Barkskins chronicles "the arrival of English and French colonists to the New World through the stories of two immigrants in New France, René Sel and Charles Duquet, who work as wood-cutters ('Barkskins, the term for indentured servants’) and of their descendants."[3]
The two leading characters of the series are immigrants arriving in New France to work for three years in indentured servitude as punishment for crimes committed elsewhere. René (Christian Cooke) is a woodcutter — a barkskin, and Charles (James Bloor) is a thief who has no intention of serving his time. A nun, Mother Sabrine, and the young ladies who arrive on the same immigrant ship that carried René and Charles. The women are there to be groomed into proper women and subsequently married off.
Duquet escapes indentured servitude and finds himself at the mercy of the vast forest. Mathilde is given the task to protect the creek massacre survivors; Trepagny becomes vulnerable.
The result of Trepagny and Bouchard's rescue attempt incites a war, leaving the Sel and Father Gabriel's fate in the balance and Cooke's loyalty is tested.
On December 3, 2018, it was reported that National Geographic had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of eight episodes. The series was created by Elwood Reid who was also expected to executive produce alongside Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, and Garrett Basch. Additional production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Fox 21 Television Studios.[10] On February 10, 2019, it was announced that David Slade would direct the pilot episode of the series and serve as an executive producer.[3]
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 55% based on 11 reviews with an average rating of 7.25/10.[11] On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Critics and viewers also cited the inability to watch the National Geographic produced show on the NatGeo app as a contributing factors to lower than desirable viewer ratings.[12]