MISTLETOE MURDERS star and executive producer Sarah Drew isn’t leaving all the show’s small-town togetherness on the set.
“I just love this community. It’s such a sweet group of humans,” Drew shared with Movieguide® while discussing the people behind the Christmas mystery series.
The conversation turned from fictional crimes to a much happier subject: the relationships the cast has built away from work. For Drew, that included living near her castmates, visits with a co-star and a temporary home she could open to friends.
“This year, I lived on the side of town that most of the other cast lives on,” she said.
That detail might sound small, but it made room for something familiar to anyone who has tried to squeeze friendship into a busy workweek: actually getting together. Drew described the pleasure of having a co-star close enough for visits on foot, rather than keeping their time together confined to the job.
“So we got to become real-life besties, walking to each other’s houses,” she said, adding, “I hosted a bunch of things at my little Airbnb.”
Related: Sarah Drew Shares These Traits With Her MISTLETOE MURDERS Character
The actress has plenty of experience with a recurring television cast. Hallmark’s biography credits her with nine seasons as Dr. April Kepner on GREY’S ANATOMY, along with her role as Hannah Rogers on EVERWOOD.
On MISTLETOE MURDERS, Drew’s role extends beyond playing Emily Lane: she also executive produces the show. Her character has a considerably more complicated relationship with the people around her than Drew’s description of those off-camera get-togethers suggests.
According to Hallmark’s official series description, Emily runs a Christmas shop in Fletcher’s Grove while carrying secrets from her past. When murders disrupt her new hometown, she puts skills from her former life to work solving them.
Actor Peter Mooney plays Detective Sam Wilner, whose connection with Emily comes with questions about who she really is. In its third-season announcement, Hallmark describes Sam discovering that Emily herself is the bigger mystery as they work together.
Season 2 ended on a cliffhanger that left Emily and Sam facing higher stakes heading into their next chapter. The third season returns as part of Hallmark’s COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS event, bringing the mystery back alongside the network’s annual holiday programming.
That setup gives the series two relationships to keep track of: the developing connection between Emily and Sam, and Emily’s place in the community she has joined. Drew’s account offers a welcome contrast to all that guardedness: away from the fictional investigations, she described friendship in the ordinary language of nearby houses and having people over.
“We laugh so much. We enjoy being around each other so much,” Drew told Movieguide®.
Season 3 premieres Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on Hallmark Channel. Hallmark’s official first-look page also confirms next-day streaming on Hallmark+.
Viewers can catch up with the series on Hallmark+ before returning to Fletcher’s Grove. For Drew, the people who bring that fictional town to life already give her a reason to enjoy being back.
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