TV Show review
November 6, 2016 · TV-MA
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Frontier is a Canadian historical drama series set in the late 18th century during the North American fur trade. It follows Declan Harp, a ruthless half-Irish half-Cree outlaw, as he battles the corrupt Hudson's Bay Company monopoly for control and personal revenge amid brutal violence and survival struggles. The story centers on power rivalries, frontier lawlessness, and economic conflict with no prominent modern social, identity, or activist themes. Mixed-heritage elements and Indigenous characters appear naturally as part of the historical setting without signaling or messaging.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Frontier.
Woke representation / casting
Jason Momoa as half-Cree half-Irish fits the character's established backstory and the real demographics of the fur trade era; Indigenous supporting roles appear as story-logical participants without audience-visible forced emphasis or mismatch.
Woke political dialogue
Talk centers on personal revenge, business betrayal, and raw survival in a lawless trade; anti-monopoly lines target the historical Hudson's Bay Company as a corrupt villain, not modern ideology.
Identity-driven story themes
Harp's mixed heritage motivates his rage and outsider status, but it fuels a classic revenge arc rather than identity politics or group representation messaging as a driving force.
Western institutional / cultural critique
The series shows the powerful company engaging in murder, exploitation, and monopoly abuse that harms individuals and local groups; this stays within period-appropriate economic conflict and frontier brutality, not reframed as present-day systemic or activist commentary.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No meaningful backlash, social media campaigns, news debates, or viewer complaints treating the show as pushing woke, diversity, or left-wing content; some positive notes on its non-modern tone.
Creator track record context
Blackie brothers highlighted accurate historical and Cree elements in interviews; Jason Momoa has separate environmental and cultural preservation work, but neither drives overt messaging here and most other crew lack activist patterns.
Production
