How Saint-Pierre and Miquelon's rugged charm captivated the stars of CBC's new drama

Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, a French archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland, is a magical world unto itself. With its unique blend of rugged beauty and European charm, the islands feel like a slice of France nestled in the North Atlantic. Though small — at just 242 square kilometres — it's rich in character and history. Visitors can wander cobblestone streets alongside freely roaming horses and find traces of its storied rum-running past. 

For French actor Josephine Jobert and Newfoundland's Allan Hawco, stars of the CBC's new drama series Saint-Pierre, filming on the island was a revelation. They talked to us about their experiences living there while making the show, which has their characters "forced together to solve unique crimes," and shared how they uncovered hidden gems — from amazing French cuisine to a retro disco where you can dance the night away.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Tell me about Saint-Pierre and Miquelon and how you both got to know it when you were there.

Josephine Jobert: I knew nothing about the place. I didn't even know where it was! [But] it was important for me to just discover another part of my country. 

[People said,] "It must feel like home to you," [and] it did. You have the French patisseries … wine and cheese. But it's also very different because when you're there, you feel isolated —  but in a good way, more protected from the rest of the world. They have their own lifestyle. They don't care about what other people think. [Their attitude is:] "This is the way we live. This is the way we do it. You like it? Wonderful. You don't? Too bad."  

Allan Hawco: Newfoundland has a very specific relationship with Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. We've been stranded out there in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean together, with no one else in sight, for a long time. And there's a dependency on each other in many ways, for services, for basic goods, things like that.  

We've always had a cousin's connection between Saint-Pierre and Newfoundland and almost sometimes, like, a sibling connection — maybe even deeper.… It wasn't really until the start of this process did I really discover [the island] for what it is and see its uniqueness and its true beauty, its modernness and its remoteness.

[The locals] know who they are. It feels to me like they are very comfortable in their skin. There's no signage. You know, there's no unnecessary … visual noise. You don't know where the restaurants are — you got to know where the restaurants are. 

And I'm not speaking for them, but I feel like they're like, "Figure it out." 

So if you're cool enough to be here long enough, you'll figure it out.… You see stores that look like stores, obviously, and then you're like, "Wait, that's a children's clothing store? That looks like a warehouse for fishing tackle. It's wild.

What did you do when you weren't on set? What was fun and what did you discover if you were cool enough to figure out where the bars and restaurants were?

Jobert: We did a lot of shopping, because once you know where the stores are, it's dangerous. They have nice stuff there! 

They have amazing restaurants. They have a disco — it's, like, [the '80s].… We [spent] an amazing night just dancing all night long. 

Hawco: It's, like, real authentic [in that] they haven't fully restored [it].

My assistant, who's also the head of our makeup department, her boyfriend's the head of the grip department. So he and I were just looking at the disco, just kind of counting how many lights were actively working, and being like, how could we get them going again? Like, it's pretty cool. 

Jobert: And you can just walk around, and they have the horses everywhere on the island, and you just go and pet them. They have owners, but they're just there everywhere. 

Hawco: But the restaurants, too — they're really serious about it.… They're serious about their sauces and their amuse-bouches and their mains. I don't know what their resource situation is, but they do not let it get in their way. 

The booze game is serious over there. It's like, really, there's a bit of Narnia there. I don't know if Narnia is the right word, but you know, it's like another dimension.

How has shooting in Saint-Pierre changed your relationship with the place?

Hawco: Having shot the first season, I'm in love with Saint-Pierre, and I don't even have the full experience yet. 

I took Saint-Pierre for granted for so long. 

Josephine, coming from France, what were the similarities you saw?

Jobert: I think I would say the mentality? In other countries, you cannot tell someone what you really think. Or just, you know, French people, [they're like,] "If you bother me, I will tell you" — especially Parisians. They can be very rude sometimes. But I think it's also a quality. We don't fake it. 

I guess people in Saint-Pierre are kind of the same — not in a rude way, but they're very honest and direct. They will tell you what they think. 

But it's also very different.… It's very hard to compare because they're very specific and special in their own ways.

The new drama series Saint-Pierre premiered Monday, Jan. 6. New episodes are available to stream Mondays at 9 a.m. ET on CBC Gem and air at 9 p.m. ET (9:30 p.m. NT) on CBC-TV.