Barkskins is a riveting historical drama from National Geographic that takes viewers on an epic journey through the wilds of New France in the late 17th century. Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Annie Proulx, the show is a gripping exploration of a time and place where the relationship between humans and the natural world was just beginning to fracture.
The show's ensemble cast is led by acclaimed British actor David Thewlis, who plays the shrewd and cunning Monsieur Claude Trepagny, a wealthy landowner in the colony of Quebec. Trepagny is a complicated figure, driven by ambition and a fierce desire to protect his own interests at all costs. But as the show unfolds, we come to see that he is also capable of acts of kindness and selflessness, especially when it comes to his young French-Canadian wife, Melissande (played by Lily Sullivan), whom he loves deeply despite their cultural differences.
Opposite Thewlis is the legendary Marcia Gay Harden, who plays Mathilde Geffard, a formidable businesswoman who owns a trading post in the remote forest settlement of Wobik. Mathilde is a sharp-tongued survivor, who has learned to hold her own amid the rough-and-tumble world of the fur trade, but she is also haunted by a tragic past and a deep sense of loneliness that make her both compelling and empathetic.
Another standout performance in Barkskins comes from Welsh actor Aneurin Barnard, who plays the rugged and charismatic Ren
Barkskins is a series that ran for 1 seasons (8 episodes) between May 25, 2020 and on National Geographic