Barkerville Historic Town has a new attraction for audiences all over the province, the nation, and the now globe.
Barkerville: The Series (The Series) is a six-episode web series that portrays a fictionalized version of contemporary life in Barkerville Historic Town & Park. With episodes one through four already streaming on YouTube and Vimeo.
“We’ve been getting a nice response from people, some of our actors have been getting recognized in town for it,” says Stewart Cawood, Manager of Public Programming and Media at the Historic Town, and one of the series’ directors.
“It’s been exciting, and it’s nice to see lots of views on YouTube and Vimeo and just to see lots of great comments from people who are enjoying it.”
Conversations surrounding Barkerville: The Series began around 2022, with the then CEO of the Historic Town & Park, Kate Cox, coming up with the idea, who wanted to create something with a wide reach and generate a different kind of buzz around the Historic Site.
“ We spent several years planning, and getting our local writer, Danette Boucher, who’s a long-time historical interpreter here in Barkerville, to write six short scripts for us to create a small web series,” Cawood says. “We went to the camera in April of 2024, and then have spent the last little while getting it edited and ready to put out there.”
Each episode of The Series is 15 minutes long, and primarily focuses on Barkerville in the modern day, providing a “fictionalized glimpse” of two fictional historical interpreters who are just starting in Barkerville protraying the hisortical characters of Barkerville, and working alongside the real-life staff that bring the Historic Town to life season by season.
The Series follows Jay, played by Brendan Bailey, an out-of-work television actor who has come to work with the performers who re-enact the gold rush’s history, and Sarah, played by Jessica Peters, an Indigenous woman from the Lhtako Dene Nation struggling with colonial nature of the historic site, who has been sent to contribute to the Indigenous Interpretation contract, which is already operating in real-life in Barkerville.
Episodes have some of the well-known and classic attractions of the Historic Town & Park visitors can see. The Cornish Water-Wheel, the Schoolhouse have appearances in the first few episodes.
The storylines explore the nuances of belonging in a tight-knit community as they follow the two actors’ journeys. Cawood says The Series hopes to invite its viewers to reflect on themes of indentity, heritage, and the impact of historical narratives.
“We wanted a big focus on the Lhtako Dene Nation as well, because they are a big part of the story and history of this region,” Cawood says, adding that the production crew went to Lhtako’s Chief and Council as soon as the scripts were ready to be shown for comments.
“We wanted to represent Lhtako Dene directly and have people from Lhtako Dene represented in the series on camera. It was something they were excited for, which was exciting for us as well.”
The Series has been funded with partnerships from Osisko Development, Cariboo Gold Project, and Heritage BC to assemble its cast and crew. A large film crew from Prince George and the Lower Mainland began filming in the spring of 2024. Most of the Cast is comprised of Barkerville’s team of performers, who can be seen by locals every day, and actors from the Lhtako Dene Nation and from across the province.
Series writer, Danette Boucher, who is a long-standing director at Barkerville, also plays a major onscreen role as Clementine, the head of site’s living history program.
While The Series has only just started streaming publicly, Cawood says the Historic Town is starting to see a trickle-down effect of social media posts and new visitors to the town. Cawood plans to get as many people as possible viewing The Series, and see if there is enough buzz for potentially a second season.
“We’ve already seen a few thousand views on YouTube, and our team here is very excited about what we’ve already put out. I do think that talks for a second season are definitely on the horizon. There is certainly plenty more stories we could tell.”
Episodes One through Four of Barkerville: The Series are now available online to be streamed on YouTube and Vimeo for free. Episode Five will drop at 6 p.m. on Saturday, August 16, and the Finale will be released the following weekend on Saturday, August 23.
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