Frontier (2016 TV series)

Frontier is a Canadian historical drama television series co-created by Rob Blackie and Peter Blackie, chronicling the North American fur trade in colonial Canada/Rupert's Land, sometime in the late 1700s or early 1800s. The series is co-produced by Discovery Canada, as the channel's first original scripted commission, and Netflix. The series premiered on November 6, 2016.

The series was renewed for a second season in October 2016, ahead of its premiere, which premiered on October 18, 2017. Frontier was renewed for a third season on September 20, 2017, also ahead of the previous second season. The entirety of the third season premiered first on Netflix on November 23, 2018, and was broadcast in Canada between December 7 and 21, 2018.

Synopsis
The series chronicles the North American fur trade in late 1700s Canada, and follows Declan Harp (Jason Momoa), a half-Irish, half-Cree outlaw who is campaigning to breach the Hudson's Bay Company's monopoly on the fur trade in his native land, which has become corrupt and engages in illegal activities to enrich itself.

Main
• Jason Momoa as Declan Harp, a ruthless trapper, infamous for his brutality, wanted by the Hudson's Bay Company

• Alun Armstrong as Lord Benton, member of the Hudson's Bay Company also known for his iron-fisted tactics.

• Landon Liboiron as Michael Smyth, a tumultuous thief who, after sneaking aboard a Hudson's Bay Company ship, is recruited by the company to spy on Declan Harp.

• Zoe Boyle as Grace Emberly, an ambitious bartender in Fort James who collects and peddles information.

• Jessica Matten as Sokanon

• Christian McKay as Father James Coffin (season 1), a lustful missionary who purports to be a priest; offers himself as a "guide" to Michael.

• Evan Jonigkeit as Captain/Governor Jonathan Chesterfield (season 1–2), Lord Benton's second-in-command.

• Shawn Doyle as Samuel Grant, head of Low River Company

• Greg Bryk as Cobbs Pond

• Zahn McClarnon as Samoset (seasons 1-2)

• Lyla Porter-Follows as Clenna Dolan

• Diana Bentley as Imogen

• Breanne Hill as Mary

• Paul Fauteux as Jean-Marc Rivard

• William Belleau as Dimanche (season 1)

• Allan Hawco as Douglas Brown

• Michael Patric as Malcolm Brown

• Stephen Lord as Cedric Brown (season 1), a Scott who captures the son of the Lake Walkers tribe's chief

• Katie McGrath as Elizabeth Carruthers (season 1–2)

• Charles Aitken as Captain Johnson (season 1)

• Tantoo Cardinal as Kamenna

• Raoul Trujillo as Machk (season 1)

• Kiowa Gordon as Kitchi (season 1)

• Cameron Roberts as Chogan (season 1)

• Jean-Michel Le Gal as Commander Everton (season 2, recurring season 1)

• Demetrius Grosse as Charleston 'Charlie' (season 2–3)

• Karen LeBlanc as Josephette (season 2–3)

• Joel Thomas Hynes as Darragh (season 2)

• David Schaal as Captain Grey (season 2)

• Rémy Girard as Marquis de Beaumont (season 2)

• Jamie Sives as Magnus McTaggart (season 2–3)

• Natar Ungalaaq as Inuit hunter (season 2)

• Nagliniq Amagoalik as Inuit child (season 2)

• James Preston Rogers as Vladimir 'The Siberian' Tetukin (season 2)

• Brendt Thomas Diabo as Aki (season 2)

• Kathryn Wilder as Chaulk (season 2–)

• Paul Ewan Wilson as Vanstone (season 3, recurring season 1–2)

• Paul McGillion as Major Vinnicombe (season 3)

• Jay Simpson as Lord Winston Fisher (season 3)

• Ellyn Jade as Kahwihta (season 3)

• Michael Raymond-James as Fortunato (season 3)

• Temuera Morrison as Te Rangi (season 3)

• Gary Lewis as Edward Emberly (season 3)

• Gordon Brown as Barclay (season 3)

• Cal MacAninch as Angus (season 3)

• Stephen Oates as Patrick O'Reilly (season 3)

• Evan Mercer as Mercer (season 3)

Recurring

 * Sean Wei Mah as Omaciw
 * Graham Abbey as MacLaughlan (season 1)
 * A.C. Peterson as Governor Threadwell (season 1)
 * Peter O'Meara as Peter Carruthers (season 1)
 * Nathaniel Arcand as Wahush (season 2)
 * Star Slade as Minno (season 2)
 * Ryan Tarran as Wadlow (season 3)

Production
The series is co-produced by Discovery Canada, as the channel's first original scripted commission, and Netflix. Filming for Frontier took place in several locations in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Ontario, Canada, as well as Cornwall and Northumberland in the United Kingdom.

Release
The series is produced in 4K ultra high definition; on January 8, 2016, Bell Media confirmed that Frontier would stream in 4K via the Discovery Go app exclusively on Samsung 4K smart TVs.

The series premiered on November 6, 2016. The series was renewed for a second season in October 2016, ahead of its premiere, which premiered on October 18, 2017. Frontier was renewed for a third season on September 20, 2017, also ahead of the previous season. The entirety of the third season premiered first on Netflix on November 23, 2018, and was broadcast in Canada between December 7 and 21, 2018.

Internationally, the series is distributed by Netflix, with the first season available from January 20, 2017. An exclusivity agreement meant that the series would not be available on Netflix in Canada until 2017.

Reception
The first season received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating from critics of 43% based on 14 reviews, with the site's consensus reading "Jason Momoa's powerhouse performance as Declan Harp is ultimately weighed down by Frontier often sluggish storytelling". Metacritic gave the series a weighted average score of 52 out of 100, based on reviews from 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

In a positive review, John Doyle of The Globe and Mail described the series as "an action-packed, uncomplicated and very entertaining yarn about the cutthroats who created this country by plundering it, when they weren't busy killing each other". Doyle felt the opening episode's handling of interactions with First Nations was handled "delicately," commenting that Frontier was "far from being a whitewashed tale about the English, Scots, Irish and French battling out for possession of fur and land".

The second season was better received and has a 100% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 5 reviews.