Fans of the Nunavut-based hit comedy North of North can look forward to new episodes on APTN, CBC, and Netflix. The show’s star, Anna Lambe, announced on Instagram on April 29 that all three broadcasters have renewed the series for a second season.
Lambe plays Siaja, a 26-year-old Inuk woman who juggles single motherhood, romance, and a new job in the Arctic town of Ice Cove. In the first season, she learns the identity of her father, who still has feelings for her mom. Siaja also develops a friendship with a handsome young man named Kuuk while trying to remain on reasonable terms with her ex-husband.
Actors Maika Harper, Braeden Clarke, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Jay Ryan, Zorga Qaunaq, Bailey Poching, Kelly William, Keira Belle Cooper, and Nutaaq Doreen Simmonds all appeared in the first season.
The show offers insights into everyday life in the Arctic, capturing camaraderie in the community without being centred around trauma.
North of North attracts big audiences
North of North’s soundtrack includes many songs by Inuk artists, including Juno winners Tanya Tagaq and Elaspie. The show has also featured music by the Vancouver-based Inuit throat-singing duo PIQSIQ, Greenlandic Inuk artists Tarrak and Varna GL, and Nunavut’s own Riit and Joshua Haulli.
To further support the culture, characters wear clothing and jewellery by Inuit designers.
“It was really important to us that our parkas and anything traditional were made here in Nunavut, by Inuit artists, and our costume department (Debra Hansen and Nooks Lindell) were a part of curating that,” North of North co-creator and executive producer Stacey Agtok MacDonald said prior to the show’s launch. “Debra and Nooks had to go to the ends of the Arctic to fashion the magnificent costumes that people will see on screen, which are unlike anything that’s ever been seen before.”
It adds up to a winning foruma. North of North has been the most-watched new series on CBC Gem since it premiered in January. When it debuted on Netflix in April, it reached Number 9 on the streaming service’s global Top 10 of English-language television series.
CBC and Netflix co-produce North of North in partnership with APTN. Indigenous-owned Red Marrow Media and Northwood Entertainment produce the show, which is filmed in and around Iqaluit. The Nunavut capital is Canada’s most northern city.
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