Frontier

This show is a gritty historical drama, that is centered around the fur trade in 1700's North America, and produced by Netflix and Discovery Canada. The third season is set to come out later this month, but I have had trouble finding time to watch it without my 2 year old around, so I am just catching the first episode. The show is pretty violent, opening up with the antihero Delcan, a ruthless independant fur trader played by Jason Momoa, brutally murdering some British/Company troops he has caught. The British Hudson's Bay Company has tenuous monopoly on the trade in Canada, but are struggling to hold ground against competition for the pelts and their trade routes, which are worth vast fortunes in Europe.

Declan is part-Cree, part-Irish, and was trained by the equally ruthless Lord Benton of the Company, but now is trying to control the fur trade for himself. Alun Armstrong, who you may recognize from Sleepy Hollow and Braveheart, is great for the role of Lord Benton. And Jason Momoa, who plays Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones, look lie he might be perfect for this role, although we don't see too much of him in the first episode. There is also a plot about a poor Irish teenager named Michael who is caught stowed away on Benton's ship. He has to find, befriend and betray Declan for Lord Benton, or he and his girlfriend back home will be hanged. In the process he meets up with a alcoholic, con-man priest and a shrewd female
tavern owner.

The scenery and locations look great, as do the costumes. I am a sucker for historical frontier dramas anyway, though. The writing is maybe not the greatest I've seen, and the episode has an awful lot of plot exposition, but I can forgive that since it is the 1st. The acting seems pretty solid as well. It looks like this might be a good one to keep watching, and the fact that they are still making it is a good sign.