Grab your parkas — North of North takes us back to Ice Cove for Season 2.
The critically acclaimed comedy series, a co-production involving APTN, CBC and Netflix, follows Siaja (Anna Lambe), a young Inuk woman rebuilding her life after a very public breakup with her husband.
Season 1 became a global hit, landing on Netflix’s Top 10 in 33 countries and earning praise from critics for its ability to balance sharp comedy with heavy subject matter.
“We love comedy with heart. We love to laugh, but we also love to cry,” co-creator and executive producer Stacey Aglok MacDonald told CBC News.
The show also racked up major recognition, winning nine Canadian Screen Awards, including best comedy series and best lead performer in a comedy (Lambe).
Co-creator and executive producer Alethea Arnaquq-Baril said the team couldn’t quite predict the size of the success.
“We knew something special was happening, but you still can never be sure how big it’s going to go,” she said. “We were shocked at how successful it was.”
MacDonald added, “We were extremely, just, elated by it all.”
WATCH | North of North Season 2 trailer:
‘A very messy place’
Season 2 picks up right where Season 1 left off. Nearly one year into her new life, Siaja is juggling motherhood, a full-time job and dating — while dealing with complicated relationships with her mother, Neevee (Maika Harper), and her estranged father, Alistair (Jay Ryan).
The season begins as Siaja tries to process her mother’s confession that she has an older sister. Still, she’s determined to rebuild her life and figure out who she wants to be.
Her journey is rooted in the Inuktitut concept of ᐱᓕᒻᒪᒃᓴᕐᓂᖅ (pilimmaksarniq) — mastering skills through observation, practice and effort.
Lambe said her character’s life “basically implodes” this season, and no matter how hard she tries, things keep unravelling. By the end, Lambe described Siaja as being in “a very messy place … that’s so raw” in her relationship with her mother.
Meanwhile, Neevee — described by Harper as “a hard woman to crack” — begins to open up. She tells her daughter she has moved on from trying to find her eldest child.
Siaja grapples with the tension between respecting her mother’s wishes and wanting to meet her sister, as well as help her mother find “peace” and “get closure.”
At the same time, Neevee’s store continues to expand. She and Alistair also try to figure out what their relationship is meant to be.
“I want my parents to be happy so bad,” Lambe said.
Making the show ‘authentic and real’
Season 2 brings Iqaluit back on screen, standing in for the fictional town of Ice Cove again. MacDonald said filming on location helped the show feel grounded and “magical.”
Arnaquq-Baril says production in the Arctic tundra — where temperatures can regularly drop below –30 C — can be unpredictable.
“We had four blizzards this season in prep and production,” she said.
CBC News visits the set of the hit comedy series to chat with Anna Lambe, who stars as Siaja, and co-creators Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, who share their favourite costumes and set pieces that bring North of North to life.
The creators point to Inuit cast and crew as essential to making the series. MacDonald said the team relies heavily on its community to keep the show “as authentic and real as possible.”
Arnaquq-Baril added, “It’s incredibly important to us to have Inuit be part of the process of making this show right from the very beginning.”
She and MacDonald say the show’s fashion pulls from Inuit styles across different Arctic regions, celebrating variety rather than pushing one standardized look. The aim was to create outerwear that feels lived-in and recognizable as true to the culture and place.
Because so many of these pieces are handmade by individual artists, co-ordinating shipping and construction details from afar created logistical hurdles.
Arnaquq-Baril said they had to get someone to physically carry a custom parka between communities. They also had to figure out how to measure people without traditional measuring tape since some designers measured by eye or by hand.
“Our costume department that are from Toronto had to learn a little bit of a different way to work and trust the process,” Arnaquq-Baril said.
Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril explain how North of North celebrates Inuit fashion from across the Arctic with custom outerwear and the logistical challenges involved.
MacDonald says that even when costumes didn’t arrive assembled the way the team had hoped, the production team adapted fast — leaning on expertise from the community
One standout example was a parka that required a “sunburst” fur detail — a traditional Arctic hood ruff that encircles the face in a radiating pattern. MacDonald turned to her sister and others on set who then called family members for instructions so the team could assemble it correctly.
“It was so worth it; it’s spectacular,” Arnaquq-Baril said.
Season 2: ‘Bigger and crazier’
So what comes next?
Arnaquq-Baril said fans can expect “unexpected twists and turns,” including new characters, while the season also digs deeper into the lives of the people viewers already know.
“People love the humour and heart [in Season 1],” she said. “We’re definitely trying to do more of that and go even bigger and crazier.”
Lambe teased “so many quests, so many adventures,” and said viewers will get to know the community centre and its people more. “It’s so much fun,” she said.
Harper offered a short warning: “It’s a rollercoaster. Get ready.”
In addition to Lambe, Harper and Ryan reprising their roles, returning cast members include Braeden Clarke (Kuuk), Mary Lynn Rajskub (Helen), Zorga Qaunaq (Millie), Bailey Poching (Colin), Nutaaq Simmonds (Elisapee) and Keira Cooper (Bun).
Meanwhile, Canadian actor and comedian Bruce McCulloch will guest star as Military Mitch, a first-aid instructor, while acclaimed Inuk singer-songwriter Elisapie will appear alongside online personalities and content creators Ashley Callingbull, Braden Kadlun, Chelazon Leroux, Kairyn Potts, Kayuula Nova, Shina Nova and Scott Wabano.
North of North Season 2 premieres in Canada on Sept. 1 on APTN+, followed by a larger premiere on CBC TV, CBC Gem and APTN TV on Sept. 8. After its Canadian premiere, Season 2 launches globally on Netflix later this fall.
