Developed by John Falsey and Joshua Brand (also known for their work on St. Elsewhere), Northern Exposure shines a light on the people who live in a small fictional Alaskan town.
The comedy-drama ran on CBS from 1990 to 1995 and garnered 57 nominations for awards. If you’re new to the series, let us warn you ahead of time about a plot point.
Rob Morrow plays Joel Fleischman, a recent graduate from New York City who is sent to practice medicine in Anchorage as a way to repay the city for covering
Somewhere along the route, he gets put to work in the rural village of Cicely, which has a population of 215 and is in desperate need of a doctor.
The first part of the series is on Fleischman’s experiences being a square peg in a round hole. Later on, it evolved into an ensemble production that gave special attention to the peculiar Cicely locals. In this article, we’re going to take a look at the filming locations of the comedy show.
Cast of the show
Among the colorful characters on the show is Janine Turner’s portrayal of Maggie O’Connell, a bush pilot who is Fleishman’s romantic interest and has a sad and amusing dating past. Her former suitors met strange ends, from freezing on glaciers to being killed by potato salads.
Barry Corbin plays multimillionaire businessman Maurice Minnifield, a former jet pilot and astronaut.
After completing his military duty, he moved to Cicely in the 1970s, where he now controls the local newspaper and radio station.
Darren E. Burrows portrays Ed Chigliak, an Alaskan who is partly native and works odd tasks for Maurice. Holling Vincoeur, a local pub and restaurant owner who was the town’s mayor, is portrayed by John Cullum. Cynthia Geary plays Shelly Tambo, a waitress at a watering hole in Vancouver, later the two of them get married.
Filming Locations of the show
The town takes its name from one half of the founding lesbian pair and is set in the fictitious backwoods of Cicely. The on-screen locale is thought to have been inspired by Talkeetna, an Alaskan village about 80 miles north of Anchorage.
Because of its striking similarity to an Alaskan location, the town of Roslyn served as a stand-in for Cicely in real life. According to the producers, the town in Washington State was chosen for the series because of its ideal location, historical significance, and climate.
Roslyn has a lot of snowfall, too, and the weathered architecture of the town is reminiscent of a distant Alaskan settlement. The village was the perfect place to film the show because of its proximity to the Seattle metro region, where interior sequences were shot at sound stages.
Northern Exposure Festival has been held in Roslyn every year since the start of the series. Since 11 new companies sprung up in the area after the series began filming, the movie is credited with helping the local economy.
As a result, the companies generated 100 new employment, and tourists started to contribute to the town’s revenue. After the show ended, Roslyn’s tourism declined, although the yearly Moosefest in July keeps the city popular in popular culture.
Intro Scene
There is a montage of various well-known Roslyn places during the opening titles. That includes the Village Pizza, but the moose passing by while strolling through the village is definitely the highlight.
Morty the moose appeared in the opening credits of the episode and was given by Washington State University.
The producers used bananas to lure the moose around town while filming the scene, and Morty reportedly received $5,000 for the performance.
The moose was kept at the educational facility for research on behavior and nutrition until his death in 1994.
Maurice and the studio scene
KBHR 570 AM is one of Maurice’s many businesses. John Corbett plays disc jockey Chris Stevens, who works at the radio station. He is a free spirit with a wealth of intellectual knowledge that he may have thought while being in prison.
Chris gets fired by Maurice when he disrupts the studio and implies that the renowned essayist and poet is gay.
The scene for the KBHR AM radio station was the Northwestern Improvement Company Store (NWI) building. Views of the Northern Exposure film set are available if you poke your head through the glass window.
