JoAnna Garcia Swisher has graced our TV screens for quite a while now, but even more people became fans of the actress after watching her last May in the freshman Netflix hit, Sweet Magnolias. The romantic small town drama has been renewed for Season 2, but it is, unfortunately, taking a while for production to gear up. Luckily, for those who want to be able to see more of the star while they wait, JoAnna Garcia Swisher is doing a Hallmark movie with Downton Abbey's Allen Leech to help tide us all over.
This is certainly great news for those of us who have been missing the change to watch JoAnna Garcia Swisher get more lovely dovey time on screen, not to mention those who are waiting on word about that second Downton Abbey movie. Garcia Swisher and Allen Leech will now be starring in Hallmark Channel's As Luck Would Have It, which is the first project for both of them with the romance-leaning network. The film will debut as part of Hallmark's annual Spring Fling event, which will begin in late March.
As Luck Would Have It will feature JoAnna Garcia Swisher's Lindsey as she heads to Ireland in order to try and purchase property which she believes will be perfect for a new resort. But, in order to prove how invested she is in the town and the people who live there, she decides to enter the local matchmaking festival in an effort to win over a handsome man in town (Leech).
I'm not exactly an expert on romantic plotlines, but I am an expert on Hallmark romances, and something tells me that Allen Leech's character will be less than pleased about Lindsey trying to turn any portion of his town into a resort. I am getting some very strong enemies-to-lovers vibes from As Luck Would Have It, and that's just as perfect of a setup as could be for a fish out of water story such as this. And, that's something that Leech, who plays former Crawley chauffeur turned family member and estate manager, Tom Branson, in Downton Abbey, knows a thing or two about.
Garcia Swisher does not have to deal with winning over any locals at all when it comes to her work as Maddie Townsend on Sweet Magnolias. Not only is Maddie a life-long resident of the show's (fictional) Serenity, South Carolina, but she's also one of the darlings of the small community, especially since her cheating husband left her and their kids to start a life with his pregnant (and much younger) girlfriend, and Maddie has started a romance with her son's baseball coach.
The townsfolk may currently be doing a lot of gossiping about Maddie's personal life, but they still love her plenty. And, the many fans who turned out for Sweet Magnolias Season 1 also loved Maddie and her besties, Helen and Dana Sue, as well. So, it's great to have more of JoAnna Garcia Swisher on our screens until we can finally enjoy more of the antics in that small town, and get answers to those big cliffhangers, whenever Season 2 rolls around.
Hallmark will debut As Luck Would Have It on Saturday, April 10, at 9 p.m. EST. But the network's Spring Fling lineup begins on March 20, and runs through April 17. For more to watch in the coming weeks, check out our guide to early 2021 TV!
