TV Review: ‘The Last Frontier’

(L to R) Jason Clarke and Haley Bennett in ‘The Last Frontier,’ premiering October 10, 2025 on Apple TV+.

Arriving on Apple TV on October 10 with the first two episodes (eight more follow at the rate of one per week) is ‘The Last Frontier,’ which sees Jason Clarke (‘Zero Dark Thirty’) as a US Marshal whose normally quiet beat is upended by a crashed prisoner transport plane.

“600,000 square miles. Nowhere to hide.”

Air Date: October 9th, 2025

Created by Jon Bokenkamp (‘The Blacklist’) and Richard D’Ovidio (‘The Call’), the new show also features Haley Bennett (‘The Girl on the Train’), Dominic Cooper (‘The Gold’), Simone Kessell (‘Yellowjackets’) and Alfre Woodard (‘Clemency’).

Initial Thoughts

‘The Last Frontier,’ premiering October 10, 2025 on Apple TV+.

What do you get when you splice together a procedural that would be at home on, say, NBC or CBS with the sort of hefty-budgeted serialized show that Apple has been making?

The answer might just be ‘The Last Frontier’, which has all the prestige TV trappings but also wants to throw all manner of plot twists at you.

Script and Direction

(L to R) Simone Kessell and Jason Clarke in ‘The Last Frontier,’ premiering October 10, 2025 on Apple TV+.

Creators Bokenkamp and D’Ovidio have worked in both television and features, and the show feels like a mix of the two, but still works well. If you expect the prisoner transport concept to be a remake of ‘The Fugitive’ blended with ‘Con Air’, think again –– there are complications ahoy here.

Sam Hargrave directs the pilot and one other episode and sets the tone for the show, which takes its episode titles from the needle drops that appear and help the mood of the show. This is a stylish, action-packed affair.

Cast and Performances

(L to R) Alfre Woodard, Gray Powell and Haley Bennett in ‘The Last Frontier,’ premiering October 10, 2025 on Apple TV+.

Clarke is suitably gritty and charismatic as the US Marshall with a past of his own, who plays well against Hayley Bennett’s shady, troubled CIA agent.

While Dominic Cooper’s Levi Hartman sometimes verges into being that magical type who can do anything, he anchors the role with real emotion. And keep an eye out for some even bigger names glimpsed briefly in the chaotic opening plane crash who will come into play later in the season.

Final Thoughts

Jason Clarke in ‘The Last Frontier,’ premiering October 10, 2025 on Apple TV+.

Setting itself as the sort of Dad-TV thriller that fans of shows such as ‘Bosch’ will lap up, ‘The Last Frontier’ doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it has enough to keep you guessing.

The beautiful scenery, meanwhile (with Canada subbing in for Alaska), provides an excellent setting for it all to unfold.

‘The Last Frontier’ receives 75 out of 100.

(L to R) Haley Bennett and Jason Clarke in ‘The Last Frontier,’ premiering October 10, 2025 on Apple TV+.

What’s the plot of ‘The Last Frontier’?

‘The Last Frontier’ follows Frank Remnick (Jason Clarke), the lone U.S. marshal in charge of the quiet, rugged barrens of Alaska. Remnick’s jurisdiction is turned upside down when a prison transport plane crashes in the remote wilderness, setting free dozens of violent inmates.

Tasked with protecting the town he’s vowed to keep safe, he begins to suspect the crash wasn’t an accident, but the first step of a well-crafted plan with far-reaching and devastating implications.