Andie MacDowell is returning to Hallmark.
Per Deadline, the onetime Cedar Cove star has joined the cast of The Way Home.
The series is the cabler’s first series to get a formal pickup since 2016.
MacDowell is best known to Hallmark audiences for her work on Cedar Cove (2013-2015), the network’s first original scripted series.
She will play Del, the “matriarch of the Landry family and a pillar of the close-knit community of her small, Canadian farm town,” according to Deadline’s character breakdown.
Del and her daughter, Kat, have been estranged from each other following harrowing events that changed their family forever and prompted Kat to move away.
“When Kat unexpectedly returns many years later with her teenage daughter whom Del has never met, the three generations of women embark on an enlightening journey to find their way back to each other and learn important lessons about their family’s past,” the breakdown continues.
“We’ve found our perfect Del Landry in Andie MacDowell,” said Lisa Hamilton Daly, Executive Vice President, Programming, Crown Media Family Networks.
“It was crucial to cast someone with the ability to handle the nuances and depth of the role and we can’t wait to see her bring Del to life.”
“Our viewers loved Andie MacDowell when she starred in Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove, our first original primetime series,” added Laurie Ferneau, Senior Vice President, Development, Crown Media Family Networks.
“We couldn’t be happier to welcome her home to Hallmark Channel and we know our fans will fall in love with her all over again.”
There will undoubtedly be a lot of interest in the project.
It seemed like Hallmark was looking to exit the scripted original series space for a long time, with Good Witch and Chesapeake Shores ending their runs.
There was also some unrest for fans of When Calls the Heart when the cabler announced a renewal later than usual.
Earlier this month, Hallmark also placed a series order for the new rodeo-themed family drama, Ride.
“Ride is a multigenerational family ensemble following the lives of the Murrays, part of a rodeo dynasty going back a generation, as they struggle to keep their beloved ranch afloat,” according to the logline.
“After a tragic loss, each character embarks on an empowering journey of transformation and self-discovery while also uncovering a twisted web of secrets, threatening to tear the family and their small Colorado town apart at the seams.”
“Emotions run high and clashes are common in the complicated Murray clan, but they are a tight-knit group who don’t give up easily.”
“And the three strong women of the family – widowed rodeo queen Missy, matriarch Isabel, and former teen run-away Valeria – resolve to stand strong against all challenges and save their land, come what may.”
What are your thoughts on MacDowell’s comeback to Hallmark?
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
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