The rugged beauty of this French island is the perfect setting for the latest Canadian crime drama
CBC Gem | Posted: January 6, 2025 2:51 PM | Last Updated: January 6
‘The show doesn't exist without Saint-Pierre,’ says star Allan Hawco, ‘the two are inseparable
Actor, producer and co-showrunner Allan Hawco was exploring new ideas for a series when he travelled to the French island Saint-Pierre et Miquelon to scout a location for Son of a Critch. As he sat in a cafe, the concept for CBC's new drama series Saint-Pierre came to him: "It just hit me that no show had ever been filmed there and it was perfect for the story I wanted to tell."
Saint-Pierre is the capital of a group of remote islands located just 45 km off the coast of Newfoundland. Starting in the early 1700s, France and England fought over the territory but the French ultimately won.
A cod fishing outpost for centuries, the islands are home to a few thousand locals and wildlife that includes puffins, seals and wild horses. Every summer, tourists visit to enjoy the rugged landscape and unique mix of European and Canadian culture.
"Everywhere you turn there's something to capture: stunning landscapes, picturesque harbour/boats, quaint houses, horses on long tethers by the ocean, boardwalks along the seafront, seals basking in the sun on rocks," says co-showrunner Robina Lord-Stafford.
With ties to Europe and a location on the doorstep of North America, Saint-Pierre was once the perfect spot for crime and smuggling. During the Prohibition era, the islands became a hub for rum-running, with gangsters like Al Capone and Bill McCoy establishing operations there.
So much rum was smuggled through the islands that if you peel back the wallpaper in some homes, you may find the very shipping crates they used and later recycled for building material.
In the new CBC drama series Saint-Pierre, the islands are now home to Inspector Donny (Fitz) Fitzpatrick (Allan Hawco) and Deputy Chief Geneviève (Arch) Archambault (Josephine Jobert), two transplanted police officers who have secret reasons for being there. Together, they unravel an impressive array of crimes that unfold in this picturesque spot.
Says Lord-Stafford, "Saint-Pierre is a character. We've taken what this special place has to offer — isolated islands in the North Atlantic with a history of smuggling — and added our own creative twists of what could happen there."
"The scenery, all the houses, the vibe, the people — it's something very unique," says lead actor Josephine Jobert, "and I think people will be able to feel it when they're watching the show."
Watch | The official trailer for Saint-Pierre
Hawco says it's the first time the islands, with a population of only 6,000, have been the setting for a series. When the production moved into town, both hotels were quickly filled and locals were solicited to house additional crew.
"It was a lovely little island with very nice people who were very happy to be part of our show and whether they were background or just watching, it was all new to them," says Benz Antoine who plays Chief Inspector Marcus Villeneuve.
Keen-eyed viewers will notice lots of local details.
In one episode, Arch and Fitz race to find the target of an assassination on Bastille Day, an annual event commemorating the start of the French Revolution in 1789. Locals were hired as background performers, traditionally dressed in blue, white and red. "It felt like a true celebration with banners flying, music, singing, dancing and fireworks — the backdrop to our officers chasing through the busy cobblestone streets," says Lord-Stafford.
In another storyline, a billionaire is found decapitated in a homage to the island's storied past. In 1889, a local fisherman Joseph Néel was sentenced to death and executed with a guillotine that was shipped in from Martinique for the purpose, the only recorded use in North America.
Although the crime rate in today's real-world Saint-Pierre is very low, Hawco and Lord-Stafford's imagined island world is the kind of place where a new dead body shows up every episode.
"It was a great place to set this and to give cops a new world that they could live in and something that they could explore," says director TJ Scott.
Says Jobert, "It's French, but it's not. It's like Canada, but it's not. I've talked to people and a lot of them told me, 'I came here for holidays or just to visit someone and I never left.' So it's that kind of place: you go there and then you spend the rest of your life there."
Here are some of the stunning locations you'll visit watching Saint-Pierre.
Île aux Marins
A delightful, uninhabited island located just a 15-minute boat ride from the main island of Saint-Pierre. "Île-aux-Marins is like stepping back in time," says co-showrunner Lord-Stafford.
Once home to a community of fishermen, it is also called Mariner's Island. There's a historic fishing village to explore and a beautifully-preserved church, Notre-Dame-des-Marins.
Hotel Robert
A large renovated hotel, located near the ferry terminal. The hotel is where Inspector Fitzpatrick (Fitz) lives and it was also home for some of the crew during the shoot in Saint-Pierre.
Now a century old, Hotel Robert has hosted many international figures and celebrities, including mob boss Al Capone.
Pointe-aux-Canons Lighthouse
This charming lighthouse, with spiral stairs to the top, dates back to the 19th century when it was built to warn ships away from treacherous cliffs and rocky shores. Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, it's a breathtaking spot to enjoy the rugged beauty of the coastline.
Le Musée Heritage
The Heritage Museum is a 200-year-old building that tells the history of the infamous rum-running islands. Visitors can explore a classroom, a chapel, an operating room, a kitchen and many other artifacts collected from the island's history.
Le Joinville Disco
Le Joinville Disco was built in 1825, and named after the Prince of Joinville, son of King Louis Phillippe of France. It was originally built as an inn and hosted numerous balls over the centuries before becoming a nightclub in the 1980s.
After a long closure, the Joinville recently re-opened in all its retro glory.
After a long closure, the Joinville recently re-opened in all its retro glory.
"It's pretty amazing, says actor Josephine Jobert, "It's like a throwback to the '80s. It's just out of time."
See the islands in all their picturesque beauty on Saint-Pierre, now streaming on CBC and CBC Gem.
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