You Should Watch 'Northern Rescue' For The Epic Cast Alone

The Canadian TV series Northern Rescue premiered on streaming services including Netflix on Mar. 1 and it's already creating a buzz. The show takes an honest look at intense topics like grief and the struggles of adolescence, and connects with audiences because of its strong ensemble of actors, young and old. You might be surprised where you know the cast of Northern Rescue from.

The patriarch of the family probably looks familiar to you for more reasons than one. Billy Baldwin plays John West, and he's Alec Baldwin's younger brother. So, you've seen a face similar to Baldwin's on TV shows like 30 Rock and The Match Game, not to mention special appearances playing Donald Trump on SNL — but that's Alec's face.

Baldwin has an impressive resumé of his own. You may have seen him playing Elwood on the 2017 reboot of MacGyver or playing David Ryker, the boss at Jane's investment firm on The Purge in 2018.

If I haven't quite cleared up your facial recognition amnesia just yet, don't worry. You don't even have to log out of Netflix to find Baldwin on Gossip Girl playing William van der Woodsen, father to everyone's favorite blonde socialite, Serena. If you favored a more wholesome flavor of family drama, perhaps you remember Baldwin in the role of Gordon Flint on Parenthood. He had the delightful task of playing Adam Braverman's boss and Sarah Braverman's ex-boyfriend for eight episodes of the series in 2010. If you're more of a movie buff, perhaps you recognize him from films like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Born on the Fourth of July, Squid and the Whale, or starring alongside Cindy Crawford in 1995's Fair Game. While newer series like Northern Rescue and the upcoming Too Old To Die Young are giving Baldwin a chance to stand out and lead, he's never cowered in his brother Alec's shadow.

Another face you might have seen around lately is Kathleen Robertson, who plays West family Aunt Charlotte aka "Charlie" on Northern Rescue. That's because Robertson played the Chancellor's daughter Clare Arnold on nearly 100 episodes of Beverly Hills 90210. Clare was Steve Sanders' longtime girlfriend, but before that she had a brief fling with David Silver, and I think I remember her crushing on Brandon for an episode or two. Robertson's character never crossed paths romantically with late actor Luke Perry's Dylan McKay, but she remembers his welcoming spirit fondly. "As a young girl from Hamilton Ontario coming onto the biggest show in the world mid stream, Luke welcomed me from day one. My heart breaks," she said of Perry's death in a tweet on Mar. 4.

Robertson has also been seen recently on popular series like TNT's Murder in the First with Taye Diggs and A&E's Bates Motel. It's unclear whether she will appear on the upcoming 90210 remake at this time.

Of course the actors who play the West kids Maddie (Amalia Williamson), Scout (Spencer Macpherson) and Taylor (Taylor Thorne) have shorter resumés. But, you may have seen them in some things, or at the very least you should be looking out for them soon. Macpherson might have the most recognizable face, as you can also catch him on Netflix in another show. He plays Hunter Hollingsworth on Degrassi: Next Class. You might see Thorne on an upcoming episode of the new CW series In The Dark, where she'll play a younger Murphy Mason, the show's lead character. Though she's the narrator and most complicated West child on Northern Rescue, Williamson appears to have the least amount of experience of the West kids.

Maddie West could very well be Williamson's first claim to fame, and Northern Rescue will hopefully give the rest of the cast notoriety for years to come. Don't skip over it in your recommendations, it's worth the watch.