Caught on film: Allan Hawco and crew shooting upcoming thriller
When audiences see the mini-series Caught next winter on CBC Television, they'll see a taut drama unfold in locations ranging from Colombia and Mexico to Montreal and New Brunswick.
Many of the settings, though, were recreated at a soundstage erected inside an industrial warehouse in Mount Pearl, just outside St. John's.
"It's been a long journey," said star Allan Hawco, who is also working as the showrunner for the five-part series adapted from St. John's author Lisa Moore's 2013 Giller-nominated novel.
Hawco plays David Slaney, a Newfoundlander in a New Brunswick prison who got caught trying to smuggle drugs from Colombia into Canada.
Slaney escapes with a plan for one last deal, with the police in hot pursuit.
"Lisa's novel, she's such a brilliant writer," said Hawco, who started work three years ago on bringing Caught to television. "It just really spoke to me. The characters all have so much to fight for …There's all of this heartbreak and twist."
A Caribbean scene, filmed in Newfoundland
Additional scenes will be filmed in Ontario, while the Caribbean-set exteriors are being shot in the Dominican Republic.
Many of the interior and other locations, including a sailboat that plays a pivotal role in the cat-and-mouse chase, were created on the Mount Pearl soundstage.
"I like that as a producer," said Hawco, who came to national prominence as the star and co-creator of Republic of Doyle, which concluded a five-season run in 2014.
"Being able to use this place not just for the place that it is, which is a strength in its own right — but being able to prove that we can do any show set anywhere here," he said. "That's really how you create a successful industry."
'Everybody is almost too nice'
Hawco is not the only one in the crew who has enjoyed working in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Director T.J. Scott said he and his colleagues have been charmed with the location, the cuisine and the people.
"The crews are amazing," he said. "Everybody is almost too nice — I've never worked with such nice people in my life. It's just amazing. I would come back here in a second."
Hawco, meanwhile, is determined to continue doing work in his home province, as long as the opportunity to do so exists.
"Even though Newfoundland isn't a character in the show, it's a character in the production," he said.
"There is obviously various incentives that keep us alive here and as long as that's around we have no intention of making work anywhere else. We want to do it here and there's something special about it."
