Who is Ruth Landry from The Sticky and what happened to the Canadian maple syrup farmer?

RUTH Landry is a fictional character in the new comedy-drama series The Sticky, which is loosely based on a real-life story. 

The show references the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist, which saw a group of thieves steal almost $18.7 million Canadian dollars worth of the sweet treat. 

Ruth’s maple syrup scheme

Ruth is a middle-aged maple syrup farmer who turns to crime when her way of life becomes threatened. 

She teams up with a Bostonian mobster, played by Chris Diamantopoulos, and a French-Canadian security guard played by Guillaume Cyr.

Together, they launch a plot to steal gallons of syrup in a scheme referencing the real-life syrup heist.

Ruth is played by Margo Martindale, who has appeared in BoJack Horseman, Dexter and The Americans. 

The Sticky is being executive produced by Jamie Lee Curtis, who has a guest role in the series. 

The real life heist 

The show is based on the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist, but the show’s creators have stressed that the series bears very little resemblance to the real-life events. 

In 1966, a group of maple syrup producers in Quebec formed the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers (FPAQ). 

They stored a strategic reserve of maple syrup, known as the International Strategic Reserve (ISR), across Quebec. 

Over the course of several months between 2011 and 2012, the contents of 9,751 barrels were stolen from a FPAQ facility in Saint-Louis-de-Blandford. 

The syrup was stored in unmarked white barrels which were only checked once a year.

Thieves stole the barrels, drained the syrup and then refilled them with water so that the warehouse stocks appeared as though they were not being stolen. 

The scheme unravelled when the thieves started to leave the barrels empty.

When inspector Michel Gauvreau started climbing the barrels, he nearly fell because they were not strong enough to support his weight. 

Between December 18 and 20, 2012, 17 men related to the theft were arrested. 

The Sticky's release date

Fans can catch The Sticky when it lands on Amazon Prime on December 6, 2024. 

All six episodes will arrive on the platform at the same time which will allow fans to binge the series.

The show has been described as combining “moments of culture-clash hilarity, edge-of-the-seat excitement and heartbreaking drama”.