Looking for a bingeworthy show? Watch ‘North of North’ on Netflix, APTN and CBC Gem

By Regan Treewater, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(ANNews) – If you’re looking for something bingeworthy to watch, North of North, created by Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, streaming now on Netflix, APTN and CBC Gem, is an uplifting and entertaining Canadian series that the whole family can enjoy. The comedy premiered its first season in 2025, and viewers are already chomping at the bit for more. Its title provides the perfect foreshadow to the show’s premise set in a fictional Nunavut town: aptly dubbed, Ice Cove. Starring Anna Lambe, an up-and-coming young talent born in Iqaluit, the show centers around an Inuk woman in her early twenties seeking independence and agency. This fresh take on a classic trope of breakaway empowerment manages to be light-hearted while also tackling some tough topics: colonialism, subjugation, and even the traumatic legacy of residential schools.

When Lambe’s character, Siaja, finds herself ready to branch out from being a stay-at-home-mom, she is met with ridicule and opposition from her husband Ting, played by Kelly William. She is confronted by secrets revealed and the realization that she would be happier as a single mom. She moves back in with her mother, who raised her alone, and who has celebrated several years of sobriety after long battling alcohol addiction.

Now, this set-up might sound familiar, and your question might be: how is this different from other similar shows? North of North is a remarkable step forward in Inuk portraiture and mainstream storytelling. It is a show that is marketed to diverse audiences, and as it is housed on Netflix, APTN, and CBC Gem, there is a larger viewership that is being introduced to North of North. Although the colonial system of oppression cannot be taken out of the equation, this is, at its core, a comedy, and one that manages to bring depth and texture to depicting Inuk communities.

Sometimes humour is the best way to approach difficult topics and encourage societal reflection. If so, then North of North can be regarded as a critical commentary on contemporary Canadian issues. In this fictional town that Siaja has been born and raised in, the local community centre director and programs organizer is a settler-Canadian named Helen, played by Mary Lynn Rajskub. The American-born actress may be familiar for her appearances in films such as Dude Where’s My Car, Little Miss Sunshine, Sweet Home Alabama, and Punch-Drunk Love. The relationship between Helen and Siaja is at first glance humorous, but speaks to a deeper social power disparity. After Helen begrudgingly hires Siaja as her assistant it becomes clear that the young Inuk woman is far more competent and well-equipped to perform the responsibilities of a community leader. Helen’s fumbling attempts to speak Inuk at a town celebration appear performative, despite the sincerity of her desire to belong and contribute to Ice Cove. It’s no ‘spoiler’ to characterize Siaja and Helen’s interactions as complex: the former is powerless despite literally inhabiting her home turf, while the latter is well-intentioned but misguided. The developing dynamic nudges the viewer to consider what results from a lack of autonomy in Indigenous communities.

The hyper-exoticization of Inuk culture by settlers is also explored through a disturbingly predatory lens at times. The show examines with a critical eye how Indigenous, in this case Inuk, women are objectified as mysterious: an intrigue to be conquered. The critical viewer may laugh along with the comical antics of such caricatures, but also see how this objectification is profoundly problematic as it promotes a lack of equity and respect. There’s no harm in appreciating the entertainment value of such exchanges, but this also speaks to the brilliance of North of North.

The show continuously makes light of the lack of resources the community endures: limited housing, a lack of employment, and scarcity of luxury goods.  However, even as viewers are encouraged to laugh along as Helen goes to extreme efforts to have a case of Malbek flown in from Ottawa, it also becomes clear that the decadence of urban Canadian life that the majority of the country enjoys is a foreign concept to anyone who has never left a northern community. What is more, the dilapidated conditions of Ice Cove’s infrastructure would be troubling to most, but are regarded as a foregone conclusion by the show’s characters emphasizing the inequitable allocation of wealth within a broader Canadian context.

Perhaps most significant is how the show deals with the stereotyping of Indigenous peoples. Instead of ignoring the perpetuated prejudices that mainstream popular culture disseminates, North of North confronts these perceptions as ridiculous, thus dismantling their potency. Instead of not talking about substance abuse, generational trauma, colonial violence, and residential schools, the series manages to promote more nuanced understandings of the human faces attached to these struggles in an empathetic and relatable way.

North of North is soulful storytelling at its best, with loveable characters that audiences can really grow to care about. It is accessible not just to Canadian audiences, but should be appreciated as an artful exploration of complex human obstacles with honesty and depth. By bringing Inuk characters and stories to the mainstream, North of North is an innovation in broadening compassion and understanding while fully celebrating the traditions and beautiful diversity of Inuk culture. So, consider adding North of North to your ‘watch list’ and enjoy some trailblazing in Canadian television.

Click here for the trailer.