The Last Frontier (2025 – )
Alaska, the geographically vast, largely undeveloped terrain, has long captured the imagination as a “last frontier”. Across millennia, people have grappled with Alaska as a sublime natural world, both majestic and unforgiving. In The Last Frontier, creators Jon Bokenkamp and Richard D’Ovidio use the 49th state as a potent backdrop, rich with the historical context of exploration, survival, and the complex interactions between indigenous peoples and mainly white newcomers. In many ways, it is the rugged Alaskan landscape that emerges as the star of the new Apple TV+ thriller series, a show that attempts to blend the high-octane procedural and spy-craft thriller, with the stark realities of remote life. The result is a series with beautiful scenery, but one that sometimes loses its way in the wasteland of its own narrative.
The Last Frontier hinges on a compelling premise: a prison transport plane crashes in remote Alaska, unleashing dozens of violent inmates (those who actually survive the crash) into U.S. Marshal Frank Remnick’s (Jason Clarke) expansive, isolated jurisdiction. But the clandestine nature of the flight (and who exactly was being transported) creates chaos for Frank and his law enforcement team who must work with colleagues from Seattle and a CIA agent, Sidney Scofield (Haley Bennett) who is a knowledgeable outcast from her own agency. You see Scofield has problems with dissemblance and alcohol which make her a potential liability to her new “partner” Frank who has more at stake than protecting his town, when the illusive former CIA counterintelligence operative gone rogue (supposedly anyway) Levi Hartman – code name Havlock (Dominica Cooper) – kidnaps Frank’s wife Sarah Remnick (Simone Kessell). Adding to the stellar cast is the timeless Alfre Woodard as the high-ranking CIA official Jacqueline Bradford who calls in Scofield to clean up the mess of the downed flight, quietly of course.
As the show unfurls, we see Frank grappling to balance the very personal stakes of his wife’s kidnapping while battling to get coherent, trustworthy information from Scofield (not an easy task). To top it off, it quickly becomes clear that the CIA’s quest to bring Hartman in for his transgressions has less to do with justice and more to do with covering up their own malfeasance.
The initial action sequence that takes place on the doomed CIA flight is nearly big screen perfect except for scenes in which Havlock is magically not sucked out of the plane to his death (like other prisoners and guards) although he is pictured standing beside areas where the plane’s fuselage has been blown off. Nevertheless, the series shines in its initial episodes, delivering an edgy, suspenseful manhunt that leverages the brutal beauty of the Alaskan setting, cinematically captured with a keen eye for the immense scale of the landscape. Yet the potential for exploring unique histories and the complex journeys of those who choose such an isolated life is present but underdeveloped.
For those who enjoy action-packed escapism and breathtaking natural scenery, The Last Frontier is an engaging watch, perfect for a cold-weather weekend in. If you can overlook some narrative missteps and focus on the sheer spectacle of the setting and strong performances from its lead cast, it offers a satisfying, if not groundbreaking, thriller experience.