Apple TV+ isn’t messing around with their new action thriller, The Last Frontier. Created by The Blacklist’s Jon Bokenkamp and co-creator Richard D’Ovidio, it’s a blizzard-soaked, nerve-wracking “convicts on the loose” chase through the Alaskan wilderness where every character hides a deep secret and every twist doubles back on itself. In fact, it wouldn’t be too much to say that it’s the type of action film you’d expect from M Night Shyamalan.
The story begins with a plane full of federal prisoners crash-landing near a small, quiet Alaskan town. U.S. Marshal Frank Remnick (Jason Clarke) suddenly finds his jurisdiction turned into a war zone. Eighteen passengers survive, including a dangerous “super-soldier” named Havlock (Dominic Cooper), who seems to be hiding a few secrets himself. Intelligence agent Sidney Scofield (Haley Bennett) is dispatched to help by her highly questionable boss (Alfre Woodard), and from there, everything spirals fast. Really fast. But you really don’t want to know more about The Last Frontier going in, as it’s filled with twist after twist after twist. And that’s just in the first episode.
What makes this show really stand out from everything else on TV right now is that it actually feels big. Apple clearly opened its wallet for this one, because the production looks cinematic. From a brutal plane crash to a tug-of-war between a helicopter and a city bus, to a fight on a train and a showdown on a dam, it’s all big and beautifully shot. For once, a streaming series looks and feels like a proper blockbuster, not a mid-budget cable show pretending to be one. Sorry, Countdown, I’m looking at you.
Jason Clarke anchors The Last Frontier as Remnick, a man so married to his badge that his family comes second and he’s always just a step away from snapping. Clarke brings real weight to the role, playing Remnick as a man trying to keep order in a situation impossible to control.
On the opposite end, Dominic Cooper makes the show’s bad guy, Havlock, both charming and terrifying, a manipulator who’s more interested in breaking minds than bones.
But it all comes down to the great writing, which, thankfully, keeps things tight and unpredictable. Nobody here is actually telling the full truth. And nobody here is a clean-cut hero. And it’s that constant uncertainty that keeps the tension alive and the viewer guessing through the 10 episodes of the series.
The Last Frontier is one of those rare thrillers that actually earns every gasp and every surprise. Yeah, Apple might just have released its best thriller of 2025. Give the first episode a shot. You’ll be hooked.
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The Review
The Last Frontier
Apple TV+ delivers a knockout with The Last Frontier — a gripping, high-stakes thriller that proves smart storytelling and blockbuster action can still exist on the small screen.
Review Breakdown
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Verdict
