Pop-Culturalist.com

As a versatile storyteller, Katherine Barrell has undoubtedly left her mark in the entertainment industry. Whether she’s captivating audiences through her acting, producing, writing, or directing, Katherine’s career has been on a meteoric rise. She is best known for delivering transformative performances in projects that tackle timely narratives, including Wynonna Earp, Workin’ Moms, and Good Witch. Next, she’ll grace the screen in the leading role of Hallmark’s Shifting Gears.

Motor City mechanic Jess Barro (Katherine Barrell) and her father Ray (James Burke) run their family-owned automotive garage but money’s getting tight thanks to competition from a big auto repair shop chain in town. Her passion is auto restoration and when Jess gets the chance to compete on an auto restoration show, she reluctantly agrees as the prize money would go a long way toward keeping their shop afloat. She’s shocked to discover one of the competitors is Luke (Tyler Hynes), her ex-boyfriend and the son of her dad’s former business partner who cut him out, leading Jess to break things off with Luke.

The show’s participants face off in a series of increasingly difficult challenges to showcase their personal style leading to the final round of repainting a classic car. As the competition revs up, Jess and Luke’s personal rivalry becomes a big hit with the audience and producers alike. After a few misfires, they work through their former relationship and start to bond again over their shared love of classic cars. As they speed toward the finish line, Luke has a disastrous painting mishap that threatens to ruin Jess’ chances of winning. And when she learns his dad plans to buy her family’s garage, she suspects the painting disaster was sabotage rather than an accident. Will their relationship break down again and be beyond repair, or will they be able to restore it and jump start their romance once again?

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Katherine about Shifting Gears, the mentors in her life who have shaped her trajectory as a storyteller, throwing convention out the window, stepping outside of her comfort zone, and more. Plus, we chatted about the upcoming Wynonna Earp movie.

PC: You’ve done it all throughout your career. What was it about Shifting Gears and this character in particular that resonated with you?
Katherine: The thing that I loved the most is that it’s a love story that’s really more about these two characters finding themselves and then realizing that they needed each other to be the best versions of themselves. The other brought out the best version of themselves. It’s an unconventional romance in that way, and that’s what I really liked. The main focus wasn’t necessarily about the romance, but it was inherently romantic because it’s so grounded and real. I love that about it.

It was so much more interesting to me to tell a story about people who are exes, people who had grown up together, people who have a lot of history and a complicated past than maybe people who have met for the first time and everything is rosy and great. This was more complicated and it felt a lot more grounded because of it.

PC: Your character is making her mark in a male-dominated industry and paving the way for other women, which will resonate with so many viewers. What did you learn from playing Jess? What do you hope others take away from her inspiring journey?
Katherine: It’s no coincidence that this movie is part of Hallmark’s Make Her Mark program and Crystal [Lowe]’s directorial debut. The program is doing amazing things for breaking down barriers and helping get more females behind the camera, especially at Hallmark, where we have such a female audience base.

This movie explores legacy and the pressures that come with having to live up to something or someone. In both Jess and Luke’s case, it’s their fathers, but also their grandfathers, and these family businesses that have gone through generations.

What I learned from Jess is that there are ways to exist within a legacy and live up to it, whether it’s family legacy or the reputation that you’ve built throughout your career. There are ways to have yourself show up in that too so you’re not just inheriting something from somebody else. It’s about finding who you are within that; otherwise, it will never feel genuine to you. We see that with both Luke and Jess.

PC: Jess also has such a beautiful journey in the film about finding strength in vulnerability and stepping outside of her comfort zone. You brought so much depth to that. As an actress, how did you create the space for yourself to tackle that emotional arc, particularly when she’s discussing the loss of her mother?
Katherine: The script was really, really well-written, and Crystal’s direction was invaluable. Working with a director who is also an actor and who understands the nuances of working with actors is incredibly helpful. There’s always a delicate balance in movies because you want to make the emotions feel grounded and authentic in the moment, without overwhelming the character.

They need to be in a place where they’re ready to keep moving forward. The pain they’re experiencing is still very real and present, but it’s also something they’re actively working through and managing.

Having Crystal to collaborate with and bounce ideas off of, and ensuring that the storyline felt authentic yet empowering for Jess, was crucial. It was about allowing the character’s pain to drive her growth rather than hold her back. That dynamic was really important.

PC: Similar to Crystal, you’re also a multifaceted storyteller. How have your experiences behind the camera impacted the ways that you now approach your work on screen, and vice versa?
Katherine: Working as a writer and director has made me want to show up that much more fully and that much more prepared as an actor because I know how hard it is. I always knew, but it really does take doing it to really have it sink in. With directing, everything is your problem, even if it’s not your fault.

