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Featured, North of North

APTN, CBC and Netflix renew North of North

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From a media release:

APTN, CBC and Netflix have renewed NORTH OF NORTH for a second season. Series star Anna Lambe announced the renewal on social media tonight. This news comes on the heels of the comedy series’ successful first season launch on APTN, CBC and Netflix, having instantly captivated audiences in Canada and around the world.

NORTH OF NORTH stars Lambe (True Detective, Trickster, The Grizzlies) as Siaja, a young Inuk woman who dreams of reinventing herself in her tiny Arctic community of Ice Cove, a town where everybody knows your business. After a spontaneous — and extremely public — exit from her marriage, Siaja finds herself navigating the unpredictable, and often hilarious, highs and lows that come with relationships, motherhood, a new job, and finding your way. The first season also features actors Maika Harper, Braeden Clarke, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Jay Ryan, Zorga Qaunaq, Bailey Poching, Kelly William, Keira Belle Cooper and Nutaaq Doreen Simmonds.

The series first premiered in Canada on APTN and CBC in January 2025 and then globally on Netflix in April 2025. NORTH OF NORTH was the most-watched new series on CBC Gem since the launch of the streaming platform.* Additionally, the comedy was one of the most-watched programs on CBC among the A25-54 demographic.** On APTN, NORTH OF NORTH was among the top-performing new scripted shows during the Winter 2025 season and the top new program on APTN lumi. Globally NORTH OF NORTH debuted at No. 9 on Netflix’s global top 10 for English-language television series the week of its Netflix release on April 10. The series also broke into Netflix’s top 10 in 27 countries.

An APTN, CBC and Netflix original series, NORTH OF NORTH is produced by Red Marrow Media and Northwood Entertainment. The series is created, executive produced and written by writer and producer Stacey Aglok MacDonald (Qanurli, The Grizzlies) and filmmaker Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Angry Inuk, The Grizzlies) of Red Marrow Media and executive produced by Miranda de Pencier of Northwood Entertainment (Anne with an E, Beginners, The Grizzlies). Anya Adams (Yellowjackets, Ginny & Georgia), Susan Coyne (Mozart in the Jungle, Daisy Jones & The Six) and Garry Campbell (The Kids in the Hall, Less Than Kind) also executive produced the first season.

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Featured, North of North

Indigenous stories, characters and cast front and centre in CBC’s charming North of North

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It’s hard to re-invent yourself, especially when you live in a small town, where everyone knows you. How can you convince a community that you shouldn’t be pigeonholed or dismissed? And how do you do it with an air of positivity and humour?

That’s the premise behind North of North, CBC’s newest comedy.

Airing Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem (and the spring on Netflix), North of North stars Anna Lambe (True Detective, Trickster) as Siaja, a young Inuk mother who strives to be something other than the wife of her self-absorbed husband, Ting (Kelly William). So, she exits her marriage, moves herself and her daughter in with her mother, Neevee (Maika Harper), and chases down a job at the community centre in fictional Ice Cove, Nunavut.

With so much upheaval in her life, one could assume North of North is dark and dour. It’s anything but. Created by Stacey Aglok MacDonald (Qanurli, The Grizzlies) and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Angry Inuk, The Grizzlies) and produced alongside executive producer Miranda de Pencier (Anne with an E, The Grizzlies), North of North is jam-packed with quips and comedy, largely due to lead Lambe, whose presence jumps off the screen.

“I was honestly so terrified of comedy,” Lambe says during a recent interview. “So much Indigenous film and television [is drama-based], and I think that’s important and necessary, but comedy was one of those things where it was either going to hit or it’s going to miss so bad that maybe it will be funny.” Add to that the fact the series was filmed in Iqaluit, Lambe’s hometown, and surrounded by background cast that knows her, and the pressure was on.

She need not have worried. Lambe’s Siaja is charming and fun to watch on screen. Siaja’s repartee with Neevee is funny and irreverent (their relationship seems more sisterly than mother-daughter), innocent flirting with the handsome Kuuk (Braeden Clarke) smile-inducing and awkward conversations with Alistair (Jay Ryan), laugh-inducing.

Yes, there are nods to colonialism and residential schools in the dialogue, but they are often used for comic effect in scripts and storylines.

