CBC, Netflix and APTN, with production partners Red Marrow Media and Northwood Entertainment, have confirmed the lead cast and director of the first episode for the new untitled Arctic comedy series (10×30).
Anna Lambe (True Detective, Trickster, The Grizzlies) will star as young Inuk mother Siaja. Seven-year-old Inuk actress from Iqaluit, Nunavut, Keira Cooper, is making her screen debut as Siaja’s daughter Bun. Anya Adams (Yellowjackets, Ginny & Georgia, Black-ish, The Good Place) has been confirmed as the director of the first episode, and the producing director of the series, which will start filming in Nunavut in spring 2024.
Created and written by Inuit writer and producer Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Inuit filmmaker Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, and executive produced alongside Miranda de Pencier (Northwood Entertainment), the series follows Siaja (Lambe), a young Inuk mother who wants to build a new future for herself, but it won’t be easy in her small Arctic town where everyone knows your business.
“We cannot wait for the world to see the brilliance of Anna Lambe: Our leading lady who hails from our home territory of Nunavut! And we’re thrilled to work with director Anya Adams: Her creative excellence and infectious passion are the perfect match for our vision,” said Aglok MacDonald and Arnaquq-Baril.
Lambe is an Inuk actress from Iqaluit, Nunavut. She began her journey on the big screen with the feature film The Grizzlies, which garnered her first Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She then went on to play the character Sarah in CBC original series Trickster, which landed her a second Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She has since guest starred on other series including Alaska Daily and her most recent role is in HBO’s highly anticipated fourth season of True Detective, premiering in winter 2024.
Adams is an award-winning Canadian-American director best known for the TV series Ginny & Georgia, Yellowjackets and Black-ish. Most recently, Adams directed episodes of the Apple TV+ series Roar, the finale of the Amazon series A League of Their Own, and the Emmy-nominated second season of the Showtime series Yellowjackets. She is a two-time NAACP Image Award winner for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series and her debut feature film Prom Pact was recently nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Fiction Special.
The Arctic comedy is produced by Red Marrow Media and Northwood Entertainment. Executive producers are Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Angry Inuk, The Grizzlies), Stacey Aglok MacDonald (Qanurli?, The Grizzlies), Miranda de Pencier (Anne with an E, Beginners, The Grizzlies), Susan Coyne (Mozart in the Jungle, Daisy Jones & The Six, Slings & Arrows), and Garry Campbell (The Kids in the Hall, Less Than Kind).
Lambe is repped by LBI Entertainment, Integral Artists and law firm Yorn, Levine, Barnes, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner, Endlich, Goodell & Gellman.
Adams is repped by Greg Pedicin and Katy McCaffrey at Gersh, Greg Walter and Jermaine Johnson at 3 Arts and Grace Kallis at Ginsburg Daniels.
