After a bit of a break, Geektown Talks To is finally back with a brand-new interview, as we sit down with Joséphine Jobert (Death in Paradise) to chat about her new crime drama ‘Saint-Pierre’, which recently launched in the UK on U&Alibi.
The series sees Jobert swap the sun-drenched beaches of Saint Marie for the somewhat chillier French territory of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, just off the coast of Newfoundland. She plays Deputy Chief Geneviève “Arch” Archambault, a sharp, independent police officer who suddenly finds herself saddled with a new partner, Donny “Fitz” Fitzpatrick, played by Allan Hawco (Republic of Doyle).
Fitz is a Newfoundland cop who has rather inconveniently upset some powerful people back home, resulting in him being shipped off to Saint-Pierre until things calm down. Naturally, because this is television, the supposedly quiet island then turns out to have an alarmingly high number of crimes to solve. Honestly, between Saint Marie, Midsomer, Shetland and now Saint-Pierre, you do start to wonder if the safest place to live might actually be Gotham.
In the interview, Joséphine talks about how the role originally came to her, and why she was not immediately sure about jumping into another police drama after spending so many years on ‘Death in Paradise’.
“I spent seven years on Death in Paradise. It was an amazing experience,” she explains. “So I was a bit, I was like, do I really wanna do another cop show? I’m not so sure.”
That changed once she read the script and met Arch properly.
“I read the scripts and I literally fell in love with my character,” she says. “I was like, this woman is so amazing. And there the story, like the dynamic between all the characters was very well written.”
A big part of the appeal of ‘Saint-Pierre’ is the dynamic between Arch and Fitz. Allan Hawco is not only Jobert’s co-star, but also co-creator and executive producer on the series, which does raise the slightly awkward question of what it is like when your screen partner is also, technically, one of your bosses.
Thankfully, from Joséphine’s side of things, it sounds less like workplace terror and more like working opposite a man who has somehow decided sleep is optional.
“He’s working 24 7. I’m not even exaggerating,” she says. “Sometimes I miss him because I’m like, we are together during the scenes, but in between he has to go to do something else.”
She also talks about the fun of having a co-star who is directly involved in shaping the show, including the occasional bit of script snooping.
“Every time he writes I’m like, just, trying to check and see what he’s writing for my, like for my character,” she laughs. “I’m like, what are you writing for my character?”
One thing that comes across very strongly in the conversation is how much Arch means to Jobert, both as a character and on a personal level. She describes Arch as strong, independent, fearless, sassy and funny, but also someone with much more going on beneath the surface.
“I think she’s very fascinating because on the surface, she’s really a strong, independent, she’s fearless, she’s a little bit badass, she’s a little bit sassy,” she says. “She has a good sense of humour, but I’m always like, nobody’s ever solid as a rock. It’s impossible.”
For Jobert, playing Arch came at a point in her own life when she needed that strength.
“I can say without a doubt that she saved my life,” she says. “I’ll always be grateful for her. It’s weird to say because she’s a fictional character, but I’m just, I’m her for a five month. I’m in her skin.”
The interview also digs into filming on Saint-Pierre itself, the rather brutal weather shift from Guadeloupe to the North Atlantic, the difference between Arch and Florence from ‘Death in Paradise’, the show’s success in Canada, the Season 1 cliffhanger, and why the cast have become such a close-knit group off-screen.
Joséphine also teases what she would love to explore with Arch in the future, although, as Season 3 has not officially been confirmed, she is careful not to give too much away. Season 2 has already aired in Canada, but UK viewers are currently getting their first chance to discover the show through Season 1 on U&Alibi.
We also ask our usual closing questions, including what Joséphine has been watching recently, why reality TV can be the perfect way to switch her brain off, and the dream genre she would love to tackle next. Spoiler: someone really needs to get this woman into a Marvel project.
‘Saint-Pierre’ Season 1 is airing now on U&Alibi in the UK. Listen to the full interview with Joséphine Jobert in the player below.
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