Saint-Pierre, CBC’s most-watched new series of 2025, returns with a 12-episode second season on January 5, with stars Allan Hawco and Joséphine Jobert returning as partnered investigators, Fitz and Arch, respectively, solving cases in Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, an actual French territory off the coast of Newfoundland.
Hawco is perhaps best known for his six seasons of CBC’s Republic of Doyle and his role as Coyote in Season 2 of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan on Prime Video. English-speaking audiences know Jobert for her role as Detective Sergeant Florence Cassell in eight seasons of the BBC’s Death in Paradise. French fans will also remember her star turns on Cut! and Foudre.
In this exclusive interview, the pair shared their thoughts on filming in Saint-Pierre, Fitz and Arch’s relationship, and the exciting developments in store for Saint-Pierre Season 2.
[The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.]
Tell me about filming in Saint-Pierre.
AH: It is a place like nowhere else. It’s one of the most original places that I’ve ever experienced. The impulse of this entire show is spawned by that originality, that uniqueness. Our version of Saint-Pierre on the show is totally fictional, obviously. This season, we’ve opened the doors to a whole new side of Saint-Pierre, different elements that are fictional. We’ve got shipwrecks, hidden secrets from the Second World War, and horse race tracks.
It’s an interesting way to explore a lot of the fictional elements, but the real place is cool. The people are really cool. The town is super dense. It’s tight, and interesting and original like no other place. It’s got parts that are like Europe, as it is a European territory and a French territory. Also, it’s got elements of Newfoundland and outport Newfoundland in it. It’s a lot of fun to shoot. It’s a lot of fun to hang out there. And it’s a lot of fun to live there.
What do you think is the fascination with idyllic towns with seedy underbellies?
AH: I don’t know about other shows. I’ll speak to ours specifically. Audiences are interested in places that they are discovering. So the title of our show, Saint-Pierre, the place is a character. As much as all the people you get to know and love — hopefully — on the journey of the tale. But there’s something interesting about being exposed to a fictional world, like a Narnia.
That’s what we’re doing. We’re opening up a fantasy world. Of course, in reality, these places are not riddled with murder and crime. We’re not the first to do that in a small, idyllic village, to expose all sorts of weird mystery. It’s a perfect setting for people to get to know each other, to be forced to bond with each other. For us to see what a community is, or what the world is. To expose the landscapes.
One of my favourite things about the character of Saint-Pierre in our show is the sheer beauty of it. It looks like nowhere else. Look at our photography. Our cinematographer, Ian Vatcher, is super diligent about every single shot that we use in the show. Every director is paired with him with that same vision. It’s bringing the beauty of the place. There’s something about that character of place that draws viewers in. At least, I hope it continues to draw them in for us.
Joséphine, have the years of playing police, first on Death in Paradise and now on Saint-Pierre, given you a respect for the profession?
JJ: Oh yeah. I’ve never really thought about that in that way, but I think it’s pretty cool. I don’t necessarily see that I’m a police detective. I’m playing characters, women who end up being police.
For me, Arch is not just a detective or police officer. She’s a very strong, independent woman. Fearless. So this is what’s really interesting for me to play and try to be a role model for girls and women, to show that you can be that type of woman. [You can] have vulnerabilities and also be strong. You’re not just one thing. Nobody’s ever one thing. You have so many layers. It’s interesting to dig into that and to learn about people a bit more.
I’ve never really looked at it as meaning “playing” police. It’s been characters and human beings who just happen to be working in the police.
AH: And I imagine that if you’re in any profession, that’s just how you approach everything. As a human being, doing your job. I doubt that it’s something that cops think about.
JJ: You don’t wake up and think, “I’m a cop! I’m going to be a cop today!” You’re a human being dealing with your own problems in life. You go to work and try to make it right.
As police detectives, being able to problem-solve effectively with an understanding of the letter of the law is key. Arch and Fitz understand what is right and what is legal. How would you say their approaches differ?
AH: It’s interesting, the dynamic of the two of them. We uncover in Season 2 bits about their backstories and their lives. Certainly, from Arch’s perspective, there’s a lot about what is Arch’s life right now. For Fitz, you’re learning a little bit about what he’s come from. In our second episode, the A-plot is directly connected to Fitz’s undercover past.
