Nah fam, we ain’t talkin’ about the Arctic. “The North Pole,” a city nickname affectionately dubbed by North Oakland natives who consequentially also call themselves “Polar Bears,” is the backdrop for a new comedic web series that highlights this generation’s POC POV of the ever encroaching damage of the three G’s; gentrification, global warming, and of course, gluten-free donuts.
After two sold out shows and standing ovations at the Grand Lake Theater last Thursday, September 7, The North Pole’s 7 episodic Season 1 premiere, got the Bay hella hyphy in anticipation for yesterday’s September 12 website launch. Now, at www.TheNorthPoleShow.com and on Youtube, viewers can stream and share globally what’s looking to be the next online show breakout hit to entice potential networks like HBO and Netflix, following in the footsteps of Insecure, Portlandia and High Maintenance.
Tackling topics of displacement and a rapidly changing landscape threatening the Oakland environment they’ve known as home their whole lives, The North Pole cast takes viewers on an experiential journey of contemporary social issues from the perspective of those most impacted. The show’s cast is lit! Actors Reyna Amaya (Nina) - who I might add is servin’ all the #BlackGirlMagic in front of and behind the screen as a writer and actor of the show - you better get yo Issa Rae on girl!, Donté Clark (Marcus), Santiago Rosas (Benny), and Eli Marienthal (Finn) fuse their talents to bring comedic relief to some not-so-funny subject matters. Along the way, a few special guest cameos including Bay Area’s very own Mistah Fab, W. Kamau Bell, Boots Riley, and former Black Panther Party leader Ericka Huggins, who plays a fly-as-she-wants-to-be, wisdom-slangin’, Uber-drivin’, grandma, join the show to demonstrate parallels between ‘Polar Bears’ facing extinction in their natural habitat in both the Arctic and Oaktown itself.
The North Pole aims, “to not just deal with small issues but to push viewers to think of the big picture...”
Director Yvan Iturriaga, voices the show to be activism through imagery and satire, stating The North Pole aims, “to not just deal with small issues but to push viewers to think of the big picture. As the first season deals a lot with the problems, in Season 2 the goal is to really be able to dive into the solutions.” Producer Darren Colston, states having real people “who get it” involved in the making of the series, “shaped the story from the cast to the crew. It was super crucial to have representation across the board and when you look at the crew, most crews don’t look like this, and that was very intentional.”
The team partnered with Oakland-based non-profit Movement Generation to create a pipeline between production and insight from the hands-on work being done in the community by people fighting against climate injustice, housing insecurity, power based-violence, racialized capitalism and the plethora of other stressors the show takes on. Working with groups like Movement Generation and others helps guide the producers to address contemporary forms of violence impacting communities displayed in the Oakland-based show but also reflects realities of what cities are experiencing across the country. As writer and producer Josh Healey told KQED, “We have to rethink and re-imagine who are the heroes and who are the villains.” He goes on to state, “Comedy is a way to introduce complex issues...even when we’re talking about these serious things, we also have the little things that make us smile.” The show indeed tugs at your heartstrings and tickles your funny bone with equal force.
After you watch Season 1 and get hooked like the rest of us, stay tuned for Season 2 as everyone’s favorite homie from around the way, Benny, is rumored to have some exciting transformations. Also catch the Behind the Show segments suspected to be created for next season that will supposedly share the real life stories that inspired much of the The North Pole storyline. Rumor has it, Associate Producer Dania Cabello’s Oakland home, which served as the main set location, has some pretty dope history to sprinkle on the show’s fans.
The North Pole can be streamed now at www.TheNorthPoleShow.com.