Tag Archives: Republic of Doyle

Featured, Saint-Pierre

Allan Hawco returns to CBC with rollicking, refreshing Saint-Pierre

For six seasons, Allan Hawco’s Republic of Doyle entertained viewers on CBC. The fast-paced detective drama was set in and around St. John’s and spotlit the unique island community through the eyes of Jake Doyle and his co-workers, friends, lovers and enemies.

Now Hawco is back and spotlighting another island community.

Debuting Monday at 9 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem, Saint-Pierre—co-created by Hawco, Robina Lord-Stafford and Perry Chafe—boasts the humour, heart and unique environs that are Hawco’s bread and butter.

At the centre of the series is its two lead characters. Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Inspector Donny “Fitz” Fitzpatrick (Hawco) finds himself banished to Saint-Pierre et Miquelon—the French territory of 6,000 nestled in the Atlantic Ocean—after digging too deeply into illegal activity surrounding a local politician (played by Eric Johnson), who happens to be married to Fitz’s ex-wife (Vanessa Matsui).

Once on the island, Fitz is partnered with Deputy Chief Genevieve “Arch” Archambault (Joséphine Jobert). There are some fish-out-of-water moments for Fitz in the first episode—he not only suffers from sea sickness (bad news when you’re working on a small island) and a fear of heights—not to mention struggling with the language barrier (luckily, Fitz understands French better than he speaks it). Rounding out the main cast are Benz Antoine, Erika Prevost, Jean-Michel Le Gal and James Purefoy as the big bad in Season 1.

Much of Monday’s debut sets up the people and their world. And what a world it is! Quaint, brightly painted wood homes dot the coast of Saint-Pierre while older stone buildings stand sentry inland. French flags wave everywhere, and croissants and seafood are plentiful. Hawco revealed during a recent interview that he was on a location scout for fellow CBC/Hawco Productions project Son of a Critch when he visited the island, and knew it should be the setting for his next series. He had written two pilot projects and Saint-Pierre was the perfect fit for one.

“One [idea] was very close to what this show is, the very notion of these two partners who were thrust together by fate, and unwilling partners who didn’t know they needed each other until now,” he says.

Eagle-eyed fans of Death in Paradise will quickly identify Jobert, who portrayed Detective Sergeant Florence Cassell from 2015 to 2024 on the veteran British series. The chemistry Jobert has with Hawco is instantaneous and undeniable and is a huge part of why Saint-Pierre works so well.

“She’s my favourite type of person and actor,” Hawco says. “She’s prepared. She’s also totally flexible to go with anything in the moment. She’s practical about what the technical requirements of the job are while keeping a fluidity and an absolute freshness and spontaneity to her work. No ego, no status, no judgment. She’s generous with the crew. She understands people’s jobs, she respects them. She’s a true angel. She’s an absolute unicorn.”

Saint-Pierre airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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Caught, Featured, Moonshine, Republic of Doyle

Moonshine’s Allan Hawco talks Lidia and Gale in Season 2

Allan Hawco’s appearance on the first season of Moonshine was a surprise for fans of the rookie series, as well as the character of Lidia Bennett. Played by Jennifer Finnigan, Lidia’s attempt to keep the family campground, the Moonshine, out of debt and make a profit meant doing what she hoped was a one-time drug drop for Hawco’s outlaw biker, Gale.

Turns out there’s a lot more dirty dealing—and Gale—in Moonshine.

“[Creator] Sheri Elwood and I were talking about other things, and she asked me point-blank if I wanted to be in it,” Hawco says on the line from Nova Scotia, where filming of Season 3 is currently underway. “We discussed one role that we didn’t feel was the right thing and then she called me back with this other idea that eventually ended up being Gale.”

Returning for its sophomore go-round on CBC this Sunday at 9 p.m., Episode 1, “Three Sisters of Fate,” written and directed by Elwood, picks up just a few days after the Season 1 finale. In it, a mysterious package arrives at the Moonshine, which makes the Finley-Cullen clan question what their goals once were, and if they are still attainable. For Bea (Corrine Koslo) and Ben (Peter MacNeill), that means a career change; for Rhian (Anastasia Phillips), it shapes up to be a career boost; for Nora (Emma Hunter), a committed relationship; for Sammy (Alexander Nunez) a deep dig into his past; and Ryan (Tom Stevens), finding a purpose.

Moonshine‘s strengths, to me, are Elwood’s knack for creating characters that are immediately relatable, a world that is wistful and easily recalled, and a killer soundtrack. Hawco, who has experience with that through Republic of Doyle and Caught, agrees.

“It’s not something that you’re going to see anywhere else,” he says. “Being inside Sheri Elwood’s head is a terrifyingly hilarious place. I love the way she writes, I love her sense of humour and I love her approach to things that we may see situations or scenarios in other circumstances but she treats them with her own lens and it truly feels original.”

But back to Lidia and Gale.

Sunday’s return sees the pair reunite both in Lidia’s mind—there is a hilarious scene where she’s driving and caught up in a fantasy about the denim-clad miscreant—and discussing a new project Gale proposes. Their scenes crackle with energy and animal magnetism. There is no will-they-or-won’t they question for this pair; rather it’s when and how often?

“It’s the most fun, ridiculous experience I’ve ever had,” Hawco says of the fantasy scene he filmed with Finnigan. “Jennifer Finnigan is the most generous actor and a wonderful human being. She is so much fun to play with. We clicked right away. She’s a wonderful leader and she leads the cast with all the spirit you would hope for a No. 1.”

