North of North review: Netflix scores hot hit in snowy Ice Cove

Warning: This post contains minor spoilers from North of North.

There has been a trend over the last decade of creating series that feature native peoples. Thank goodness, and it is about time. Hulu's Reservation Dogs was fantastic. Dark Winds on AMC is just as good, but much darker. Recently, Netflix delivered North of North, which is much more in line with Reservation Dogs.

Part of the joy of these shows, while not always fun to watch (that's specifically about Dark Winds, and if you know, you know), is getting to know the cast. Many of the actors you might have seen before, but likely only in more minor roles. Series like North of North give little-known actors from Indigenous peoples a chance to show they are worthy of being stars too.

And, yes. There are actors who you should be seeing well beyond whenever North of North ends. There is currently no known timeline for a second season, but the series remained in the top 10 on Netflix for a while after its release. We need a second season, and probably many more beyond that.

North of North is Netflix's latest winner

The series follows Siaja, played stunningly well by Anna Lambe, a young mother in Ice Cove, Nunavut, in Canada's far north. She is married to Ting (Kelly William), who is pretty much a self-absorbed jerk. He isn't physically abusive, but he seems unbelieving of why his wife should not constantly worship him. He is incapable of thinking about her potential happiness.

Siaja leaves Ting, but then needs a job. She goes to work for Helen (Mary Lynn Rajskub), the senior administrative officer of the town's community center, and eventually proves her value as an employee.

While Siaja attempts to find her way to financial independence and the new freedom of being single, she is also dealing with her mother, Neevee (Maika Monroe), who can be a bit much. Neevee runs a store in the town and is a recovering alcoholic. Like nearly everyone else in Ice Cove, she is a dynamic character who strays more toward good and is never purely evil.

The catch is that Neevee never explained to Siaja who her father was. This is until Alistair (Jay Ryan) appears to do some work in the town. At first, Siaja is enamored with Alistair and sees him as a potential romantic partner, but this is short-lived. As it turns out, Alistair is Siaja's father, though neither of them knew until Neevee explained the situation.

One of the best characters in the series is Kuuk (Braeden Clarke), who is a good-natured "southerner" who works for Alistair. He and Siaja develop a crush on each other, but do they predictably end up together? You will have to watch the show and find out.

North of North also has a bit of Northern Exposure to it. There is enough quirkiness that keeps the series from falling into the same tropes we have seen from hundreds of other comedies. But what elevates the great ones is the ability of the actors to make us empathize with their characters, and the passion for the project by the creators.

This series was co-created by Stacey Aglok-MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, both of whom, like much of the cast, are Inuit. Their knowledge of the people allows the humor to flow perfectly. Ultimately, what makes North of North a must-watch is the absolute brilliance of Lambe as Siaja. The character is quite human and intentionally imperfect, but Lambe is the perfect actress to play her.

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