“There was a real challenge to finding what the final tone of the show was going to be and having someone fail so publicly,” Lambe says. “But one of the things I love so much about the show is how authentic it is about how we get through life.

“The only way out of a bad situation is through the bad situation and why not laugh along the way? Why not try to find those funny moments?”

North of North airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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Son of a Critch

Links: Son of a Critch, Season 4

From Bill Brioux of the Toronto Star:

Link: When Mark Critch got a video camera in 1990 he didn’t know it would become a sort of time machine. He’s got even more memories to share in the new season of ‘Son of a Critch’

For three seasons now, “This Hour Has 22 Minutes” comedian Critch has been writing, executive producing and starring in the show about growing up and finding his career path in St. John’s — it’s CBC’s top scripted comedy. Continue reading.

From Heidi Ulrichsen of Bay Today:

Link: We catch up with ‘the other Son of a Critch,’ Sudbury’s Colton Gobbo

As Sudbury’s Colton Gobbo quips, he’s the “other Son of a Critch.”

Since 2022, Gobbo has appeared in the CBC television series “Son of a Critch,” the semi-autobiographical series created by Canadian comedian Mark Critch (who you may know from “This Hour has 22 Minutes”). Continue reading.

From Dana Gee of the Vancouver Sun:

Link: North Vancouver actor Sophia Powers grows up on hit TV series Son of a Critch

“This was my first job when I was 11, so I think it was a lot of learning on the go. And then not really knowing what to expect and just trying to take it day by day, and figure it out and kind of find my footing with it… This show has given me so many opportunities to just grow, as an actor and as a person.” Continue reading.

From Bill Brioux of Everything Zoomer:

Link: Malcolm McDowell on Memories of Margaret Trudeau, His Shakespeare Theory and the Fourth Season of ‘Son of a Critch’

“I remember when I first read it, and I talked to Mark and I said, ‘You better concentrate on finding this boy, because we live or die by his performance.’ You have to get the best you can find and they did.” Continue reading.

From Jim Moodie of The Sudbury Star:

Link: At just 24, Sudbury’s Colton Gobbo becoming an acting veteran

“For Mike Jr., he’s spent the last few years trying to get out of his dad’s shadow. The struggle for Mike has been that he has the same passion but doesn’t want to be handed things. This season it’s really exciting because he really goes off on his own.” Continue reading.

From Rudy Blair of Rudy Blair Entertainment Media:

Link: Intv w Actor Colton Gobbo Mike Jr The CBC/CBC Gem Comedy Series “Son Of A Critch Season 4”

The comedy series based on the award-winning, best-selling memoir from Mark Critch (This Hour Has 22 Minutes) on his hilarious and very real coming of age story growing up in St. John’s, Newfoundland returns Tuesday, January 7th at 8:30 p.m. (9 NT) on CBC/CBC Gem. Rudy Blair Entertainment Media speaks with Actor Colton Gobbo (Mike Jr) on “Son of a Critch Season 4. Continue reading.

From Tara Bradbury of The Telegram:

Link: Rick Mercer joins ‘Son of a Critch’ cast as car salesman-turned-VOCM boss

Mercer, best known for his work on “This Hour Has 22 Minutes” and “The Rick Mercer Report,” says he’s been a fan of “Son of a Critch” since the first episode.

It’s also been about that long since Critch has wanted him to be a part of it. Continue reading.

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Saint-Pierre

Links: Saint-Pierre, Season 1

From John Kirk of Original Cin:

Link: Saint-Pierre: Post-Doyle, the Next Best CBC Atlantic Crime Series Comes From (Not Far) Away

The island of Saint-Pierre takes centre stage as a character in its own right. The island isn’t really known to the majority of Canadians. Though it’s just off the coast and to the south of Newfoundland, it’s a part of the Canadian diaspora nonetheless. There are jokes aimed at our “funny, plastic money”, on Newfoundland culture and even the way French is pronounced. Continue reading.

From Alex Nino Gheciu of The Canadian Press:

Link: With maturity comes baggage in Allan Hawco’s new cop role in CBC’s ‘Saint-Pierre’

After CBC’s “Republic of Doyle” wrapped in 2014, Allan Hawco spent years searching for the next show to create.

