Saint-Pierre: Scenes of the Crime

By Dillon Collins

You could call Allan Hawco the Swiss Army Man of Newfoundland television. Actor, writer, producer and show-runner, the b’y behind Jake Doyle (Republic of Doyle, 2010-14), Douglas Brown (Frontier, 2016-18), David Slaney (Caught, 2018) and Gale Favreau (Moonshine, 2021-23) is back in his wheelhouse with the all-new police procedural television drama Saint-Pierre, which premiered on January 6th on CBC.

“It feels like a tiny miracle to have another show that’s on TV and will be out there in the world,” Allan shares during a media blitz in promotion of the highly-anticipated premiere. “It’s one of the big shows for CBC this year, so super grateful to be back with CBC having another kick at the can. I learned a lot from my previous experiences. I feel like there was a lot to improve upon. One of the biggest takeaways from my previous experiences was to remember the rarefied air you’re in when you have your own series while you’re doing it and try to enjoy the process as much as possible. You know, it truly is the most privileged thing ever. I’m so grateful.”

Reuniting with frequent collaborators Janine Squires, Perry Chafe, Erin Sullivan and John Vatcher, and developed alongside co-showrunner Robina Lord-Stafford, the series, set in and partly shot in the French archipelago of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, has been gestating in some form or fashion in Allan’s mind for decades before a chance location scouting in Saint-Pierre brought forth a euphoric sparks of innovation.
“I mean, you collect people that you fall in love with when you get to work with them in this way. Janine, Erin and I have been planning something like this for years. Like, what would it be? What would be our ideal situation if we got a show? How would we go about it? Who would we have with us? How would that work? And it’s been like years of planning. That was before we had a concept for a show,” Allan recalls, explaining how he was captivated by the untapped potential of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon as a creatively fertile filming location, much like St. John’s for Republic of Doyle some 15 years prior.
“The first time I did this with Republic of Doyle, I had the idea when I was like 20 and I was biting my nails for 10 years waiting for someone to do it. And I had the exact same feeling this time. I was like, someone’s going to do this, and it was like buzzing. It was like a vibration around the idea. And the place itself, it’s truly one of the most unique places in the world, and it’s not had an ongoing series set there. And I love procedurals. The concept was procedural. I’ve been developing a number of shows since we wrapped Caught. None of them were quite right for me. They weren’t giving me that vibration. But they were good and it could work and it could grow and develop in other types of shows, but I knew my wheelhouse was in a procedural world. It had to be right.”

Saint-Pierre stars Allan as RNC Inspector Donny ‘Fitz’ Fitzpatrick, who is exiled to Saint-Pierre et Miquelon after digging too deeply into the nefarious activities of a local politician. His arrival upends the life of Parisian transplant Deputy Chief Genevieve ‘Arch’ Archambault, who finds herself in the French territory for her own intriguing reasons.

Co-starring Benz Antoine (Four Brothers, I’m Not There), Erika Prevost (The Boys, Dare Me), Jean Michel Le Gal (Orphan Black, Take This Waltz)and James Purefoy (Rome, The Witcher), the pulse of the show relied upon a key casting, with celebrated actress Josephine Jobert (Concordia, Death in Paradise) cast in the leading role of Arch, who Allan calls the Sherlock to his Holmes.

“Well, there’s another miracle. She was our first choice, really,” he shares of the casting of Jessica. “We dabbled with a couple of other people that we were like, this could be right. They were incredible actors. Incredible. But then Jose and I did a chemistry read. First of all, she was interested. She read it and she’s interested. She’s a huge star. She was just a revelation man, to work with her, to be with her, just to be around her. She’s an incredible energy, an incredible human being. An amazing actor. But she doesn’t bring a false note to it ever. And that’s like such an important thing for me as an actor to be working with someone like that where all we got to do is sit there and listen and play it. That’s it. Jose is so flexible. She has no ego. She loves Newfoundland and loves our crew. She fit in like just family. It was so special. And those two characters have the same thing. They just don’t know it yet. And like we described, that they’re the Sherlock to each other’s Holmes. Like there’s there’s no Watson in that scenario. They are equals. Yeah, that’s pretty cool.”

With a slick script, picturesque location and rock-solid cast, audiences will be transported to Saint-Pierre for ten episodes to kick off the New Year. And for Allan Hawco, who has seen and done it all on the small screen, having one of the key ingredients for a successful series, let alone several, is a dream turned resolution made reality.
“It had to have the right characters in the right place,” Allan reiterates. “And it just all came together.”

Saint-Pierre airs on Mondays at 9:30 p.m. NT on CBC with streaming available on CBC Gem.

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