With maturity comes baggage in Allan Hawco’s new cop role in CBC’s ‘Saint-Pierre’

TORONTO — After CBC’s “Republic of Doyle” wrapped in 2014, Allan Hawco spent years searching for the next show to create.

The star and co-creator of the St. John’s, N.L.-set crime drama, which ran for six seasons, had several ideas but couldn’t land on a concept that resonated with him.

“There were things I was developing and I was interested in… but you knew in the back of your mind it wasn’t really right,” says the Newfoundland native during an interview in Toronto.

He knew he wanted to make another procedural because it’s a genre he feels at home in as a writer.

“It just feels very familiar and within the confines of what that structure requires. There’s so much freedom of expression.”

But he didn’t want to rehash old ideas.

“I wanted it to be fresh and I wanted it to speak to me.”

It wasn’t until Hawco scouted Saint Pierre and Miquelon for an episode of CBC comedy “Son of a Critch,” which he executive produces, that he found that spark.

“I had forgotten what the magic of Saint Pierre was,” says Hawco of the French archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean near Newfoundland, where he filmed his first leading role in the 2004 drama “Making Love in St. Pierre.”

“It’s kind of a cousin to Newfoundland — it’s its own place, but it’s also connected to us. It truly is one of the most unique and special places I’ve ever been. The day that we landed there for that scout, something just shook me.”

The visit planted the seed for “Saint-Pierre,” Hawco’s new CBC police procedural, premiering Monday.

The drama stars Hawco as Inspector Donny “Fitz” Fitzpatrick, a Newfoundland cop whose relentless investigation into a corrupt politician gets him reassigned to Saint Pierre and Miquelon.

There, he’s thrown into an uneasy alliance with Deputy Chief Genevieve “Arch” Archambault, a Parisian transplant played by French actor Joséphine Jobert. As they clash, they uncover the crimes hidden beneath the islands’ picturesque exterior.

“Usually cop shows are in big cities, (dealing) with things we see every day — but Saint Pierre, there’s nothing like it,” says Jobert, who also played a detective in the BBC crime dramedy “Death in Paradise.”

“The colours, the vibe, the sky, the people. It’s a character itself.”

Hawco says besides Saint Pierre’s idyllic environs, he and co-creators Robina Lord-Stafford and Perry Chafe were drawn to the way the islands act as a link between North America and Europe. And although in reality the crime rate on the islands is low, his creative mind turned it into an ideal setup for international criminals.

“If you were able to have a hold of some kind of international network, if you were able to be a part of corruption — there are so many safeguards in the real-life Saint Pierre to not allow that to happen, but I imagined, what would it be like if those safeguards weren’t there?” he says.

“If the local police force could be corrupt, if there was a person who could be the big bad in town and actually be able to use international shipping routes and flights to be able to smuggle and do bad things?”

Hawco says “Saint-Pierre” has a darker tone and higher-stakes crimes than “Republic of Doyle,” which often leaned into comedy.

“The basic concept, I think, is a very different show. I’m also not 30 (anymore). I’m not playing some roguish guy with a car chasing bad guys. I think I would feel quite foolish if that was something I was presenting for myself right now, unless that in itself was the joke,” he explains.

“Fitz has more maturity. He’s more sophisticated. He’s got more baggage. And he’s lived quite a full life that he’s having to deal with from a character perspective.”

The show, shot in Saint Pierre and St. John’s, was produced by Hawco Productions in association with U.S. studio Fifth Season.

Hawco and Jobert say there hasn’t been a show of this scale filmed in Saint Pierre before, but locals weren’t bothered.

“I liked the fact that they didn’t change the way they were living just for us,” says Jobert, noting how local coffee shops kept their regular hours, even with an 80-person crew working nearby in the early morning.

But Hawco says residents were welcoming, with some even offering their homes to crew members due to a lack of available hotel rooms.

“People moved out and rented us their homes,” he says.

“They were all supportive. They came to set, they visited, they watched. At least with everything I experienced, I felt a real, genuine warmness.”

“Saint-Pierre” premieres Monday, Jan. 6 on CBC and CBC Gem. New episodes will air every Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 2, 2024

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press