Jason Momoa makes Canadian history riveting in Netflix’s ‘Frontier’

“In chaos lies opportunity.”
— “Frontier,” Season 1, episode 4.

The story of the founding of America has been well-documented in TV, movies, novels, and rap musicals — Boston Tea Party giving way to the Wild West, then the Civil War — all historical set pieces arguably as well known by international audiences as by Americans.

The histories of England, Scotland, and France have recently — thanks to “The Tudors,” “Outlander,” and “Versailles” respectively — also become more widely known than just by their residents. And now, with “Frontier,” Canada’s little-known origin story is given its due — with all the expected stabbing, swearing, and sex that come with the prestige TV treatment.

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Lest this be mistaken for a dry history lesson, within the first 30 seconds of the premiere (directed by Brad Peyton of “San Andreas” fame) we watch Declan Harp (Jason Momoa) slit a man’s throat, leading us right into the wailing guitar of the opening credits. Following this thesis statement, the body count steadily mounts: The first fatalities occur before half our cast even disembarks! You can imagine the motto hung prominently in the writers room: Not Your (Canadian) Grandmother’s History Lesson.

“Frontier” is set in the coastal settlement of Fort James: A snowy, treacherous pocket of land that would, in a century’s time, become part of Canada. But in the 18th century, it’s a slippery place, where Natives, British, Scottish, French and Americans clash over the valuable fur trade.

While the show’s characters are as fictitious as Fort James itself, people like this lived in places like this throughout the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries — before the fur trade gave way to the Gold Rush, in trending get-rich-quick schemes. While the first European settlers to America were famously Pilgrims, Canada hosted ambitious fur traders from the ruthless Hudson’s Bay Company — a business which staked out much of the current Canadian wilderness as a kind of supply warehouse. Given the absolutely villainous portrayal of the HBC — still an operating Canadian department store chain! — one can imagine the gleeful viewing parties held at Sears or Holt Renfrew HQ.

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Rather than beginning with HBC’s first forays into the eponymous frontier, this show begins just as the megacorporation faces its monopoly’s first serious challenges. Harp, a former company man, has been encroaching on their territory — not so much for his personal ambitions as out of spite. Much as “Outlander’s” Jamie & Jack (Sam Heughan and Tobias Menzies) share personal vitriol, in addition to their nationalistic rivalry, Harp has a poisonous history with Lord Benton (Alun Armstrong).

In fact, Harp’s reputation looms so large that Benton heads across the Atlantic, with troops of soldiers, just to stop him. Such a response seems extreme until you see the way that Momoa-as-Harp looms over everyone in what must be an entire bear’s worth of fur: Suddenly, just one squadron of Redcoats seems inadequate to fend off this otherworldly dynamo.

On “Game of Thrones,” the characters circle and obsess over the Iron Throne itself; on “Frontier,” Momoa is the sun around whom the show revolves. Harp is challenging not just the odious HBC but also the upstart American furrier Samuel Grant (Shawn Doyle). His advantage over the others is his lineage: Half-Indigenous, he’s personally close with members of the local Native tribes.

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Plus: he looks like Jason Momoa. As the world quickly learned on “Game of Thrones,” and thence embraced by the costume shop on the upcoming “Aquaman” film, Momoa’s attractiveness is directly proportional to how disheveled and covered in grime he is.

Refreshingly, unlike most other shows of the Bro History genre — “Vikings,” “Versailles,” “Taboo” — “Frontier” is entirely devoid of nudity. The main female character, Grace Emberly (Zoe Boyle, as far removed from her tragic and fragile “Downton Abbey” character Lavinia Swire as humanly possible), is neither prostitute nor madam, but rather the pragmatic owner of the local tavern: One Grace states several times is a respectable establishment, more akin to an 18th century Hooters than to a whorehouse.

The other major female character is Harp’s second-in-command, Sokanon (Jessica Matten, whose fur-lined braids could give the stylists of “Game of Thrones” or “Vikings” some fun new ideas). Both women are comfortable using their trusty blades and, notably, sport trousers throughout the first season perhaps because, frankly, the whole enterprise looks way too cold to be flashing cleavage or wearing skirts.

That there was no real Declan Harp or Fort James is, rather than a historical inaccuracy, pretty much the entire point. The real-life traders were too busy cutting deals and surviving to care about whether history included them in the narrative, which automatically makes their story way more interesting than that of their contemporaries who had time to record their activities. Harp represents the same iconoclast as in classic American Westerns, but here with with an inescapably Canadian bent — sure, he’s a tough guy with a strict moral code, but he’s also got a heart of gold.

In a fast-paced six episode first season (it’s already been renewed for a second), “Frontier” does for the Canadian fur trade what “Outlander” has done for the Jacobites, or “Vikings” for the eponymous voyagers: Making history feel vital, relatable, terrifying.. And above all else, so much fun. Highly recommended.

Season 1 of “Frontier,” a co-production with Discovery Channel Canada, is streaming now on Netflix.

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