Hallmark has developed a reputation for the kinds of stories that viewers can expect out of its original movies: tragic backstories, small town love stories, and dark family secrets among many others. The network is about to change things up in at least one way, though. After initially sounding unclear about the future of one of their long-running Hallmark series, the network has ordered a new original series for the first time in over five years, and fans will find familiarity in the first “perfect” star cast.
According to Deadline, Hallmark vet Andie MacDowell has been cast in The Way Home, which is the first series to be ordered by the network since 2016. She is the first actor to be cast in the series, and company boss Lisa Hamilton Daly has described her as the “perfect” choice for the series.
Andie MacDowell will play Del, who is the matriarch of the Landry family. Del is also a leader in her small, close-knit community. Things shake up for her when her estranged daughter returns to the town years after their fallout, with her own teenage daughter whom Del has never met. This seems especially perfect for MacDowell, as she plays the mother in a mother-daughter duo in Netflix’s Maid.
A Hallmark series won’t be new territory for Andie MacDowell, as she starred in Cedar Cove, another show that was on the network for a couple of years. MacDowell can be seen in two Hallmark films (At Home in Mitford and The Beach House), and hers is a face that fans of the network should recognize from the last decade.
For fans of Andie MacDowell and her previous Hallmark work, a series is great news. While films are great for wanting to dive into a new world briefly, a series is something that viewers can grow attached to and spend time falling in love with the story and characters. Those who have seen MacDowell in Cedar Cove are more familiar with how she can work the long run in immersing herself in a character, and it’s something to look forward to when The Way Home arrives on Hallmark.
The series seems like it could appeal to viewers of all ages, with its tale of three generations of women finding their way to each other and forming a new bond. Andie MacDowell is seemingly a great choice for the matriarch of the family, which begs the question of who the network will cast as the other two generations. Hallmark queens Lacey Chabert would be an obvious choice, of course, although she is filming another project for the network at this time in Hawaii.
While we may not find The Way Home dropping on 2022’s TV schedule, we should have more developments on the series as the year progresses. It will be interesting to see which Hallmark movie stars are cast alongside her (if any), or if the network will go with more green actresses for the upcoming series. It’s definitely not easy acting in a Hallmark project, but knowing MacDowell’s history and the support she has from the network, it doesn’t sound like she’ll have much trouble bringing life to the upcoming series.