Canadian showrunners Brendan Gall and Martin Gero say theyB次元官网网址檝e spent much of their careers shooting Canada as a stand-in for other places as far off as Los Angeles or a distant planet.

But in their new Netflix survival show, B次元官网网址淜eep Breathing,B次元官网网址� Gall and Gero say they wanted to transport viewers to a part of the country thatB次元官网网址檚 just as otherworldly, if less often seen onscreen.

B次元官网网址淲e really wanted to, as Canadians, bring the world to Canada as Canada, and not have it be a substitution for something else,B次元官网网址� Gero said in a recent interview.

B次元官网网址淲e started to come on this idea of trying to figure out how to get all of the world to the Canadian wilderness in a way that could also be thrilling.B次元官网网址�

The six-episode limited series follows New York lawyer Liv, played by B次元官网网址淚n the HeightsB次元官网网址� star Melissa Barrera, as she struggles against the elements after a plane crash leaves her stranded in the far reaches of Canada.

The B.C. production also had to contend with the forces of nature to capture the severity and serenity of the showB次元官网网址檚 setting, said co-creators Gall and Gero, whose previous collaborations include the sci-fi TV thriller B次元官网网址淏lindspot.B次元官网网址�

The shooting schedule last summer was often dictated by conditions on the ground, Gero said, with four-wheelers hauling heavy filming equipment through forests and up mountainsides to reach remote locations.

A couple of locations had to be nixed because the province placed them under fire watch, Gall added, and the crew was on a B次元官网网址渞azorB次元官网网址檚 edgeB次元官网网址� that a warning could shut down a shoot weeks into filming.

B次元官网网址淭hat was the sort of extreme sport for us of making the show, was taking these kinds of risks,B次元官网网址� said Gall, who was raised in Halifax and lives in Toronto. B次元官网网址淲e just had to jump in, and we just were so lucky with what we got and what we were able to accomplish.B次元官网网址�

The showrunners didnB次元官网网址檛 want to alter the natural beauty of the sets by with lots of visual effects, Gero said. But they made an exception for many of the computer-generated campfires seen on the show, he said, suggesting a controlled open flame would pose too much of a risk to the environment.

B次元官网网址淲e wanted to be stewards of the land,B次元官网网址� said Gero. B次元官网网址淚t was important for us to leave it as we found it.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淜eep BreathingB次元官网网址� is the latest in a spate of survival shows that have been released during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Gero said he thinks the timing is no coincidence.

B次元官网网址淚t feels like thereB次元官网网址檚 a survivalist instinct that has been activated in all of us,B次元官网网址� said Gero. B次元官网网址淚 think watching the most extreme version of that onscreen can be deeply, deeply cathartic.B次元官网网址�

While other series in this genre, such as B次元官网网址淵ellowjacketsB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淭he Wilds,B次元官网网址� revolve around the group dynamics of survival, the protagonist of B次元官网网址淜eep BreathingB次元官网网址� is alone, so her central conflict is with herself, said Gero.

ItB次元官网网址檚 an internal struggle that might resonate with viewers who are venturing back into the world after the extended isolation of COVID-19 lockdown, Gall added.

B次元官网网址淪heB次元官网网址檚 incredibly competent as a lawyer. SheB次元官网网址檚 incredibly confident as a human in New York City. But sheB次元官网网址檚 been on sort of a full-time mission to keep herself from herself,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淎long with having to survive, get enough to eat, not die of the elements, she also is forced to sit with herself out there and sit in silence. She doesnB次元官网网址檛 have anywhere to hide.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淪heB次元官网网址檚 forced to kind of reconcile her past in order to move forward through this landscape and into her future hopefully.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淜eep BreathingB次元官网网址� starts streaming on Netflix on Thursday.

B次元官网网址� Adina Bresge, The Canadian Press