Naman Shrestha
Created by Chip and Joanna Gaines, HBO Max’s ‘Back to the Frontier’ is a social experiment that follows three American families — the Lopers of Alabama, Hanna-Riggs of Texas, and Halls of Florida — who leave behind their technology-filled modern lives in the city and make the wilderness their temporary home for eight weeks. While surviving on the homesteads as in the 1800s, surrounded by 10,000 acres of nature, the families let go of their necessities, including running water, technology, and even electricity.
In the unique reality show, the contestants go through all kinds of challenges that test their stamina, strength, and resilience as they must make their own shelters, collect food, raise livestock, and ration their supplies. On top of that, the families are forced to spend more quality time with each other, which allows them to reflect on their interpersonal relationships even better. The nature and wilderness surrounding the participants complement the theme of the social experiment, transporting us all to the 19th century.
Back to the Frontier Filming Locations
‘Back to the Frontier’ is primarily filmed in the province of Alberta, specifically just outside the city of Calgary. According to reports, the three families and the crew members shot the inaugural season of the social experimental series over the course of two months in the summer of 2024, seemingly around July. The production consisted of up to 100 people on set, ensuring that all the aspects of documenting the experiences of the three families went smoothly.
With the premiere date approaching, the co-creator, Joanna Gaines, took to social media and talked about her experience of visiting the set during the filming process. She stated, “Back to the Frontier is unlike anything we’ve ever created. Chip and I loved visiting these families and left inspired by the risks they took to step back in time—trading modern technology for an older way of living. We’re so proud of the bonds they formed, the food they grew, and all the ways they made the frontier feel like home.”
Calgary, Alberta
For the purpose of filming ‘Back to the Frontier,’ the cast and crew set out in the countryside in the western part of the country. In particular, the filming transpired in the sunlit green meadows tucked away an hour from the hustle and bustle of Calgary, Alberta. Alongside reveling in the lush greenery, the team also had to handle the barrage of grasshoppers that packed the fields. Since the show features three urban families stepping into the shoes of the 1880s homesteaders, the team was committed to staying true to the era. Therefore, they took extra care to ensure the environment on the set complements the period. Everyone from the cast to the crew members extended a hand to ensure that the production process went on smoothly.
Furthermore, Melissa K. Norris, a 5th-generation modern homesteader from Skagit County, was roped in as an expert to maintain authenticity. Lauren Frasca, Senior Vice President of Content and Strategy at Magnolia Network, shed some light on the unique filmmaking experience in an interview with the Seattle Times. She explained how the members of the research team had to retrace history when a lengthy debate ensued among them while taping one of the concluding sequences. “In one of our final scenes, the director of photography wanted to hang some paper lanterns at the barn dance, and there was a huge debate amongst the researchers as to whether or not that would be period appropriate,” she said.
Lauren added, “They actually went and they sourced four or five different articles from the 1800s, advertisements in journals, papers that had a reference to these kinds of lanterns before they were willing to hang them up there.” To make the families earn their indulgences and recreate the spirit of the 1880s, the crew especially constructed a small shop by the name of Gilbert’s General Store. Penny candies, whiskey, and wines were among the items the members of the social experiment actually bartered from the store. From milking the cow to garnering bath water to sleeping on straw mattresses, the ‘Back to the Frontier’ experience proved to be as real for the participants as it gets.
When reflecting on the comfort she missed most, Stacey, one of the cast members, told Too Fab: “My living situation, period. Cooking, cleaning all of that, like, ‘Oh, can we please hurry through this?’ And it wasn’t a hurry through this type of experience though. It was you are completely submerged into all of this 1880s living. I could want and those desires could be so heavy for these 21st century conveniences. But they’re not coming.” She concluded, “It’s a shift in mindset that has to happen, and the quicker you have a shift of mindset, the quicker that you’re able to adapt to where you are.”
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