Mary Lynn Rajskub, Jay Ryan & Braeden Clarke Among Cast Joining Netflix & CBC’s Newly Named Artic Comedy ‘North Of North’; Production Underway In Canada

Netflix‘s upcoming arctic comedy finally has a name and has rounded out cast, as it goes into production in snowy Nunavut, Canada.

Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril’s North of North began production today on the comedy, which follows a young Inuk mother (Anna Lambe) who wants to build a new future for herself, but finds it won’t be easy in her small Arctic town where everyone knows her business. 

Joining Anna Lambe (True Detective: Night Country, Trickster) and Keira Cooper in the cast are Mary Lynn Rajskub (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, 24), Maika Harper (Law and Order: Toronto, Burden of Truth), Braeden Clarke (Little Bird, Outlander), Jay Ryan (Scrublands, It: Chapter Two, Mary Kills People), Kelly William (Portraits from a Fire, Motherland), Zorga Qaunaq and Doreen Simmonds (True Detective: Night Country).

Lambe and Cooper were cast in mother-daughter roles in December, as we reported at the time.

Rajskub is represented by Christina Shams at Avesta Entertainment & Buchwald, with Myman

Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light for legal. Harper is represented by Oldfield Management in Canada.

Production is underway in Nunavut, the northernmost Canadian territory situated near the Arctic Archipelago, with Aglok MacDonald (Qanurli, The Grizzlies) and Arnaquq-Baril (Angry Inuk, The Grizzlies) executive producing alongside Miranda de Pencier (Anne with an E, Beginners, The Grizzlies), Anya Adams (Yellowjackets, Ginny & Georgia), Susan Coyne (Mozart in the Jungle, Daisy Jones & The Six), Garry Campbell (The Kids in the Hall, Less Than Kind).

Anya Adams (Yellowjackets), Danis Goulet (Night Raiders), Zoe Leigh Hopkins (Little Bird), Lisa Jackson (Savage), Renuka Jeyapalan (Kim’s Convenience) and Aleysa Young (Baroness Von Sketch Show) are directing the ten-part show.

“We’ve already survived a blizzard during prep, so there’s no doubt our amazing cast and crew is ready to shoot a show in the Arctic,” said Aglok MacDonald and Arnaquq-Baril in a statement. “Also, a huge nakurmiik to our community of Iqaluit for being so welcoming — we couldn’t do this show without your support.”

The series was a Netflix and CBC co-commission in association with indigenous broadcaster APTN, with Red Marrow Media and Northwood Entertainment producing. It is one of the few original Canadian scripted series Netflix has ordered to date, alongside the likes of Anne with an E, which was also co-produced with Canadian pubcaster CBC.

International streamers in Canada are now regulated by the controversial Online Streaming Act, which compels platforms to spend on local content much in the same way local networks are. Sources say commissioning has largely ceased while streamers wait to see what level of investment they are required to make an how.

In November, Netflix said it had spend more than $5B on Canadian productions over the previous five years — this number almost certainly includes acquisitions. The streamer also has a large office in Toronto and has expanded its space at Cinespace Film Studios, as it uses the country to film many of its originals.