Note: This article contains spoilers.
North of North (2025–present),created by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril and Stacey Aglok MacDonald and co-produced by CBC and Netflix in partnership with APTN, is back for season two, and thank Nuliajuk for that! Winter is descending on Ice Cove, our favourite fictional hamlet in Nunavut, and while this season is still full of the exuberant humour that made the show such a delight to begin with, it is also both hornier and thornier than season one. “We really embrace that we’re raunchy,” explains Arnaquq-Baril. [1] Well, I love to be threatened with a good time!
Season one wisely introduced us to the world of Ice Cove on the brink of spring and to all the colourful, hopeful people who populate it in the de facto Inuit New Year. Season two invites us deeper into all of their lives, and much like spending time with real family and friends, it is not always comfortable, but it is life-affirming. We get to know these characters as people, in all of the beautiful, sometimes frustrating ways, and fall in love with them more for all of their flaws.
Still of Anna Lambe and Tanya Tagaq (right) as Nuliajuk in episode one of North of
North season two (2026) COURTESY OF APTN, CBC, AND NETFLIX
North of North is a show about complex women, and this season takes it even further as we watch them try to “level up” their lives. When we last saw Siaja (played by the brilliant Anna Lambe), our plucky young single-mom heroine, she was dealing with the ramifications of blowing up her life—suddenly ending her marriage to handsome fuckboy Ting and looking for a job. She was starting from scratch: no job, no home, no love life. Throughout those eight episodes, she proved her competence at her job and her service to her community, so by this season, she actually has something to lose. Unfortunately, Nuliajuk, portrayed perfectly by Tanya Tagaq, knows exactly when to rear her figuratively ugly head (albeit with her killer ponytail) to affirm Siaja’s insecurities right when she has to live up to the new expectations placed on her. To rub salt in the wound, this season gives us some evidence that Siaja’s beliefs that she really is a loser who is undeserving of her gains are actually warranted. She seems to have the opposite of the Midas touch this season—everything she touches turns to crap.
Anna Lambe in North of North season two (2026) COURTESY OF APTN, CBC, AND NETFLIX
In lieu of flat “strong female characters” (a trope I loathe for its sexist condescension), we get much more interesting women who are resilient and courageous but also have layers of desires and fears and flaws to them. They’re messy, like us. Siaja’s weakness has always been that her fierce heart and lofty ambitions for her community are so big that they outweigh her executive functioning. We see this in the season opener “I Wanna Mask Dance With Somebody” when she royally screws the pooch on a community event—an uaajeerneq, Kalaallit mask dance, performance that involves grinding and sexual movements. The visiting white eco-tourists are scandalized when their faces are grinded on by the performers and their lives are practically imperilled by malfunctioning tech equipment Siaja stubbornly sourced from the dump despite multiple warnings about their functionality. Her imprudent ass is only saved by Alexis, the glamorous blond southern influencer, who has the audacity to be gracious about salvaging the tourism campaign. Now in the doghouse at work (again), Siaja must earn her way back into prickly Helen (Mary Lynn Rajskub)’s good graces by creating cultural programming to get Ice Cove through the doldrums of winter in the form of a glitzy winter ball.
Still of Maika Harper as Neevee in episode seven of North of North season two (2026) COURTESY OF APTN, CBC, AND NETFLIX
Maika Harper (left) and Anna Lambe (right) filming North of North season two (2026) COURTESY OF APTN, CBC, AND NETFLIX
Not to be outdone by her scrappy daughter, Neevee (Maika Harper) also ups the ante on her life this season by expanding her store to cater to Ice Cove’s womenfolk, maxing out two credit cards to do so. But the real stride she makes is learning to be vulnerable, which she struggles with all season. She does manage the humbling task of asking Siaja for help with her business grants, but it’s admitting her feelings for Alistair (Jay Ryan) that is the harder challenge. He’s right there, but her heart has clearly been fortressed for so long, she only takes baby steps. After she plays a mean trick on him through granddaughter Bun in a game of hide-and-seek, she’s able to choke down enough crow to apologize. Of course, that apology comes with a characteristically snarky middle finger unseen by Bun, but she offers the real amends with photos of Siaja growing up.
Still of Bailey Poching (left) as Colin and Zorga Qaunaq (right) as Millie in episode four of North of North season two (2026) COURTESY OF APTN, CBC, AND NETFLIX
Watching Zorga Qaunaq’s character, Millie, graduate from apathetic wise-cracking sidekick into an ambitious woman herself is one of the best surprise treats of this season. “By the end of season two, Millie’s got the big, thick binder, planning the winter ball and stepping up and taking charge of things…That’s the thing about Siaja…her aspirations and unabashed dreaming big rubs off on everyone around her,” says Arnaquq-Baril.
