Since much of the story took place in Montreal, Quebec, the producers decided to make two versions of the mini-series, one in English and one in French. Instead of dubbing, a mostly bilingual cast was used. Every scene was shot twice, in English and in French. The cast members were given two scripts daily, a French and English version and had to memorize their dialogue in both languages. The lone exception was Michael Ironside, who felt he did not speak French well enough and his parts were dubbed.
The mini-series was shot simultaneously in English and in French. Almost all of the actors were bilingual and shot each scene in English then French immediately afterwards. This is commonly known as a "double shoot".