Cool Canadian comedy North of North is on the hot list

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While the Crave hockey romance continues to make its mark on pop culture, another Canadian television series is showing the world what it means to live north of the border. Way north of the border, in fact, in the fictional Arctic community of Ice Cove.

The series is North of North, a heartwarmer from APTN, CBC and Netflix that in its first season won nine Canadian Screen Awards, including best comedy series and best comedic lead performer for Anna Lambe. It also landed write-ups in outlets including Vogue and the New York Times.

North of North centres on newly single mom Siaja (played by Inuk actress Lambe), who’s trying to reinvent herself and make life better for those around her. She’s not perfect — taking initiative at the community centre where she works often involves some sort of shenaniganry.

But she keeps pushing forward. And that’s what Lambe, who has also appeared in shows such as Trickster and True Detective, sees resonating with viewers.

“One of the greatest gifts has been the response to the show, particularly from young people who feel seen and represented and inspired, who want to take risks, and who see Siaja making mistakes and not knowing what she’s doing but trying anyways,” says Lambe.

“It’s emboldening and empowering young people to choose themselves as well. That has been, to me, the marker of success — knowing that there’s a tangible impact behind the show, not just how widely it’s been seen.”

North of North is created, executive-produced and written by Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, both Inuit women who grew up in Nunavut. Season 2 premièred Sept. 8 in Canada, on CBC, CBC Gem, and APTN. It started streaming Sept. 1 on APTN+ and launches globally on Netflix later this year.

As season 2 opens, winter is settling on Ice Cove. Siaja is looking for more responsibility at work while co-parenting her daughter with help from her mom, Neevee (Maika Harper). She’s also bonding with her new-found father, Alistair (Jay Ryan), and learning about a half-sister she never knew existed.

Jason Priestley directs the third episode, which guest-stars Bruce McCulloch as a camouflage-clad First Aid instructor at the community centre. He’s also the ex of Siaja’s boss, Helen (Mary Lynn Rajskub).

“The episode with Bruce and Jason was maybe one of the hardest episodes to have shot this season. We were out on the ice for two full days,” says Lambe, who herself is from Iqaluit, Nunavut. “It was minus 50 both days to get what we needed for the episode.”

She adds of McCulloch, “You get that Kids in the Hall zaniness, and he’s still got it. Especially watching him perform with Mary Lynn Rajskub and hearing the two of them — who are such legends of comedy — improv and go back and forth … Just trying not to break in the scene and trying to hold it together was so much fun.”

Looking at the show’s through-lines, Lambe is grateful to highlight foundational parts of Inuit culture, such as the dynamic between elders (the Knowledge Keepers) and children (the next generation) as well as the importance of hunting for both survival and community.

“I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding about hunting and how Inuit hunt,” says Lambe. “I think a lot of people that are from cities or urban centres are so far removed from food production and how our food gets to the grocery store that they don’t realize that, like, to get the chicken breast for your stir fry involves killing the chicken. There’s no nice way to put it.”

Dialogue that incorporates Inuktut words is also a point of pride. Siaja can’t speak Inuktut fluently, and Lambe says it’s a reality for many young Inuit that nods to colonialism’s lasting effects.

“A lot of us aren’t fluent, and a lot of us are trying, but we’re also afraid to make mistakes,” she says.

“But to see somebody try and a community that wants to support her and speaks to her in Inuktut, and she’s like, ‘I know what you’re saying, but I can only respond in English. I’m really sorry’ — having that representation is nice.”

The next few months will be busy for Lambe, who got her breakthrough in the 2018 film The Grizzlies, co-produced by Arnaquq-Baril and Aglok MacDonald. She’s appearing in two big-screen movies with two big names: Heart of the Beast with Brad Pitt, set for release Sept. 25; and The Social Reckoning starring Jeremy Allen White, out on Oct. 9.

Lambe says working on North of North, though, is a key part of her career.

“North of North has been such a fulfilling project to be a part of. In playing Siaja, I feel like I’ve grown so much as a person and got to learn so much,” she says.

“It’s been really exciting that the show has been a hit nationally and a global success. But I feel so fulfilled and so happy and so grateful.”

THE FASHION OF NORTH OF NORTH

“When they asked me during the first season ‘Are there any designers that you want to wear?’ I said ‘Hold on, let me make a list!’” says Lambe. “And that I did, and that they delivered.” Here are some of the designers featured in season 2.

Earrings:

• Olepika Kiguktak
• Alesha Tiglik
• Kunuk Inutiq
• Heather Dickson
• Nadine Spencer
• Micheline Kilabuk
• Tooma Laisa
• Lisa Beading
• Sheila Oudla Henrie

Kalikuks:

• Nukariit Creations
• Laura Pia Churchill

Parkas and fur work:

• Laura Pia Churchill
• Freda Raddi
• Melissa McDonald
• Dorothy St. John
• Shanti Dias
• Papatsi Kotierk
• Winnifred Designs
• Nancy Mike
• Tavvi Designs
• Amy Aingidlik
• Sara Palituq
• Victoria’s Arctic Fashion

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