What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedThe North Water
Andrew Haigh · Series · 2021
If you loved The North Water, start with Against the Ice (Peter Flinth, 2022) — a film on the same thread. Below: 4 books, 3 films and 2 podcasts, each matched to The North Water across media.
What hooked you in The North Water was the harrowing intersection of psychological disintegration and the brutal, unforgiving indifference of nature.
Books on the same thread
Endurance
Alfred Lansing · Book
Shares a thread with The North Water: isolation.
Much like The North Water, this historical account captures the sheer physical and mental toll of maritime isolation, forcing you to witness human endurance pushed to its absolute breaking point.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Richard Flanagan · Book · 2015
Explores: memory and trauma, moral ambiguity of war, unrequited love.
If you appreciated the moral ambiguity and haunting trauma found in The North Water, this narrative offers a similarly unflinching examination of human cruelty set against a sweeping historical backdrop.
The Vaster Wilds
Lauren Groff · Book
Shares a thread with The North Water: isolation.
This story mirrors the survivalist intensity of The North Water, focusing on the deconstruction of one's inner belief system when faced with the relentless, isolating pressure of the wilderness.
Heartwood (A Read with Jenna Pick)
Amity Gaige · Book · 2025
Explores: Isolation in nature, Survival against the elements, Missing person investigation.
The North Water excels at mapping the internal collapse of a person lost in nature, a theme this thriller echoes through its exploration of isolation and fractured human consciousness.
Films on the same thread
Against the Ice
Peter Flinth · Film · 2022
Shares 3 threads with The North Water: Man vs. Nature, Isolation, Psychological Thriller.
This film provides the same chilling Arctic atmosphere as The North Water, centering on the psychological unraveling of men struggling to survive when they are abandoned to the ice.
The Northman
Film · 2022
Explores: Vengeance, Fate, Patriarchal Legacy.
Fans of the raw, visceral brutality in The North Water will find a similar commitment to unflinching violence and the heavy, inescapable weight of fate within this dark saga.
Arctic
Joe Penna · Film · 2018
Shares 3 threads with The North Water: Survival, Isolation, Arctic Adventure.
This film strips away all unnecessary artifice to focus on the primal struggle for survival, reflecting the same desolate, man-versus-nature tension that defines the journey in The North Water.
Podcasts on the same thread
The White Vault
Fool and Scholar Productions · Podcast · 2026
The North Water uses the Arctic as a site of profound horror, a sensation this audio drama expertly replicates by placing a team in the terrifying, isolated white wastes.
Search & Rescue NZ
Podcast
Explores: search and rescue operations, wilderness survival, human resilience.
If the survivalist stakes in The North Water kept you engaged, these stories of wilderness courage and human resilience offer a grounded look at the reality of such danger.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is The North Water a series or a movie?
The North Water is a television production released in 2021 by Andrew Haigh. It follows the story of a whaling expedition to the Arctic involving Henry Drax and Patrick Sumner, depicting their ill-fated journey through a harsh and unforgiving environment.
Who are the central characters in The North Water?
The central characters in The North Water are Henry Drax, a brutish harpooner and killer, and Patrick Sumner, a disgraced ex-army surgeon. Sumner joins the whaling expedition as the ship doctor in an attempt to escape his past while dealing with the murderous psychopath Drax.
What is the premise of The North Water?
The North Water centers on a whaling expedition to the Arctic. The plot follows Patrick Sumner, who seeks redemption and escape from his past, only to find himself trapped on a ship with Henry Drax, a man whose amorality is shaped by the harshness of their world.
Does The North Water take place at sea?
Yes, The North Water takes place during a whaling expedition in the Arctic. The narrative focuses on the conflict between Patrick Sumner and Henry Drax as they navigate the dangers of their journey and the brutal environment they encounter while out at sea.