Moonshine airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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Caught, Moonshine, Republic of Doyle

East Coast dramedy Moonshine set to return for Season 2 on CBC next fall, with Allan Hawco joining the cast

From a media release:

Following last week’s Season 1 finale of original east coast Canadian family dramedy series Moonshine (8×60), CBC is revealing casting and production details for Season 2. Created by Sheri Elwood (Lucifer, Call Me Fitz) and produced by Six Eleven Media and Entertainment One (eOne), the series follows the Finley-Cullens, a dysfunctional clan of adult half-siblings battling for control of their family business – a ramshackle summer campground called The Moonshine. Production on the eight-episode second season recently wrapped in Nova Scotia and is set to premiere on CBC in fall 2022, with the entire first season now available to stream on CBC Gem.

The new season will see renowned Canadian star, Allan Hawco (Republic of Doyle, Caught, Frontier, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Another Life) join the cast as biker Gale Favreau, following his steamy meeting with Lidia (Jennifer Finnigan) in the Season 1 finale. Picking up where the first season ends, Season 2 will include epic dance routines, dirty bingo, snow crab-jacking and a high stakes turf war with a band of outlaw bikers. Fate will manifest very differently for the entire family, with characters fighting their destiny tooth and nail as Lidia goes to extremes to save the business from financial ruin.

Moonshine stars Jennifer Finnigan (Salvation), Anastasia Phillips (Reign), Emma Hunter (Mr. D), Tom Stevens (Wayward Pines), Alexander Nunez (Avocado Toast), Corrine Koslo (Anne with an E), Peter MacNeill (This Life), Erin Darke (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Farid Yazdani (Suits), Allegra Fulton (The Shape of Water), James Gilbert (Salvation), Celia Owen (A Small Fortune), and Calem MacDonald (Umbrella Academy).

Guest stars rounding out the cast in Season 2 include Jonathan Silverman (Weekend at Bernie’s), Shelley Thompson (Trailer Park Boys), Jonathan Torrens (Mr. D), Leigh Ann Rose (The Young and the Restless), Ernie Grunwald (Call Me Fitz), Joe Cobden (The Sinner), and Kirstin Howell (Diggstown).

A CBC original series, Moonshine is produced by Six Eleven Media and eOne. Created by Sheri Elwood, who is also showrunner, the show is executive produced alongside Six Eleven Media’s Charles Bishop. Jocelyn Hamilton serves as executive producer for eOne. For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Entertainment, Factual & Sports; Trish Williams is Executive Director, Scripted Content; Sarah Adams is Executive in Charge of Production; and Gosia Kamela is Executive in Charge of Production, Drama. The series is produced with the assistance of the Government of Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Film & Television Production Incentive Fund. Additionally, funding comes from the Canada Media Fund, Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit and the Canadian Film or Video Tax Credit. Moonshine is distributed internationally by eOne.

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Featured, Hudson & Rex, Republic of Doyle

Hudson & Rex: Tony Butt reveals the secrets to scouting locations

After a few weeks away, Hudson & Rex returned to Citytv last week on a new night. Now airing on Thursdays, Charlie, Rex, Sarah, Joe and Jesse are back at it, taking a bite out of crime (I know, I’m sorry) in and around St. John’s, Newfoundland.

This week’s new episode is “Fast Eddies,” and Rogers Media has this to say about the storyline:

After a reviled restaurateur’s food truck explodes, killing one of his employees, Charlie and Rex find themselves with a few too many suspects. Plus, a flirtation has Charlie torn between a possible new love interest and Rex, who makes no secret of his feelings on the matter.

The return of Hudson & Rex also marks the return of our behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast and crew. This week we caught up with locations manager Tony Butt.

A man and a woman face each other, standing on a boat.How did you get into the industry in the first place?
Tony Butt: I had spent my 20s in the oil industry and I quit because I didn’t like what I was doing and didn’t know what I was doing. I went on a motorcycle trip and was sitting in a theatre in New Orleans, watching a film festival and said, ‘That’s what I’ll do.’ So, I came back to St. John’s and started dabbling in the incredible co-operative called the Newfoundland Independent Film Co-operative. I walked in one day and they were training for films and the only job left was locations, so I took it. I’ve spent a bunch of years doing that.

I’ve worked in other departments and have been out of the industry for six or seven years and then I [joined Hudson & Rex].

Where does the location manager fit into the production schedule? You’re somewhere between the initial script and the filming.
TB: The script comes down and the art director vets it. We sit down together and bring in the director as soon as possible and we look at everyone’s vision. I then go out and scout locations, keeping in mind practicality, aesthetics and the needs of both the director and the production. And then I present as many options as I can get. And you try and cluster locations as much as you can. There were some challenges on Hudson & Rex because they wanted a cosmopolitan feel with a lot of modern buildings. We don’t have a lot of that, per se, so we had to work with those restrictions. And we shot in winter but they didn’t want to see snow. That didn’t have much to do with me, but it did have some. Everyone pulled together and I was really impressed.

Have you got locations in your back pocket for reference so you have an idea of a place as soon as you see it in a script?
TB: Absolutely. And, also, St. John’s is a small city that has developed in segments. You know the neighbourhoods. This one was developed in the 80s, this one was developed in the 60s, so you can really narrow down your search. And then, you try to build a day around one location without having to move the unit, ideally. And you have people to help you, like real estate agents and people who manage properties. So, yeah, you have properties that you go to first and then go further if you have to.

Hudson & Rex airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Citytv.

Images courtesy of Rogers Media.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail