“Coming to you from the Boreal Forest!”: The inside story of Canada’s hottest new show
The concept is pretty simple. A wildlife documentary for young and old, filmed in the North, with each episode full of digestible educational facts on a specific northern animal.
Oh… and the documentary film crew is a somewhat inept yet hilarious group of adorable ground squirrel puppets.
The end result is Yukon-based Shot in the Dark Production’s Northern Tails, breaking trail as one of the hottest new series to come out of Canada. The show has been making waves nationally and abroad, lighting up on social media and in the news. And starting March 14th, will be available on TV exclusively on Northwestel TV Plus.
Filmmaker Kelly Milner credits her father, Yukon biologist and author Bob Hayes, with the idea for the show. “My dad had an idea to use puppets and comedy to help people learn about the ecology of the boreal forest. We picked up the puppet show idea and he spent his last year developing our main characters and plot lines.”
While Hayes passed away before the show was greenlit for production, his humour and his passion for educating the next generation on the magic of the Northern boreal forest lives on.
Laugh-out-loud lessons
Northern Tails’ over-the-top comedy and gen-z relatable hijinks are wrapped around tangible educational moments. While ravens may not help wolves find food through super high-tech prey-detecting spy glasses like the always mischievous Winston the Raven does in Episode 1, the audience learns through educational segments and real-world interviews from a fox puppet correspondent that ravens do in fact play a critical role helping wolves locate food in exchange for easy carcass dinners.
For puppeteer Moira Sauer, who brings characters like the way too earnest and all too lovable ground squirrel filmmaker Scout to life, the mix of comedy and tangible education makes the experience one no one should miss. “I hope our audiences fall in love with these characters as much as I have. Get on it. Don't be the only person in the room NOT debating the question: DID the bear poop in the woods?”
As a key supporter of Northern filmmakers, Northwestel is often one of the first stops for productions looking to bring their stories to life. Seeing the potential in bringing these boreal tales (tails?) to life—not just as a creative endeavor, but as a driver of local employment and investment—Northwestel signed a broadcast agreement. “Northwestel Community TV saw our vision, believed that kids (and adults) would fall in love with this zany project, and that an all-Northern crew could pull off something so audacious,” says Milner about the company’s role.
For all the fun and games, the producers see the mission of Northern Tails as serious work: how do we engage the next generation on the importance of protecting and conserving Canada’s Boreal forest and reach them not just with traditional broadcasts, but over the emerging social media platforms where young audiences spend their digital lives? Join Scout and her mockumentary squirrel film crew as they seek to find out.
Stream tonight on Northwestel TV.
Do you have a Northern story to tell? Northwestel has funded over 80 film and television projects across the North, and helped filmmakers secure $3 million in funding from territorial governments and the Canadian Media Fund. Northwestel Community TV provides a platform to showcase Northern artists, and can help with production, development and digital media support. Reach out to chat, or apply for funding today.
