The second season of drama Frontier starts on Netflix November 24. We spoke with executive producer Brad Peyton about the new season, and his taste in socks, for that matter. Frontier is a peculiar series, depicting the brutal fur trade in 18th century North America. The show is shot in Newfoundland, not far from where Peyton grew up, and he says he knows the Blackie brothers, Rob and Peter, who created Frontier, from Newfoundland as well.
Peyton says the Blackies were keen to do a show looking at a slice of history—the fur trade in the 1700s—that had not been examined on television. They were also intrigued, as was Peyton, by the concept of men going from rags to riches by getting involved in furs. “You go to the New World, and become a millionaire overnight,” says Peyton, who adds that the Blackies “are really the auteurs of this world.”
Frontier stars Jason Momoa as Declan Harp, an outlaw fur trader. Harp is a badass, and Momoa sure looks like one too. Peyton notes the “real savagery and real charm” that Momoa brings to the role.
Last week, Peyton shared on Instagram a photo of the “lucky pitch socks” he wore to a meeting with Netflix. He admits a “super weird” little routine he goes through when dressing, which involves a fair amount of thought going into the day’s sock choice. “I think about what socks will be the most appropriate,” he says.
For the Netflix meeting, it was a pair of pink ones with unicorns on them, which Peyton says were a gift from his wife. He walked into the meeting, and saw, in giant gold letters on the wall at Netflix, “I Believe in Unicorns.” He thought, “I’m in tune with the universe,” Peyton says with a laugh.
He wouldn’t say what he was pitching at Netflix. One would have to think the unicorn message on the wall presages some good news.
But for today, it’s all about Frontier. Netflix doesn’t share much in terms of viewer numbers, but Peyton did say the streaming giant said season one of Frontier had tripled Netflix’s viewership expectations. “I’m super-proud of the show,” he said. “I think season one landed well.”
