CBC Brings Ice Cove to Toronto for the Release of North of North Season 2

Before North of North’s second season reached Netflix audiences around the world this week, CBC brought the show’s fictional Arctic town to Toronto.

CBC Presents: North of North The Experience opened with a VIP night on Sept. 11 at Illuminarium Toronto in the Distillery District, in the middle of the Toronto International Film Festival. Presented by CBC with Thunderhaus and The Path Forward, the immersive fan event then opened to the public, free, on Sept. 12 and 13. CBC’s invitation promised “direct transport into the heart of Canada’s Arctic during TIFF,” with “no airport security lines, no middle seats.”

A Night in Ice Cove

The evening began on the red carpet, where cast members and the show’s creators arrived among the guests. Inside, Arctic scenery filled the space, with photo setups, a snowmobile, Inuit-inspired bites, themed drinks and slushies.

The VIP night also included a conversation with three of the show’s stars, Anna Lambe, Maika Harper and Zorga Qaunaq, who play Siaja, her mother Neevee and her best friend Millie, alongside co-creators Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril.

Baseball, Wardrobe and Prints

Guests could try anauligaaq, also known as Inuit baseball. CBC’s invitation billed it as “walrus dick baseball,” the title of the Season 1 episode in which Ice Cove faces a rival community in a tournament. Players can swing a bone instead of a bat and put an opponent out by tagging them or hitting them with the ball, as Nunatsiaq News has described the game at Iqaluit’s Toonik Tyme festival.

A wardrobe showcase brought the series’ original outfits up close. Among them was the Bridgerton-inspired gown Lambe wore as Siaja in a Season 1 dream sequence.

Guests could also make linocut prints, which the invitation described as a traditional Inuit art form, and catch a throat singing performance.

Hosts and Guests

Kairyn Potts and Scott Wabano hosted the evening. The pair co-host The Real Rank Podcast and APTN Lumi’s dating series Rezervations for Two. Wabano is a content creator and designer from Moose Factory, and Potts is a content creator and actor from Edmonton. Shina Nova and Kayuula were among the special guests.

From Iqaluit to the World

MacDonald, from Kugluktuk, and Arnaquq-Baril, from Iqaluit, created North of North through their Inuit-led company, Red Marrow Media, which produces the series with Northwood Entertainment. Season 1 premiered on CBC and APTN in January 2025 and reached Netflix that April, when Netflix called it its first series from Canada. It was the first production of its scale filmed in Nunavut, with 500 locals appearing as background actors, according to Netflix. A mentorship program for Nunavut community members, part of the series from the start, continues in Season 2.

Season 2 finds winter settling over Ice Cove. Siaja is still determined to make life better for herself and everyone around her, guided by Pilimmaksarniq, the Inuktitut concept of mastering skills through observation, practice and effort. She takes on Ice Cove’s first Winter Ball and begins asking questions about her family history. The season was shot in a Toronto studio in January and February, then on location in Iqaluit in March, when temperatures regularly drop below -30°C.

Season 2 premiered in Canada in September on CBC TV, CBC Gem, APTN TV and APTN+, and arrived on Netflix worldwide on Nov. 5.

Both seasons stream free in Canada on CBC Gem and are also on APTN+. Season 2 is now streaming worldwide on Netflix.