'We made it for Inuit': North of North creators thrilled to start work on new season

Over eight episodes, the fictional hamlet of Ice Cove, Nunavut, brought audiences humour, culture and community — and there's more on the way, as Arctic comedy North of North is renewed for a second season. 

The show made Netflix's top 10 in 27 countries, but its creators say that for them, the northern audience is the one that matters.

"We made it for a global audience, but we made it for Inuit," said co-creator Stacey Aglok MacDonald. 

"We want Inuit and our fellow Inuit in our communities to feel seen and to feel like we did a good job and that we did right by our community. And just to see the outpouring of love and support, not just in Iqaluit but across all of Inuit Nunangat, it's been really like, thank goodness."

APTN, Netflix and CBC renewed the series on April 29 and co-creators Alethea Arnaquq-Baril and Aglok MacDonald say they're thrilled to be back with their characters. 

"We love Siaja, we love Neevee, we love Kuuk, and just to be able to spend time with them again in dreaming up what comes next for each of them, it's joyful and emotional," Aglok MacDonald said. 

The first season was filmed in Iqaluit and Mayor Solomon Awa says the show is good for the city too. On top of the economic benefits from having the cast and crew in town for production, the series gives viewers a taste of the Arctic's beauty. 

"People who are talking about, 'oh, I want to go to Iqaluit.' [They see it] and they say, 'oh, this is Iqaluit, wow.'"

Awa himself appears in North of North as the character Lazarus. He said he's enjoyed being a part of the series and especially enjoyed the role Lazarus has played in guiding main character Siaja. 

"A lot of people told me, 'I saw you on the TV.' They also mentioned, 'I like what you said. It touched me.'"

Aglok MacDonald and Arnaquq-Baril say they've begun writing the next season but it's still too early to know when they might start filming or when season two will be released. 

Arnaquq-Baril says she hopes to see lots of Inuit, especially more men, coming out to audition for the second season and to join them, and audiences, back in Ice Cove.