Still of Rachelle Lefevre as Kati in North of North season two (2026) COURTESY OF APTN, CBC, AND NETFLIX
Still of Jay Ryan as Alistair and Rachelle Lefevre in North of North season two (2026) COURTESY OF APTN, CBC, AND NETFLIX
Even the tertiary female characters buck expectations. Season two introduces us to romance novelist Kati (Rachelle Lefevre) as a competing love interest for Alistair and further develops Kuuk’s girlfriend, Alexis. A lesser rom-com would make these women unpleasant, but the show’s creators make the much more compelling choice to make Alexis a frustratingly lovely person and Kati cool. Sure, Alexis is a bit of a clueless white girl with aspirations of “remaking” the “blank slate” of the community, but she takes her lumps (dished out accidentally by Siaja) well and serves as a bit of a stand-in for southern audiences who might misunderstand the North, like when she pets an adorable rabid dog. Kati has all the aura of a hot, successful, self-possessed woman of Kati and Alistair a certain age. “With Kati, who Alistair dates, we wanted someone who’s also cool and fierce, and who Neevee could actually be like, ‘I could be friends with this woman’…how that unfolds is way more interesting to us than ‘stay away from my man’ kind of storytelling,” says Arnaquq-Baril. Not only are these women worthy romantic options for their partners, both of them actually go so far as to help their respective romantic rivals in their careers. I love this show so much.
Still of Anna Lambe (left), Braeden Clarke (middle) as Kuuk, and Taylor Hickson (right) as Alexis in North of North season two (2026) COURTESY APTN, CBC, AND NETFLIX
Arnaquq-Baril and Aglok MacDonald’s decision to write fallible female heroes is both a specific cultural perspective and just plain good storytelling. “I think that us being Inuit women growing up in our communities…we all have great empathy for each other,” says Aglok MacDonald. “Because we all know each other’s backstories to a degree. We’re not just floating around as strangers. So someone who’s an asshole doesn’t just get to be an asshole.”
This season also does a great job of seamlessly blending humour and lightness with some darker, more painful topics, like Siaja finding her sister and the fallout of this. Her newfound knowledge of her long-lost half-sister, and her rightful disbelief that Neevee hasn’t thought of her stolen child in years, prompt Siaja to steal her mother’s DNA and set out to find and get to know her sister. It’s on this journey that Nuliajuk pops up most to taunt Siaja, encapsulating all the comedy, darkness, and sexiness of this season that one character possibly can. Bringing back Nuliajuk is especially fitting here, since Siaja is essentially clawing back an actual life (her sister’s) that had been stolen.
When Siaja’s dreams of a loving sisterly reunion are dashed, partially because she lied to her sister about her true identity, she returns home and falls into the worst mental health crisis we’ve seen on the show thus far. “Girl, get off the couch!” I wanted to shout at her in the episode “Ghosted” as her coworkers, friends, and family try desperately to pull her out of her depression while saving the winter ball she’s spent all season planning. “I love when Siaja’s flawed,” Arnaquq-Baril says. “I love when she makes a mistake with the best intentions.” I choked up more than once during this painful storyline. She’s being selfish, but who can blame her? The gaping hole in Siaja’s heart is practically screaming during her polite meet-cute with her sister. Lambe conveys such primal pain in this storyline. It’s impossible not to be moved. The only salve for this was watching Neevee’s newfound gentleness in handling Siaja’s plight, a far cry from their contentious relationship in season one. It’s a lovely mirror to when Neevee literally splashed water on Siaja to wake her up from the couch and pointed to her “No Freeloaders” cross-stitch in Siaja’s previous hour of need.
Nutaaq Simmonds as Elisapee filming North of North season two (2026)COURTESY OF APTN, CBC, AND NETFLIX
The show also touches on religion in the character of Elder Elisapie (Nutaaq Simmonds), the acerbic community receptionist. Her dastardly heel turn as church pastor wielding her religion against Neevee’s store is understood to be a survival mechanism leftover from her residential school days. “I have a lot of religious trauma myself,” Aglok MacDonald shares, her frustration palpable. “…But at the same time, still trying to write something that felt compassionate…it was tricky.” This heavier topic is balanced perfectly with the hysterical gag of Neevee furiously rubbing her tits all over her store goods to undo the taint of godliness.
The grim reality of lack of accessibility to clean drinking water in the North (and many Indigenous communities across Canada) is also touched on in the season but presented with humour. Siaja has the idea to bring Elders ice but ends up accidentally poisoning them in the episode “Ice, Ice, Baby.” It is, dare I say, funny. The old adage “boil it or toilet” are words to live by.
