Sweet Magnolias is headed again to Serenity — and the solid gave Us a glimpse at what to anticipate from their characters in season 3.
“We’re depicting real life. We see that journey,” Justin Bruening, 43, who performs Cal Maddox on the Netflix sequence, completely advised Us Weekly. “People are changing, they’re evolving. Some for the better, some for the worse, some in between but we’re all [changing].”
Based on the bestselling books of the identical identify by Sherryl Woods, Sweet Magnolias turned an prompt hit after it premiered in May 2020. The romantic drama facilities round childhood greatest mates Maddie Townsend (JoAnna Garcia Swisher), Helen Decatur (Heather Headley) and Dana Sue Sullivan (Brooke Elliot) as their lasting bond guides them by way of parenthood, romance and maturity in their small South Carolina city.
Season 2 answered many followers’ burning questions earlier than dropping much more bombshell surprises. Season 3, in the meantime, premieres on Thursday, July 20, and can decide up on the heels of season 2’s largest cliffhangers. While Maddie focuses her consideration on Cal after his blowout struggle at Dana Sue’s restaurant — and helps oldest son Ty (Carson Rowland) discover his path – Helen faces an enormous resolution about her romantic life. Dana Sue, in the meantime, will proceed to work on her relationships together with her beforehand estranged husband, Ronnie (Brandon Quinn), and their daughter, Annie (Anneliese Judge).
Despite any challenges thrown their approach, friendship and margarita evening will stay the utmost precedence for the Magnolias — and the actresses who play them.
“[Margarita nights are] probably our favorite scenes, or at least my favorite scenes,” Garcia Swisher, 43, advised Us. “We have a lot of fun. The first margarita night [in season 1] for me was very, very important and monumental. I looked at [our director] Norman Buckley and I said, ‘If we can capture what just went on here, I think we have a really special show on our hands.’”
Keep scrolling for a sneak peek at what to anticipate from Sweet Magnolias season 3:
JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Maddie Townsend)
Garcia Swisher advised Us that season 3 begins with a “bang” for her character as she — and the opposite Magnolias — try to “pick up the pieces” from Cal’s altercation with Stu on the season 2 finale.
“I think it sets off a real tone for her this season of, like, a lot of uncertainty, but a lot of trying to figure things out and how that applies to every single relationship in her life — including the Magnolias,” she hinted, noting that whereas “this season, you’re going to see a lot of self-realization, a lot of uncertainty” for Maddie, her story finally “ends in a very hopeful place.”
Heather Headley (Helen Decatur)
While season 2 ended with Ryan (Michael Shenefelt) proposing to Helen, Headley, 48, revealed that season 3 is all about her character determining what comes subsequent.
“Helen has to make some choices along the way. And I think this season is all about the choice she makes, that journey that she goes through with the choice and how that kind of blows up a little bit,” she stated. “And how that not only just blows up in her personal and romantic life, but how that had consequences in the girls’ lives.”
Headley famous that season 3 will push Helen towards “her mom (played by legendary Janet Hubert) and her family,” giving viewers “a little bit” extra perception into her household and the place she comes from — and finish with Helen centered on “loving” and “recommitting” to the neighborhood of Serenity.
“And then whatever happens after that happens,” she teased. “We’ll see. So I think that’s where she is. She starts with a question mark and, and ends [with a] period.”
Brooke Elliot (Dana Sue Sullivan)
Elliot, 48, hinted that season 3 will carry loads of completely different points of Dana Sue’s persona to the forefront as she continues to work with Ronnie on their relationship. The husband-wife duo has change into a fan-favorite romance on the sequence, one thing Elliot attributes to each “being a team” with Quinn, 45, and “the magic of the universe” placing them onscreen collectively.
“Then there are things that happen in the season that present challenges in that way of whether [Ronnie and Dana Sue] can [make it] or not. And I think that’s really fun,” she continued, noting that Quinn is a “real gift” to work with. “They’ve got some situations that present difficulty from the past coming back to the current moment. But I think one of the best things that I really love for Dana Sue this season is that you get other colors of her, you get other sides of her, you get some flirtiness, you get some fun, you get some playful. And I think for the audience, it’s gonna be really fun as they get to know a fuller Dana Sue. A more complete, understanding of who she is and where she’s going.”
Justin Bruening (Cal Maddox)
Season 2 of Sweet Magnolias left Cal in the wake of his showdown with Stu at Sullivan’s — and Bruening advised Us that issues will probably be an uphill battle for the character from there.
“I think you can expect some very interesting things from Cal. I think he’s not gonna be the same Cal that we saw last season. He’s definitely trying to find himself,” he shared. “I would say that he’s let his demons out. They’ve haunted him for a long time. I used to say that he came to Serenity for some reason that I never really knew, but I always speculated that he was running from something and hiding from something. And those demons that he was hiding from found his forwarding address and showed up at his doorstep.”
Bruening added that Cal will probably be “forced to deal with his past” and “all of the things that he was running from” which is “a lot” for him to “handle all at once.”
He continued: “He definitely let something out that had been bottled inside that had been locked away. And it scares him. And there are other reasons that he’s scared of it too, that we will discover in this upcoming season. The first two seasons we sort of unloaded Maddie’s baggage, her suitcases and now we get to unload Cal’s — because he’s got a whole duffle bag of stuff that he’s just been keeping in his closet.”
Carson Rowland (Ty Townsend)
Rowland, 25, advised Us that Ty’s story is essentially about “growth” this season — one thing the actor stated turned “pretty personal” to him whereas filming — and he hopes audiences will have the ability to relate to the coming-of-age story line.
“Ty’s story this season and even last season specifically, is all about growth. He’s a child kind of transitioning into a man and figuring out where he needs to go,” he defined. “It’s really interesting to see this kid kind of figure himself out and like kind of gain his sea legs with the world and trying to recuperate from losing baseball and going to college. And that’s a main plot through this season, him trying to figure out what he loves and what he’s passionate about.”
Plans for Ty’s romantic future stay to be seen — however Rowland has an thought of why his character’s blurry friendship — and typically romantic — dynamic with Annie (Judge) is such a favourite amongst viewers.
“It’s this like star-crossed lovers effect, right? They grew up together and Annie has feelings for Ty and Ty doesn’t see her,” he stated. “And then it switches in season 2, and then what happens in season 3? Well, I guess we’ll have to figure it out and watch, but it’s this dynamic of friendship, of knowing this person so deeply as a friend and then becoming something more together is so sweet.”
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Sweet Magnolias season 3 begins streaming on Netflix Thursday, July 20.
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