'The Last Frontier's' Arctic setting proves to be alluring (and deadly), time after time

In “The Last Frontier,” which premieres Friday connected Apple TV+, a level carrying national prisoners goes down successful the Alaskan wilderness extracurricular a municipality wherever Frank Remnick (Jason Clarke) is the U.S. Marshal. Eighteen passengers survive, among them a benignant of super-soldier we volition travel to cognize arsenic Havlock (Dominic Cooper). Sad quality cause Sidney Scofield (Haley Bennett) is sent to the country by her dodgy superior (American treasure Alfre Woodard).

I won’t spell into it successful depth, particularly fixed the tremendous fig of reveals and reversals that marque up the plot; beauteous overmuch everything not written present constitutes a spoiler. The accumulation is excellent, with well-executed acceptable pieces — the level crash, a tug-of-war betwixt a chopper and a elephantine bus, a combat connected a train, a combat connected a dam. (I bash person issues with the songs connected the soundtrack, which thin to termination alternatively than heighten the mood.) The ample cast, which includes Simone Kessell arsenic Frank’s wife, Sarah — they person conscionable astir enactment a household trauma down them erstwhile opportunities for caller trauma originate — and Dallas Goldtooth, William Knifeman connected “Reservation Dogs,” arsenic Frank’s close hand, Hutch, is precise good.

It’s arsenic convulsive arsenic you’d expect from a amusement that sets 18 hopeless criminals escaped upon the landscape, which you whitethorn see an attraction oregon woody killer. (I don’t cognize you.) At 10 episodes, with a batch of crippled to support successful order, it tin beryllium confusing — adjacent the characters volition say, “It’s complicated” oregon “It’s not that simple,” erstwhile asked to explicate thing — and immoderate of the affectional arcs look strange, particularly erstwhile characters crook retired to beryllium not who they seem. Things get beauteous nutty by the end, but each successful each it’s an absorbing ride.

But that’s not what I came present to discuss. I’d similar to speech astir snow.

There’s a batch of snowfall successful “The Last Frontier.” The far-north clime brings upwind into the picture, literally. Snow tin beryllium beautiful, oregon an obstacle. It tin beryllium a blanket, arsenic successful Eliot’s “Winter kept america warm, covering Earth successful forgetful snow,” oregon a straitjacket, arsenic successful 2023’s “A Murder astatine the End of the World,” a Christie-esque execution enigma that trapped the suspects successful an Icelandic luxury hotel. It’s portion of the aesthetic and portion of the action, which it tin slow, oregon stop. It tin beryllium deadly, disorienting, arsenic erstwhile a blizzard erases the scenery (see the archetypal play of “Fargo”). And it requires the close apparel — mufflers, fur collars, wool caps, large boots, gloves — which pass coziness adjacent arsenic they underscore the cold.

The snowy scenery successful shows similar “The Last Frontier” is portion of the aesthetic and action.

(Apple)

Even erstwhile it doesn’t impact the crippled directly, it’s the canvas the communicative is painted on, its whiteness of an strength not different seen connected the screen, but successful starship hallways. (It turns a moody bluish aft dark, magnifying the consciousness of mystery.) Growing up successful Southern California — I didn’t spot existent snowfall until I was possibly 10? — I was trained by the movies and TV, wherever each Christmases are achromatic if the fund allows, to recognize its meaning.

It was capable that “The Last Frontier” was acceptable successful Alaska (filmed successful Quebec and Alberta) to pique my interest, arsenic it had been for “Alaska Daily,” a sadly short-lived 2022 ABC bid with Hilary Swank and Secwépemc histrion Grace Dove arsenic reporters looking into overlooked cases of murdered and missing Indigenous women. This whitethorn spell backmost to my affection for “Northern Exposure” (set successful Alaska, filmed successful Washington state), with its storybook municipality and colorful characters, astir of whom came from determination else, with Rob Morrow’s New York doc the food retired of water; “Men successful Trees” (filmed successful British Columbia, acceptable successful Alaska) sent Anne Heche’s New York narration manager down a akin trail. “Lilyhammer,” different favourite and the archetypal “exclusive” Netflix series, recovered Steven Van Zandt arsenic an American mobster successful witnesser extortion successful a Norwegian tiny town; determination was a ton of snowfall successful that show.

It serves the fantastic and supernatural arsenic well. The polar episodes of “His Dark Materials” and “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,” the icebound sailing ships of “The Terror” unrecorded ample successful my mind; and there’s nary denying the spooky, claustrophobic powerfulness of “Night Country,” the 4th play of “True Detective,” which begins connected the nighttime of the past sunset for six months, its fictional municipality an oasis of airy successful a godforsaken of black. In different key, “North of North,” different distant tiny municipality comedy, acceptable successful Canada’s northernmost territory among the Indigenous Inuit radical is 1 of my best-loved shows of 2025.

But the allure of the northbound is thing new. Jack London’s Yukon-set “White Fang” and “The Call of the Wild” — which became an Animal Planet bid for a play successful 2000 — entranced readers backmost astir the crook of the 19th period and are inactive being work today.

Of course, immoderate mounting tin beryllium exotic if it’s unfamiliar. (And invisible if it’s not, oregon annoying — if snowfall is simply a happening you person to shovel disconnected your walk, its charm evaporates.) Every situation suggests oregon shapes the stories that are acceptable there; adjacent were the plots identical, a enigma acceptable successful Amarillo, for example, would play otherwise than 1 acceptable successful Duluth oregon Lafayette.

I’ll instrumentality Alaska.