A U.S. Marshal springs to action when a plane full of dangerous convicts crashes in the Alaskan wilderness in The Last Frontier

If the opening moments are any indication, viewers are in for a wild ride with the new action drama from Jon Bokenkamp, creator of The Blacklist. We see a handcuffed, hooded and padlocked prisoner brought onto an airplane already full of convicts. Armed guards chain this obviously very dangerous person to the airplane seat, but no locks in the world can contain this escape artist, who soon is picking the locks with a dental implant — just as an explosion tears the plane apart, ripping out seats and causing general chaos — all as “Unchained Melody” plays in the background. All this takes place within the first five minutes of The Last Frontier.

In the 10-episode series, U.S. Marshal Frank Remnick (Jason Clarke) is tasked with keeping his remote Alaskan town safe when a plane full of prison inmates crashes nearby. But, as witnessed by the cold open, what Frank is in for is more than just your average searching-the-snow-for-clues manhunt. “I wanted to come in hot,” says Bokencamp. “I wanted to grab people by their collars and throw ’em around a little bit and say, this is not going to be a drawing room drama. This is going to be fun, it’s going to be weird, it’s going to be unexpected.” Ultimately, Bokencamp wants the adrenaline rush at the start to be the hook that brings viewers in for the meat of the story. “There’s a lot of personal relationships that we’re unpacking,” he says. “People are not necessarily who they present themselves to be. I liken it to some of these ’90s action movies — The Fugitive, Con Air, The Rock — but ultimately what viewers are going to remember are the people and what they’re going through.”

The Last Frontier is, in part, a show about what happens when you shake up the status quo. “Frank is a guy who has gotten comfortable and accepted where he is,” says Bokencamp. “He lives in a small town. He knows what to expect from his job. The peaks and valleys are pretty narrow. Then, he’s suddenly tasked with something that he never imagined, and yet he’s holding onto a secret that might make him strangely prepared for this, in ways that he didn’t expect.” Frank may instinctively jump into third gear as soon as the call comes, but in reality, both character and actor were unprepared for how much they would enjoy rising to the challenge. “I remember filming this insane fight sequence, and going, ‘This is where you want to be,’” says Clarke. “You want choppers, you want cranes, you want burning 737s, and you want 50 extras that are martial artists coming out of the woods.”

Frank and his local team are soon joined by CIA Agent Sidney, who — as is the CIA’s tendency — dribbles information on a need-to-know basis. “She is sent to the scene of this crime to regain order,” says Haley Bennett, who plays the enigmatic operative. “As the story unravels, she’s hunting for these characters, while also trying to protect her country, protect the agency and seek her truth. All of the characters are trying to seek the truth of what’s happening, and that is a very complex pursuit.” Add to that the twisted relationship between hunter and huntee, which was already under investigation before the crash took place. “Sidney has plenty of demons in her closet,” says Bokenkamp. “This woman is showing up in this town. She’s not telling Frank everything. She has her own agenda. Frank knows there were 52 inmates on the plane, but all she’s interested in is this one inmate that was not on the manifest. So, from the beginning, Sidney and Frank are in opposite corners.”

Though the bulk of the shoot, which took place in the dead of winter in Quebec, sounds cold, wet and windy, this cast — which includes Luke Cage’s Alfre Woodard, Yellowjackets’ Simone Kessell and Preacher’s Dominic Cooper — could not have been more thrilled to share this extreme experience. “I’ve never worked anywhere as cold as Montreal,” says Clarke. “The morning we shot that big fight sequence, I came out of my tent and they asked me my thoughts. I open my mouth and I couldn’t talk. Yeah, it hurt. But it gives you stuff for free. You don’t need to perform too much. There’s a lot doing it for you.” And what the climate doesn’t already provide, the writing augments. “You read the pilot and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, this has so much depth to it,’” raves Cooper, whose character is key to the central mystery. “But at the same time, it’s a bunch of convicts that have crashed in a storm of fire and these characters arrive and you really want to know about them. That’s how I felt when I read it, and even more so when I watch it.”

The Last Frontier, streaming Friday, November 21, on Apple TV