Still of Anna Lambe and Braeden Clarke in episode four of North of North season two (2026) COURTESY OF APTN, CBC, AND NETFLIX
The show not only is about women, but is purely, unadulteratedly, women. This season is a steamy romance (those Inuit mask dancers grinding on faces weren’t there for nothing). Braeden Clarke returns as Kuuk, the object of Siaja’s affection, and the sexual tension that was established between them in season one becomes almost unbearable in season two, aided in part by Kuuk’s hair having grown only more luscious and flashbacks to Siaja’s fantasy of Kuuk grasping at her amauti-bodice last season. It will have you clamouring for him to just rip the damn thing off already. “Every so often, we ask ourselves, ‘Is this horny enough? Let’s go back and let’s look at a couple more things. It’s not horny enough, guys!’” Aglok MacDonald declares through laughter. Arnaquq-Baril nods seriously. “Actual conversation we’ve had,” she confirms.
Still of Braeden Clarke in episode seven of North of North season two (2026) COURTESY OF APTN, CBC, AND NETFLIX
Kuuk remains a refreshing romantic hero in that he was never a misunderstood asshole; he has always been a sweet, sensitive guy in search of something. Clarke glows with gentle, vulnerable warmth, especially in scenes when he’s trying to relate to youth in his new role as a high school teacher. If you are at all attracted to men and your clothes aren’t just falling off by now, I don’t know what else to tell you. The tortured longing and the “will they/won’t theys” finally come to such a gratifying climax in the finale, I actually gasped out loud. Again, horny show.
Still of Maika Harper and Jay Ryan in episode six of North of North season two (2026) COURTESY OF APTN, CBC, AND NETFLIX
Even the comedy swings bigger this season! When it’s not being adeptly used in a very grounded way to make serious issues go down smoother just like in season one, in season two it flirts more with absurdity to great effect. It skates gloriously close to the edge of believability without going over. In addition to a guest appearance by Kids In The Hall alum Bruce McCulloch in episode “Code Blue,” which sees Millie and Siaja competitively flirting with first-aid equipment to seduce their way up the housing list, my personal favourite moment came in episode “Beer Quest.” When notorious bootlegger queenpin Two-Eyed Annie pelts her glass eyeball at Siaja, I howled with laughter and wanted to steal beer with my friends. Generally, all the hijinks work to add depth to the characters, such as when Millie exposes her softer side by forgiving Siaja for forgetting her birthday beers, again, or when she and Siaja realize they love each other enough to be roommates.
Stills of Anna Lambe and Zorga Qaunaq at the winter ball in episode eight of North of North season two (2026) COURTESY OF APTN, CBC, AND NETFLIX
Keeping in tune with the season’s theme of levelling up, the fashion and production design are jaw-dropping. Siaja’s embellished, ruffled purple parka is the casual-wear standout for me, but my favourite evening wear look was Millie’s ballgown, an explosion of chartreuse and magenta, cinched in by classic sealskin, worn in the spectacular finale. In “Experrrrt” Siaja’s winter ball comes together with the help of her community in a show of Inuit ingenuity, and the result is as enchanting and kaleidoscopically beautiful as one could dream of. The production design and wardrobe departments of the show, led by Andrew Berry and Alexander Reda respectively, outdo themselves in this episode. The women’s Bridgerton-inspired gowns lovingly prioritize Inuit design and artisanship, such as Siaja’s stunning crimson number in a cascading akulik style to honour the roof of a caribou’s mouth. The looks were completed with showstopping traditional jewellery, like Siaja’s red-and-black matching set of earring danglers and choker designed by Heather Dickson and Millie’s multicoloured beaded collar (Qaunaq’s own creation) creeping down her chest (the better to showcase a heaving bosom), and will have you lusting just as much as the characters are for each other.
The long, lonely nights of winter are coming for all of us, but thankfully Siaja and the inhabitants of Ice Cove are here to keep us warm. The season ends all too soon, and you will miss the characters, as I did, but then you can just rewatch it. One thing is bothering me, though. This show keeps hinting at what sort of stock Siaja might descend from, as in this season when Alistair shares that his father was an astronaut, and back in season one when Siaja asked if there were any shamans in her bloodline! I have no idea what that portends, but as long as this show keeps bringing celestial, heavenly bodies to my screen, I’ll be satisfied.
Stream all episodes of North of North (seasons one and two) anytime in Canada on APTN+, CBC Gem and Netflix.
Bronwyn Szabo is a filmmaker, writer, and professional actor. She made her directorial debut with horror film Mardöll (2020) and directed for the third season of Anaana’s Tent (2021). In 2023 she won the Jeff Barnaby Grant for Indigenous horror filmmakers to produce her web series called It Doesn’t Show, based on the Qallupilluit. It is currently streaming on APTN+.
Notes
1 All quotes Alethea Arnaquq-Baril and Stacey Aglok MacDonald, interview with Bronwyn Szabo, September 2026.