh, he will appear in the animated series — the trailer confirmed it.

However, as Inverse reported, it's not clear if Trailer Park Boys had another voice actor fill in for Dunsworth for the animated series, so it's possible his character will be onscreen, but have no dialogue. Whatever the case ends up being, having his character portrayed as a carton allows the show to give Mr. Lahey the sendoff he deserves in a way that they wouldn't have been able to in a live-action scenario. So it's kind of comfortingly convenient that Season 12 had already set itself up for this unconventional follow-up.

Sarah Dunsworth-Nickerson, who has played Sarah in all of the seasons, is the real-life daughter of Dunsworth. On March 27, she had an informal Q&A where she answered fans' questions on Twitter. When asked what her dad would think of the animated series, she made it clear that he had already signed on to do it before his death. And she also addressed the future of Trailer Park Boys. When asked if there will be another live-action season, she replied, "I ain't no psychic " with a shrug.

The fate of Trailer Park Boys may be clear after you watch the animated series. Perhaps like Season 12 segued into animation, maybe the animated series will with everyone as a human back in the real world again. But if that doesn't happen, then the death of Mr. Lahey would certainly make for a fitting farewell to the series. However, Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles have defeated the odds time and time again, so you shouldn't count them out — even if it's just another Out of the Park season or live comedy special. And thanks to the animated series, you'll get to see the boys get liquored up with Mr. Lahey one last time no matter what happens to Trailer Park Boys down the road.