‘Frontier’ creators say ‘Game of Thrones’-style chaos coming
By his own admission, former “Republic of Doyle’’ star Allan Hawco is, in terms of casting, not exactly front-tier on “Frontier’’ — and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
The St. John’s-based series about fur trappers and colonial clashes in ferocious, pre-confederation Canada returns to Discovery for a second season beginning today (production partner Netflix shows the series worldwide at a later date).
“It’s mind-boggling that I get to be just an actor on this show,’’ says Hawco, who was very much a hands-on writer, producer and star on “Doyle.’’ He’s soon to jump right back into multitasking on his upcoming CBC series “Caught’’ (premiering next March).
Inspired by the joy of focusing wholly on performing, the 40-year-old felt he wanted to go back to school as an actor.
“You get caught up in patterns after playing the same character for several years.’’
In fact, Hawco sought direction from series co-creator Brad Peyton to discover what makes his character tick. Douglas Brown is one of two Scottish brothers — the other, more aggressive sibling Malcolm is played by Michael Patrick — conniving to challenge the Hudson Bay Company in the lucrative fur trade.
“Brad sat me down at the start of season 1 and said, ‘You’re not in the right place for this guy,’’’ relates Hawco. “I had to dig a little deeper.’’
Through six seasons as Jake Doyle, Hawco played a headstrong, devil-may-care action hero, leading with his fists. On “Frontier,’’ his character is more the brains behind the brawn supplied by brother Malcolm.
“My character doesn’t cross over into that barbarian world,’’ says Hawco. “You may have noticed that, almost every scene I’m in, I’m standing next to a fireplace.’’
The actor says, deep down, Brown is “insanely vulnerable which makes him really compelling to play.’’
As the acknowledged star of the series, Jason Momoa chews through the Canadian wilderness as indestructible outlaw Declan Harp. The 38-year-old actor remains completely committed to “Frontier’’ despite big-budget feature successes as one of Marvel’s mighty comic book superheroes, Aquaman (including next month’s “Justice League’’).
“Frontier’’ has already been renewed for a third six-episode season. In addition to winning its timeslot among all specialty channels, the scripted series has drawn more young males and a higher-than-average level of coviewing to the channel.
Those viewers, however, should brace themselves for
some surprising “Game of Thrones’’-like departures this season.
“It’s a harrowing world,’’ says Rob Blackie. “Some beloved characters don’t survive, but that’s part of the world of ‘Frontier.’’’