As an actor, it makes me want to show up even more for these directors and give them everything they need and be really collaborative, open, and conscious of the energy that I bring on set every day. Because the director is managing so many people and so many different personalities at the same time, and it can often be a really lonely and isolating job.

One of the things we don’t talk about with directing a lot is that you’re kind of alone in a vacuum. You’re your own team of one. You have all the people who are helping you and working with you, but you are your own creative funnel and that can be overwhelming and isolating at times. I just want to be the director’s ally and be like, “I’m here for you. What can we do to make this better? How do we do it together?” It’s propelled me to work harder as an actor, show up more prepared, show up with more ideas, offer more, and really bring good energy because that person is always having a hard day, pretty much always. [laughs]

PC: That’s such an incredible insight. Jess also has this belief that the best ideas come when you throw convention out the window and just go for it. What’s been the moment in your own career where you’ve done something similar?
Katherine: I recently had an opportunity to co-write and co-direct with a very good friend of mine, Melanie Scrofano. It’s a movie for Tubi. We got our idea greenlit in June and our script was due in September. We went to camera in December. We had never written a feature script before, either of us. It was very new territory for us, and we had never co-directed before. We really didn’t have time to overthink.

We had no time to second-guess, to dwell, and it was the greatest blessing of that project. It is the fact that we didn’t have time to doubt ourselves. We had to believe in ourselves and throw convention out of the window because the train had left the station and we were on it.

That was one of the greatest blessings of my career. The lack of time didn’t allow me to doubt myself. What a great learning lesson that sometimes your blind naivety is actually the most gracious gift that you can ask for as a creator, as anyone who’s attempting something new because the more you know, the more fear is present.

PC: There’s this really standout moment in the film where Jess talks about how her favorite memories have a connection to the different cars in her life. When you look back at this filming experience, what is the moment that will stand out for you?
Katherine: One of the most beautiful moments of this experience was when I got to be on set with my husband, who plays Wayne Larouche, the host of the Classic Car Show, and our two-and-a-half-year-old son got to be there with us. My parents were also there. It was a real “bring the circus, bring the family” kind of moment. It’s really special when you get to have your family on set. Often times, I’m away from my family for a month or two when I’m working, so having them there, while it does come with its challenges living with your whole family in a hotel, is such a beautiful memory.

I was also pregnant when we were filming this, so it was really big for our whole family. It was a special one. It’s definitely one we will look back on as a family and as a marker of time. It’s a true moment in our lives.

PC: This project is part of Hallmark’s Make Her Mark mentorship program. Who are the mentors in your own life who have shaped the storyteller that you are today?
Katherine: That’s such a great question. It makes me almost emotional. Oh, my gosh. I’ve had so many amazing people in my life who have tough-loved me through a lot of self-doubt. The first person that’s coming to mind is a man named Reiner Nowak, who will probably never see this or know this movie is coming out, but he was my high school drama teacher. He was unapologetically himself as a queer man working in the Catholic school board system, which in and of itself is a very complex position to be in. I learned so much about being unapologetically yourself and being brave in your knowledge of yourself through him, but he was also the one who cast me in things that I didn’t think I could do.

I remember he cast me in this really big role, and I went to him and said, “I don’t know if I can do this. I’m feeling a lot of pressure.” He said, “Well, you better figure it out.” He instilled in me this no-nonsense approach of tough love that I really needed. I carried that throughout my career. Always say yes before you feel 100% ready because you’ll never feel 100% ready. Be open to the miracles that can happen through stepping outside of your comfort zone. It ties beautifully back with Shifting Gears and Jess. She doesn’t want to be on a TV show. She hates being in front of the camera, but she gets there out of necessity. The really beautiful things happen when you are pushed outside of your comfort zone and not given an opportunity to back away or let fear get in.

That’s what Mr. Nowak taught me. He’s the first person that comes to mind. But I’ve had so many people believe in me, so many female directors pushed me to start directing. I have a fantastic team at Vortex that I’ve done three movies with and gave me my first acting gig. The executive who gave us Click Bait with Tubi. There are so many people who have taken a chance on me and believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself fully. They’ve been huge, and we all need those people. I hope I can be that person for others in their careers too.

PC: Outside of this project, it was also recently announced that we’re getting a Wynonna Earp movie. Is there anything that you can tease about that?
Katherine: I really can’t. My lips have been so tightly sealed on that. Well, I have my red hair. I just got back last week. Everything has been filmed. We’re so excited for that fan base to see it. It’s such a love letter to the Earpers, the story, the show, and the characters. It felt like we never left.

It’s been two and a half years since we finished shooting that series, but it felt like it had been a hiatus and we were back after a few months. That speaks to the beauty of the story that our showrunner Emily [Andras] has written and how true it is to the characters because it felt like putting on an old show, but in the best, most comforting way.

To keep up with Katherine, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Shifting Gears premieres on March 23rd at 8/7c on Hallmark.