Stolen chip trucks, gangs, prodigal sons, murder and mayhem come to roost this year in Allan Hawco’s hit series Republic of Doyle.
Newfoundlander Jake Doyle’s unconventional approach to crime fighting, his unique partnership with his father Malachy and Hawco’s charm have won the show five Gemini nominations, an international viewership and interest from the likes of Paul Gross, Martha Burns, Gordon Pinsent, Lindy Booth, Don McKellar, Nic Campbell and Victor Garber ,who will drop by to complicate things.
Says Hawco, “I feel no guff, really, really frigging lucky.”
Hawco’s Doyle is an odd TV private eye. “He won’t carry a gun. We’re not dealing with a hero who shoots people. There are corpses and high stakes but it is important that Jake isn’t the initiator of violence. It doesn’t suit him, he was never interested in that kind of behaviour.”
Professionally, Doyle’s “A dog with a bone. He’s obsessive. If he feels injustice is happening to somebody he has to make it right and hold people accountable.” But personally, he’s less clear.
“Jake has a lot of complications this year. Malachy has a heart attack. It’s the reality of what happens. We’ll see Malachy again but I can’t explain, I’m not saying he comes out alright. But you’ll see him for a little bit. There’s a lot besides detecting going on.”
And there’s a change of address from the Doyle home to a downtown loft. Could this signal a sudden Doyle hipsterism?
“No, my lord. It’s in the building over the bar. He’s crashing on the couch there because his girlfriend threw him out of the house. It’s as far away from hipster as you can get.”