The star and co-creator of the St. John’s, N.L.-set crime drama, which ran for six seasons, had several ideas but couldn’t land on a concept that resonated with him. Continue reading.

From Bill Brioux of Brioux.tv:

Link: Saint-Pierre’s Allan Hawco

No man is an island. Allan Hawco’s new series, however, is shot and set on an archipelago of eight islands represented by the French government off the coast of Newfoundland. Continue reading.

From Heather M. of The Televixen:

Link: Previewing Saint-Pierre: “Queen Bee”

The creative machine behind Republic of Doyle is back at it Monday night when Saint-Pierre, a new hourlong drama, lands on CBC and CBC Gem. Set on the titular French territory in the Atlantic Ocean and filmed in Doyle‘s picturesque Newfoundland stomping grounds as well as Labrador, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Ontario, the series follows a newly transplanted Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Inspector, Donny Fitzpatrick (Fitz), played by Allan Hawco. Continue reading.

From Jeevan Brar of The TV Watercooler:

Link: “There’s Something Inspirational About the Idea of People Who Really Are Trying to Do the Right Thing.” – Allan Hawco and Josephine Jobert Open Up About Their New Series Saint-Pierre

“When you audition for French projects, it’s pretty rare that you get to read the [whole] first episode. I just loved it.” Continue reading.

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Featured, Saint-Pierre

Allan Hawco returns to CBC with rollicking, refreshing Saint-Pierre

For six seasons, Allan Hawco’s Republic of Doyle entertained viewers on CBC. The fast-paced detective drama was set in and around St. John’s and spotlit the unique island community through the eyes of Jake Doyle and his co-workers, friends, lovers and enemies.

Now Hawco is back and spotlighting another island community.

Debuting Monday at 9 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem, Saint-Pierre—co-created by Hawco, Robina Lord-Stafford and Perry Chafe—boasts the humour, heart and unique environs that are Hawco’s bread and butter.

At the centre of the series is its two lead characters. Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Inspector Donny “Fitz” Fitzpatrick (Hawco) finds himself banished to Saint-Pierre et Miquelon—the French territory of 6,000 nestled in the Atlantic Ocean—after digging too deeply into illegal activity surrounding a local politician (played by Eric Johnson), who happens to be married to Fitz’s ex-wife (Vanessa Matsui).

Once on the island, Fitz is partnered with Deputy Chief Genevieve “Arch” Archambault (Joséphine Jobert). There are some fish-out-of-water moments for Fitz in the first episode—he not only suffers from sea sickness (bad news when you’re working on a small island) and a fear of heights—not to mention struggling with the language barrier (luckily, Fitz understands French better than he speaks it). Rounding out the main cast are Benz Antoine, Erika Prevost, Jean-Michel Le Gal and James Purefoy as the big bad in Season 1.

Much of Monday’s debut sets up the people and their world. And what a world it is! Quaint, brightly painted wood homes dot the coast of Saint-Pierre while older stone buildings stand sentry inland. French flags wave everywhere, and croissants and seafood are plentiful. Hawco revealed during a recent interview that he was on a location scout for fellow CBC/Hawco Productions project Son of a Critch when he visited the island, and knew it should be the setting for his next series. He had written two pilot projects and Saint-Pierre was the perfect fit for one.

“One [idea] was very close to what this show is, the very notion of these two partners who were thrust together by fate, and unwilling partners who didn’t know they needed each other until now,” he says.

Eagle-eyed fans of Death in Paradise will quickly identify Jobert, who portrayed Detective Sergeant Florence Cassell from 2015 to 2024 on the veteran British series. The chemistry Jobert has with Hawco is instantaneous and undeniable and is a huge part of why Saint-Pierre works so well.

“She’s my favourite type of person and actor,” Hawco says. “She’s prepared. She’s also totally flexible to go with anything in the moment. She’s practical about what the technical requirements of the job are while keeping a fluidity and an absolute freshness and spontaneity to her work. No ego, no status, no judgment. She’s generous with the crew. She understands people’s jobs, she respects them. She’s a true angel. She’s an absolute unicorn.”

Saint-Pierre airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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