They are now available on Apple TV+ the first two episodes of a series perfect for anyone who is a fan of 1990s action and thriller films: The Last Frontier (The Last Frontier2025). The other 10 chapters will be released on Fridays, until December 5th.
The series was created by Jon Book Fightthe author of Blacklist (The Blacklist2013-2023), e Richard D'Ovidio and has four directors taking turns in the episodes: Sam Hargrave, from the films Rescue (2020) e Rescue 2 (2023), John Curran, of The Awakening of a Passion (2006), Dennie Gordon and Jessica Lowrey.
The cast is headed by Jason Clarkeof Planet of the Apes: Showdown (2014) e Lakers: Time to Win (2022-2023), Haley Bennettof Devour (2019) e Once Upon a Dream (2020), e Dominic Cooperprotagonist of the series Preacher (2016-2019).
If the plot passes, no Alascao largest state in the USA by territorial extension and the most sparsely populated. Located in northwestern Canada and isolated from the rest of its country, it has long, cold winters that cover their mountains and plains with snow.
The main character is the federal police officer Frank Remnick (Jason Clarke), who lives in Fairbanks, a city with 31 thousand inhabitants, and is thinking about changing his life: he wants to transform cabins into an inn to be managed by his wife, nurse Sarah (Simone Kessell), with whom he has a teenage son.
His peaceful daily life — it appears that He only had to fire his revolver twice in the last three years — is turned upside down when a plane carrying prisoners crashes in the remote wilderness, leaving dozens of violent criminals free.
Dedicated to fulfilling his promise to keep the city safe, Remnick begins to suspect that the disaster was not an accident. These suspicions are fueled when a CIA director played by Alfre Woodard sends agent Sidney Scofield to Alaska (Haley Bennett), who has been hiding something since the first scene, when she appears swapping the water in a bottle for vodka. Sidney is looking for a alleged traitor to the country known by the codename Havlock (Dominic Cooper) and who was being transported on the aircraft.
From there, The Last Frontier add one spy plot to the electrifying action scenes in snowy landscapes — like that of a tourist truck threatened with falling off a cliff. The secrets and twists go well with the cold settingwhich forces characters to hide behind coats, blankets and hats. But past traumas soon they begin to be revealed.
The combination proposed by The Last Frontier refers to 1990s thrillerslike Thrill Seekers (1991), The Fugitive (1993), The Rock (1996), Con Air: A Rota da Fuga (1996) e Enemy of the State (1998). These were films mentioned by Jon Bokenkamp in a video interview in which GZH participated on October 6th and which included the presence of Jason Clarke, Haley Bennett and Dominic Cooper (read more below).
— The 1990s had a lot of great action thrillers. These films were, in some ways, very simple, but always with a big hooklike the plane falling from Con Air or the manhunt for The Fugitive — said Bokenkamp. - In The Last FrontierI was able to take kind of a big cliffhanger and work with it over the course of 10 episodes. Unlike these films, which were around 90 minutes long, we have about 10 hours to explore these characters and undertake twists and turns.
How did the story of The Last Frontier? What came first: the idea of the plane crash with the inmates or the setting in Alaska?
I loved the way you asked this. It's like the story of the chicken and the egg. I think that first, probably, came the image of a plane crash and these inmates escaping into nature. Originally, the idea was to make it happen in New York. Well, the authorities would close the bridges and tunnels. Reflecting on what was best for the story, I thought of Alaska. It's a wider terrain, it's rugged, it's inhospitable. It's a dangerous place. It's a difficult place to survive. But it is also a beautiful, serene and peaceful place. That juxtaposition is really interesting to me. I think it also helped me think about the characters and the development of the story. How does the plane crash with inmates impact a small town, a community? Do people come together and help each other? Or do they lock their doors and turn off the lights? Who is that man (the character Frank Remnick) in that small town, where you will have to deal with multiple problems?
One of the most positive points of the series is its ability to always surprise the audience, sometimes introducing a new criminal to threaten the community, for example, or revealing a secret of the characters who are on the side of the law. Can you talk a little about the process of writing the script and the structure of the plot over the 10 episodes?
I love the process of writing, even though it can often be painful, torturous, and frustrating. This is a series with many twists and turns and action sequences that serve to illustrate or introduce a character trait of the characters or a secret. For me, the fun of watching the series is realizing how things are connected. So you might look at a criminal and think, okay, this guy's part is over, but somehow he continues to affect the story. The same thing happens with other characters in the series who appear to be secondary, but are not. It's kind of a web, right? The plot builds on itself. We talk about this a lot in the writers' room: how do these stories connect? How do the various inmates reveal who they are and what they want? Maybe it's confusing getting there, but in the end, it's always fun to look back. I think it's the kind of series that lends itself to being watched again. You can interpret scenes in different ways by recontextualizing them.
Your character in The Last FrontierFrank Remnick, is always talking about the importance of community life in Alaska. At a certain point in the plot, he needs to answer what to prioritize at an extremely difficult time: his work as a police officer, which can protect the community, or his responsibility as a family man. Can you talk about this dilemma?
Yes, it's true, it happens to practically any police officer. In the film industry, you meet police officers who give a lot of advice on set. They all have these problems, and so do female police officers. These people are often called out of their home lives or are in crazy situations. They see very disturbing things or their lives are challenged. At the beginning of the series, Frank seems ready to retire and become an Airbnb owner, but the thing that made him a cop is still there. He's a police officer. Your heart is that of a police officer. And it's interesting for the role that Frank kind of neglects his son when things get bad. He's not taking as much care of him as a father should. This becomes a great crux for the emotional journey that Frank is about to take in his private life, especially with his wife. I love the way this plays out. When the storm hits the city, Frank is at much more risk than he realizes. And once again he is dragging people into his mess.
His character, Levi Hartman, Havlock, arouses ambiguous feelings: he is an antagonist who does not hesitate to kill to achieve his goals, but is also capable of noble gestures. Can you talk about Havlock duality?
Well, it was a pleasure, a gift. And that I pursued. Because it was a difficult role to get. The script was circulating and it seemed to me like something I would never have the opportunity to play. I felt like I was very far away from myself. When it became reality, I was extremely nervous. Because the guy in the paper is a mathematical genius and a Navy SEAL (the elite force of the US Navy) who is capable, as you said, of doing things that I don't think I would be able to do. I couldn't hurt a hamster. He's scary. He's one step ahead. He's smart. He's dangerous. And he is volatile. But... Journalists referred to him as a villain. Or as dishonest and diabolical. But I always liked him a lot. I only saw the good side of him. And I forget that we presented him to the public with handcuffs.
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