When Robina [Lord-Stafford] and I were mapping out these two characters from the very beginning, Fitz looks like he’s running on instinct. He has an intuitiveness, an empathic thing with people, but because of his time in undercover, he’s actually extremely diligent about the rule of law. And then, the concept of Arch living in this place that’s a little outside the norm in Saint-Pierre. She’s used to doing things in her own way. She’s more the door-kicker and the punch-first-ask-questions-later character, but her background is super privileged and comes from this high-level, science-based education. And Fitz comes from this super working-class background.
We twisted those things against each other, so when the two of them finally are forced by fate to be in each other’s company, they complete each other in some way that they didn’t know they ever needed it. Focusing on that side of things was the way into it.
And then there is, of course, that part of being an expert in your profession. It’s in the writing, planned throughout, how they do their analysis. Like her… [gestures to Josephine] You’re a blood splatter expert. You understand the science behind the thing. Fitz is looking at it from his experience. We marry those two things in those ways.
Was Arch and Fitz’s bond formed early in Season 1?
JJ: The connection started to appear in Season 1. It’s funny, because Episode 1 [the series premiere] is all about [Arch being] “Who’s that guy? He’s a joke. I don’t want to work with him.” We could’ve kept on going with this dynamic for a few episodes, but, for some reason, it didn’t last. After a few scenes, they just became partners. Instantly. Even if we wanted to try to do it otherwise, [we couldn’t] because it’s just so natural.
AH: In the church, when they find the body, it’s what I said earlier. They didn’t know that they needed each other until they were standing in front of the challenge of this crime.
JJ: It became totally natural to stop asking questions and be like, “Okay, we’re doing this. And… I guess we’re doing it pretty well. This could work.” Then in Episode 2, we don’t even think about the fact that she didn’t want to work with him. They’re just partners.
How does the relationship develop and strengthen in Season 2?
JJ: In Season 2, it’s more of a real friendship. This dynamic is more of a friendship, and we don’t really know if there’s more than that, but there’s a little bit of a possessiveness. A little tiny bit because he’s not a huge fan of Dr. Theo for many reasons that you’ll find out. And also, when someone, like a woman, gets too close to [Fitz], gets flirty with him, [Arch] is like, “Mmm, sorry, but no, he’s my partner. Who are you?” It’s very subtle, and it’s very well-written. It’s very sweet, I guess. It’s something that could happen in life when you have a very close friend; you can also get jealous when someone also gets too close to that person. That’s pretty much the dynamic this year between those two.
AH: And it flows. You’re uncovering something as an audience. In Season 2, you’re witnessing an uncovering of parts of their personality, and then how it affects the other. Very often, through the A-plot of the show… Our first episode [of Season 2] starts with a potential serial killer. Then we’re uncovering stuff about Saint-Pierre’s dark past — in our show — who knows about it? Who’s connected to it? And how does that affect Arch? How does that affect Fitz? What are we uncovering about Fitz? In Episode 2, we’re discovering something about Fitz and how does that affect Arch? How does Arch respond to that? How do they support each other? It’s all driven through story in super-explosive and cool ways.
What else does Season 2 have in store for Saint-Pierre‘s characters?
There’s some stuff in Season 2 for Arch that is pretty cool, and our other characters, too. You learn about Renuf through one of the cases. You learn more about Patty through one of the cases. All through Season 1, you’re learning more about Marcus and discovering more about him. It’s playing with those dynamics. It’s about their potential chemistry — the thing [where] they didn’t know they needed each other — and what are the impacts of that. How are they dealing with the other person’s trauma?
JJ: Challenging each other. Teasing each other.
AH: That’s the best part.
JJ: Yeah, I love it so much.
AH: It’s so much fun to play that stuff with you ’cause it’s like [snaps fingers quickly]. It’s not a comedy. We’re not doing a comic duo, but they are very sharp with each other. It’s pretty funny.
JJ: Also, I think we’re pretty much the same in real life. We brought that dynamic that we have in real life into our characters. That’s why it’s so natural and funny.
AH: Definitely. Neither of us are afraid to be made fun of. In fact, quite the opposite. That’s the dynamic on set, too. Let’s all remind ourselves what we’re doing here. We’re doing the best job in the world, and we’re having a great time doing it.
Saint-Pierre Season 2 premieres on CBC and CBC Gem on January 5.
