The Real Reason The Last Frontier Was Canceled After One Season: The Long SNL Sketch Problem

Apple TV+ dropped the axe on The Last Frontier after just one season, and honestly, the writing was on the snow-covered wall. Variety says it is officially canceled. The show had a killer hook and a solid cast, then tried to be three different shows at once and lost the plot halfway through the pilot.

The pitch was strong. The show was not.

On paper: great. Jason Clarke plays Frank Remnick, a U.S. marshal essentially running law enforcement in a remote Alaska town when a prison transport plane crashes and a bunch of inmates scatter into the wilderness. It’s basically 'Con Air, but on ice.' That setup could carry a whole season by itself.

In practice: chaos. You get flashes of clean, cinematic action, and then the show slams the brakes for long exposition dumps, flashbacks, and a labyrinth of spy subplotting that never locks into the survival thriller the premise promised.

Where it went off the trail

The survival stuff rarely feels like survival. Somehow dozens of prisoners live through a brutal crash in freezing conditions, then sprint, brawl, and operate like the weather is an optional setting. The Alaskan wilderness becomes wallpaper. The show also waves off basic procedure to keep the plot moving: law enforcement protocols, medical checks, you name it.

One example that made me blink: Havlock steals keys from local authorities during a firefight, the victims immediately go searching for the stolen vehicle, and then Havlock conveniently offers them a ride in the exact truck he took. Later, his severe eye injuries get a casual pass from hospital staff. That kind of thing happens a lot here.

'No shred of realism, a long sketch comedy.'

That reader comment about the writing bounced around for a reason.

The spy detour that swallowed the show

Once CIA operative Sidney Scofield (Haley Bennett) shows up, the series pivots hard. She’s a disgraced, alcoholic agent who once recruited the main villain, Havlock (Dominic Cooper). From there, you get stolen databases, Russian hackers, government cover-ups, the works. It all feels bolted onto what started as a tight manhunt. Instead of a survival chase in the wilderness, it morphs into a messy city-versus-bush thriller without picking a lane.

The family subplot that keeps tripping over itself

Frank’s home life is meant to ground him, but it mostly distracts. His wife regularly inserts herself into active investigations. The teenage son makes the exact mistakes you expect, right on schedule. At one point, abducted family members aren’t searched for for hours, and Frank isn’t nearly as frantic about his kid as the situation demands. Clint, who is supposed to help get the boy back, takes forever to actually do it. There’s even the old chestnut of the wife’s unresolved feelings for her high-school ex, now a therapist. It’s a lot.

Good actors, stuck on the bench

Sidney is positioned as the catalyst for the serialized plot, but the character never feels convincing, and her backstory with Havlock ends up dominating the season in a way that drags the pacing. Even veteran actors like Alfre Woodard and John Slattery are left with too little to do. By the finale, the show hurls everything at the screen — big action, racing suspense — and it still can’t shake the weight of the clichés and the implausible choices.

Quick file: The Last Frontier

• Series: The Last Frontier
• Creators: Jon Bokencamp, Richard D'Ovidio
• Seasons/Episodes: 1 season, 10 episodes
• Main cast: Jason Clarke, Dominic Cooper, Haley Bennett, Simone Kessell, Tait Blum, Dallas Goldtooth, Alfre Woodard
• Network: Apple TV+
• Scores: IMDb 6.7/10, Rotten Tomatoes 46%
• Status: Canceled after one season (per Variety)

Could it have worked?

Yeah — if it stuck to the clean, believable manhunt and treated the wilderness like a character instead of a backdrop. Less melodrama, fewer spy tangents, and more grounded action might have made it sing. As is, Apple’s cancellation feels inevitable for a series that couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be a gritty thriller, a family drama, or an over-the-top action ride.

Where to watch

The Last Frontier Season 1 is still streaming on Apple TV+ in the US.