On Screen: “The Last Frontier”
The Last Frontier
The new crime thriller “The Last Frontier” begins as a government transport plane carrying 18 federal inmates and one highly classified prisoner crashes in the vast frozen wilderness just outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. Was it an accident? Or was it planned? And is there a complicated conspiracy to unravel?
Those are the question facing U.S. Marshal Frank Remnick (Jason Clarke), along with the F.B.I. — who seem to have an inordinate amount of the interest in recapturing that highly classified convict known as Havlock (Dominic Cooper).
Frank’s mission is made far more difficult — and personal — when his wife Sarah (Simone Kessell), a nurse, is kidnapped and their teenage son Luke (Tait Blum) disappears. Plus there’s the unexpected arrival of secretive C.I.A. operative Sidney Scofield (Hayley Bennett), who knows far more than she’s ready to divulge.
Meanwhile, there are other violently dangerous fugitives on the loose, each with his or her own story — terrorizing various innocent inhabitants of this tight-knit community in their desperate struggle to survive.
“We’re not buying time,” Frank notes. “We’re borrowing it.”
Created and co-written by Jon Bokenkamp (“The Blacklist”) and Richard D’Ovidio (“The Call”), the ten-episode series turns out to be a somewhat predictable manhunt procedural, filled with clichés and cooking on a slow-burner. Think: “Con-Air” in the snow.
What makes it unique is the spectacular scenery, rugged landscapes cinematically captured by cinematographer Barry Donlevy. Veteran Canadian location manager Michele St-Arnaud found suitable locales in and around Montreal, Quebec City, Calgary and Alberta’s Rockies, while production designer David Sandefur manages to make the raw winter tundra a pivotal character in the story.
Apple TV hasn’t officially announced whether there will be a Season 2 renewal yet — decisions typically come after the season finale airs on December 5th and executives evaluate viewership data, critical reception and audience engagement.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Last Frontier” is an edgy, suspenseful 6, streaming on Apple TV.
Susan Granger is a product of Hollywood. Her natural father, S. Sylvan Simon, was a director and producer at M.G.M. and Columbia Pictures. Her adoptive father, Armand Deutsch, produced movies at M.G.M.
As a child, Susan appeared in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Margaret O’Brien, and Lassie. She attended Mills College in California, studying journalism with Pierre Salinger, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism.