Sweet Magnolias Season 5 is the most romantic movie
Sweet Magnolias is raising the bar for romance when the Netflix show finally returns for its fifth season.
During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly while promoting Hallmark’s Providence Falls, JoAnna García Swisher says the next installment has “the most romance” of Sweet Magnolias so far.
“It’s all over the board. It’s a roller coaster, as always, but I think this is the first season in a really long time that fans are going to get those butterflies again,” Swisher, 45, teased. “There are some fresh faces that are joining our cast in really unique and fun ways. The Magnolias are seeing new possibilities on the horizon that are only going to expand our world.”
Swisher went on to confirm that “nobody dies” in Season 5, after Chris Klein’s controversial character Bill was previously killed off. Instead, viewers will see the show return to its roots.
“This season is so exciting. We’ve been all over the place. It’s taking us a little bit longer to finish a season because we’ve had the opportunity to travel,” Swisher teased to us last month about the show’s long-awaited return. “We were actually filming on a baseball field last night, and I was looking around, and we have a lot of new actors. There are these new faces in Serenity, South Carolina, which is so exciting for me.”
The actress, who has played Maddie since Season 1, said she’s looking forward to enjoying some new opportunities behind the scenes, adding, “I want to direct two episodes this year and I’m preparing for that right now. I’ve got these amazing moments with heart and soul for our show — our Magnolias — and the kids on our show. But this season feels so new, fresh and energetic. Our world is getting a little bigger.”
Based on the novels by Sheryl Woods, Sweet Magnolias follows three women who have been best friends since childhood as they navigate their romantic lives, careers, and families. In addition to Swisher, the show stars Brooke Elliott, Heather Headley, Logan Allen, Anneliese Judge, Carson Rowland, Justin Bruning, Jamie Lynn Spears, and more.
In Season 4, Sweet Magnolias surprised us when Maddie decided to move to New York for a job. Swisher recalled the mixed reaction — and hinted at how it would affect the show’s future.
“Someone mentioned something about people who weren’t happy that Maddie took a job in New York City. And I’m like, ‘Okay, let’s look at that. Let’s dive into that because it’s going to help me as I navigate Maddie in Season 5,’” she noted.
“It’s really just about expanding and contracting. That’s what life is. Just because we’ve got a man or we have kids at home, we’re still important living, breathing people. Our dreams don’t end when we just get to one destination.”
Swisher isn’t just working on the upcoming season of Sweet Magnolias — she’s also an executive producer on Hallmark’s three-part Providence Falls film series, starring Katie Stevens, Lachlan Quarmby, and Evan Roderick, based on the book series by Jude Devereux set in 1844 Ireland.
“We filmed in order and we knew where we were going to end up,” she told us. “We’re all bubbling over with ways to continue these stories.”
Providence Falls returns to Lifetime with Providence Falls: Thief of Fate on Saturday, Aug. 9 and Providence Falls: Thief of Fate on Saturday, Aug. 16, both premiering at 8 p.m. ET.
