Pop-Culturalist.com

Andie MacDowell and Sadie Laflamme-Snow are two of the brilliant actors behind the groundbreaking, multigenerational family drama, Hallmark series, The Way Home.

The Way Home tells the story of three generations of women— Kat Landry (Chyler Leigh), her teen Alice (Sadie Laflamme-Snow) and Kat’s mother Del (Andie MacDowell)—who are all strong, willful and independent. More than twenty years prior, life-changing events prompted Kat to move away from her small, Canadian farm town and she remains estranged from Del to this day. At a crossroads in her life, Kat moves back with Alice to her family’s farm though the reunion isn’t what Kat envisioned. When Alice and Kat unwittingly discover the ability to travel between the past and present, mother and daughter are determined to unearth the truth around the earlier tragedies as they try to change the course of events. Kat’s childhood friend Elliot (Evan Williams) is there for them in both eras as they navigate their journeys across time, helping the three women find their way back to each other.

Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with Andie and Sadie about what’s ahead for each of their characters in Season 2 of The Way Home, exploring these complex and strong female characters and dynamics, and more. Plus, they share their favorite moments from Season 1.

PC: Andie, there’s a beautiful moment at the end of Episode 110 where Del acknowledges that because of her own grief she wasn’t there for Kat and Alice in the ways that she wanted to. You brought so much depth and nuance to this character and her journey. As an actress, how did you create the space for yourself to tackle that vulnerability? How does that foundation from Season 1 allow Del to open up further in Season 2? Andie: You have this whole journey to go through to figure out what this person feels inside. She’s lost her son and her husband. You have to imagine how lonely her existence must be, even if you try to fill your life up with your neighbors and your town; the loss of family is extreme for Del. So having her daughter back and trying to make amends with her is a huge part of her life’s journey, and getting her granddaughter finally is a huge part of filling a void that’s very painful. Even though I think she pretends that everything’s okay and she fights really hard for everything that she has, it’s a very lonely existence.

PC: Sadie, so much of Alice’s journey in Season 1 is about finding her roots and place in the world, which you brought so much depth to. Because of that growth, she’s able to show up for her mother and grandmother in new ways in Season 2. Who are the women in your own life who have shown up for you in a similar way? Did you channel any of them into your performances and these dynamics?
Sadie: Yeah. A mother-daughter story is really important to me because of the relationship that I have with my own mother. I don’t call her my mother; I call her my mom and my grandmother as well. So I feel it’s a huge gift and a privilege to explore a story that represents the complexity of those relationships and how beautiful it is to know those women in your life and to have them in your life.

We see that in Del’s story when she’s missing that in her life. She doesn’t have her daughter or granddaughter. In Season 2, we see how they’ve grown together and how they depend on one another and how they couldn’t be without each other. You think of what that must have felt like for Del and even for Alice to know that there’s this warm family somewhere that she couldn’t know because of what happened with her mom and grandmother.

Season 2 really goes in that direction. We try and get to the bottom of what happened, why wouldn’t Kat ever come home, even though she went through all of these things with her mom by her side, what made her leave forever and not come back until she received that letter telling her to come home. That’s where we’re headed.

Andie: It’s like finding the pieces of the puzzle.

Sadie: Exactly.

Andie: And putting it together.

PC: Andie, Del is somebody who’s always there for her community, which we’ll dive deeper into in Season 2. Who were the people in your own life who’ve shaped the storyteller that you are today?
Andie: Oh, wow. I think life experiences teach you so much as an actor. It’s like having a toolbox and kit that you can rely on, knowing what it is to be my age, knowing what it is like to have needs, wants, and desires. One of the beauties about being my age now is understanding and having empathy for other women who are like me and wanting to play a character that gives them pride and dignity to be an older woman.

I’m really impressed with Hallmark and these writers for allowing me to have such dignity as a woman at 65. There are great things that are going to happen in Season 2 for my character that I’m really proud that Hallmark is doing and really proud of these writers for giving me the opportunity to be like this for myself and for other women to have those images of what it is to be an older woman and still be very vital.

PC: Sadie, one of the relationships that’s so pivotal for Alice is her friendship with Elliot in the past and present. Given the aftermath of everything that’s happened in Season 1, that friendship and mentorship are strained heading into the new season, and each has to take accountability for their own part in that. How did that collaboration with Evan [Williams] and David [Webster] differ this season given where all these characters are? How does that help Alice with her own development as a character?
Sadie: We see Elliot make the decision to leave behind this relationship he’s worked for with Kat and prioritize himself after Alice came to him as a teenager and prophesied what the rest of his life would look like and it didn’t quite look like what he thought it was going to be. I think he felt really trapped.

As much as he tries, I’m not sure he was able to separate how that changed the course of his life and how hard that was on him. Alice really needs to deal with the responsibility that she has to him to be a good friend to him because he’s done so much to support her in her time traveling, and take ownership of how hard that was on him going through everything with Jacob, losing Colton, and losing Kat because she ultimately leaves Port Haven. We don’t really know what that ending really looked like for them. She really has to fight for the relationship in a way that in Season 1 she may have taken for granted a bit. He challenges her and pushes her to be there for him in the way that he’s been there for her.

PC: It’s such a testament to the writing and the performances across the board that this is a show that you can watch over and over again and discover new things, which is so exciting for audience members, but I also imagine it’s exciting for both of you as storytellers. What was the scene or episode in Season 1 that you read that you were excited to jump into and why?
Sadie: I think it was Episode 7 where we all go to the New Year’s party and it’s after the fallout of Jacob being missing for some time. We see Del and Colton’s relationship on the rock and Alice shows up and Teen Kat has decided, “Let’s just go to a party, shake it off, and try and have a good night.” We start watching her get out of control. We see that this grief is really weighing on her, even though she’s keeping up this brave face. It’s during the countdown and at midnight where she falls to the ground and says, “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t be here without my brother. It’s all my fault.” Alice really gets to be there for her. That was a huge moment for Alex Hook, who plays Teen Kat, and it gave me chills on the page and it gave me chills on the day watching her go through that and being there for her as Alice. I’ll always remember that scene as a moment of growth where Alice really shows how much that year of her life took out of her as a person and how hard it was on her. I saw Teen Kat as a grown-up for the first time. Alice starts making those connections to why her mom is the way that she is in present day. I’ll never forget filming that scene and it stays with me.

Andie: I didn’t realize it when I read it, but I did realize how much I’d love it until I actually saw it. I did realize it when I was shooting it; I was like, “Oh, this is good.” It was in Episode 9 where my husband comes back to me and you physically see him. You don’t know if he’s there or if it’s in my character’s head. But you see him and you see us together, me as an older woman, and my husband who’s been dead and we dance together. It was so tender because you could see the void. This woman who’s so lonely, who’s lost so much, having tenderness and having someone touch her. I just found that to be a beautiful moment. In fact, I think other people liked it so much as they continue to do it in Season 2 because it was really powerful. I could feel it when I was shooting it, but I didn’t know when I read it. It was only when I was shooting it that I recognized how good it was. So I would probably say that was my favorite scene for my character in Season 1.

Make sure to follow Sadie (Instagram). Season 2 of The Way Home premieres on Sunday, January 21st at 9/8c on Hallmark Channel.