North of 60

North of 60 was created partly as CBC's response to the highly successful American show Northern Exposure on CBS, though it quickly evolved into a more somber dramatic series.

The character Hannah Kenidi's death storyline was written into the show because actress Selina Hanuse, who played her, left the series in Season 3 to pursue her education.

Lead actors Tina Keeper and John Oliver were in an off-screen relationship during the show's first two seasons; when their relationship soured, Oliver left the series and Keeper became the show's lead actor for the remainder of its run.

Michael Horse, who played Andrew One Sky, was previously known for playing Deputy Hawk in Twin Peaks and Tonto in the 1981 film The Legend of the Lone Ranger.

Tom Jackson, who played Peter Kenidi, was also a well-known singer and philanthropist in Canada and had previously performed as Billy Twofeathers on Shining Time Station.

The series was filmed in Bragg Creek, Alberta, and the fictional town of Lynx River was built as a series of fully functioning facsimile buildings within a small area, designed by Douglas Higgins.

In a Season 4 storyline, the character Hannah attended a real concert by The Tragically Hip in Calgary, and t-shirts from that band's concert were featured as part of the episode.

Actor Lubomir Mykytiuk, who played Gerry Kisilenko and was born in Ukraine, incorporated the Ukrainian language and a song into his character's wedding scene, and used his own family photos for a scene involving a family scrapbook from Ukraine after the art director contacted his mother in Montreal for pictures.

According to APTN CEO Jean La Rose, when North of 60 originally aired in 1992 it became the most popular series in Canadian history, drawing almost a million viewers per week; APTN later began re-airing episodes due to fan demand, though no full DVD release of all six seasons ever happened.

The show developed a lasting cult following, including a private Facebook group with over 10,000 members and a fan website created by Patty Winter that was later featured in the university textbook Outside Looking In: Viewing First Nations Peoples in Canadian Dramatic Television Series.