CBC and Netflix's 'Northern Rescue': Review

A nuanced, highly engrossing and emotive family drama that certainly didn't deserve to be dropped by CBC after an exceptional first season

The cast of 'Northern Rescue' (CREDIT: CBC/Netflix)

                       by Jack Linsdell

One of the upsides to Netflix's controversial business model is it's willingness and ability to "pick up" foreign TV shows and release them to it's large and captive audience across the world. Vastly enjoyable local shows produced in countries like Norway (The Rain), Spain (The Hockey Girls, Money Heist), Colombia (The Queen of Flow) and Canada (Workin' Moms) have seen varying degrees of success on Netflix, finding an audience (mostly majority-white, English-speaking folk) who would never have had the chance or desire to see them otherwise. Although less demographically, culturally and linguistically "foreign" than some of those other superb shows, Netflix continues this trend with the Canadian series Northern Rescue.

Produced locally in Canada by Don Carmody Television, this poignant and highly engrossing family drama certainly merits a "must watch" recommendation. And, that makes it's resulting fate as a largely forgotten and "cancelled" show even more heartbreaking. But, more on that in a minute. Anyway, Mark Bacci, David Cormican and Dwayne Hill's Northern Rescue is a superb piece of television drama. This ten-part series is full of flawed, complex and very human characters, all played by a cast of young "breaking through" actors. They get sole credit for turning emotionally challenged characters who do a lot of "questionable" things into people you deeply like and care about. The show itself is very well-written, full of many nuanced character arcs and surprising plot beats that are both well earned and keep you engrossed at all times. 

Starring William Baldwin (yes, he's the brother of actor Alec Baldwin) as search and rescue commander John West, Northern Rescue charts the struggles of West and his three teenage children as they move away from Boston (to Turtle Island Bay, where he grew up) after the unexpected death of his wife/their mother. Once they arrive at the end of episode one, the series kicks into gear, giving each family member (and West's sister-in-law Charlie who lives in Turtle Island Bay) their own challenge/plot strand to do battle with over the next nine episodes. We have a very well handled subplot with West's oldest daughter Maddie (Amalia Williamson) as she navigates romantic interest from a local boy that refreshingly doesn't (slight spoiler) end in the "boy wins over girl and they fall deeply in love" cliche. West himself gets a very interesting subplot with the second in command of the local search and rescue unit he's just been put in charge of, with each episode featuring a thrilling rescue operation too.

Overall, Northern Rescue is a show about the strength and power of family and how the strong bond we share with them is what gets us through tough times. But, it's also unafraid to show to complexities of family and how those relationships can be the hardest to get right. The show also finds time for explorations about bullying, the cost of keeping secrets and how love is a double-edged sword. If I'm selling Northern Rescue to you then that's good because where the series ends and the show's subsequent fate is not at all positive. 

Northern Rescue is not a limited series, which means that it's very open-ended climax comes over as a massive disappointment. After sitting through ten exceptionally gripping and moving episodes, the finale is a massive and unexpected let down. This wouldn't be a problem if CBC (the network that aires it in Canada and owns the rights) or Netflix (who holds international distribution rights) renewed the show for a second series. But, that hasn't happened. And, it's been 18 months since the first season aired (back in March 2019) and with no word on a renewal (Baldwin said on Twitter earlier this year he'd heard nothing about it either), Northern Rescue has clearly been "dropped". I'm not sure if this was an oversight by the show's creators or if something has drastically changed, but the finale was so inconclusive, to the point that it even established new plot lines and characters for a second season, that it seems like the plan was originally to come back for another series. The fact that hasn't (and most likely won't) happen(ed) is a big disappointment.

Stephen Merchant's brilliant and hilarious comedy drama Hello Ladies (still one of my favourite TV shows ever) for HBO in 2011 was officially "cancelled" after just one season, which is still one of the biggest injustices in modern television. However disappointing that was for those (like me) who enjoyed the show, Merchant was at least allowed to make a feature-film epilogue to tie off all the strands and characters with Hello Ladies The Movie. But, with Northern Rescue, the fact that the show is going to forever end on a very bad and fractious note, with everything still left unconcluded is a mighty shame. 

Anyway, when judged as a "first season", Northern Rescue is certainly some of the best TV drama I've seen for a long time, with nuanced and highly engaging writing, top notch performances and an emotive score. It gives upcoming local actors the chance to showcase their talents and is the exactly the sort of high-quality, underrated drama that lays buried in a quiet corner of Netflix as a "hidden gem". However, whether it's oversight or just misfortune, the fact that the series ends on such an open-ended climax in preparation for a second season we're never going to get is a big black mark against all it's unmitigated successes. Which means as a show, Northern Rescue is very much a failure and unlike Merchant's Hello Ladies did not "save face" with an epilogue to at the very least conclude everything.

So, as much as you should definitely watch Northern Rescue, you should also know that when the end comes, they'll be no one coming to save you from asking "but what happens next?"

4/5 STARS