Netflix's American hit drama Sweet Magnolias has enthralled fans across the country for two seasons. Viewers love following all the small-town drama of Serenity and the trio of best friends who use margaritas to bond while they face parenting, their love lives and owning a business together.
Maddie Townsend (JoAnna Garcia Swisher), Dana Sue Sullivan (Brooke Elliot) and Helen Decatur (Heather Headley) make up the "Sweet Magnolias," longtime friends who grew up in this town together. Based on novels by Sherryl Woods, the show follows their lives and the lives of their children through love affairs, divorces, high school, miscarriages, death and more.
It's charming, heartwarming, dramatic and relatable, so it's easy to see why fans from across the country have fallen in love with the three "Magnolias" and their small, southern town. The series opens with Maddie trying to manage a messy divorce — amid prying, small-town eyes — from her husband who got one of his coworkers pregnant. Maddie wants to start a new chapter in her life, so the Magnolias decide to renovate an old mansion and transform it into a gym and spa for women.
The first season premiered in May 2020, and quickly gained a loyal following for the show's steamy romances, shocking drama and sweet heart-to-heart moments. Plus, we love the southern accents. The second season was eagerly devoured by its fans when it premiered in February 2022, after a delay because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you're itching to find out how the Magnolias will handle the cliffhangers from the end of season two and how it will change the town, a third season is already in production. We're just as excited to travel back to Serenity (on the silver screen), so here's everything we know about season three.
Production
Filming began only two months after the show was officially renewed for 10 more episodes in May 2022. The Sweet Magnolias Writers' Twitter quickly confirmed the news with a tweet that read, "We're going back to Serenity, y'all! We are so thrilled to share we have a Season 3 of Sweet Magnolias. Can't wait to welcome y'all home."
In July, the show's star, Garcia Swisher, posted on Instagram a photo of her dyed and freshly cut hair to return to Maddie's look. During filming, the cast posted a number of fun behind-the-scenes shots with their co-stars or enjoying gelato from a local shop. If the cast and crew had as much filming as we'll have watching, season three will be the best installment yet.
Series creator Sheryl J. Anderson confirmed filming had wrapped in October 2022 with a tweet that said, "We finished filming Season 3 last night. It's been a joy to spend another season in Serenity, working with, laughing with, and learning from amazing artists in the cast and crew. Our community made something beautiful for you. I'm grateful to them and excited for you to see it!!"
When Can We Watch Season Three?
The new season will be hitting Netflix this summer on July 20. Expect ten episodes of some juicy Serenity drama.
Where Was Season Three Filmed?
Just like the first two seasons, the Sweet Magnolias cast and crew traveled to the quaint town of Covington, Georgia to film the third season. And though the picturesque town of Serenity may be too charming to be real, Covington has been a perfectly bright and beautiful stand-in.
Fans have become just as enraptured with the pleasant suburban backdrop of Sweet Magnolias, falling in love with the white picket fences, historic mansions and adorable houses. And since the show is set in a fictitious southern town, Covington provided the quintessential exterior to bring all that southern charm to the silver screen.
Sometimes referred to as the "Hollywood of the South," the city of Covington's official Instagram has posted a number of times about filming Sweet Magnolias in and around the city.
The exterior of Dane Sue's restaurant, Sullivan's, is an actual restaurant called Mystic Grill that serves southern staples and even has a drink named after Sweet Magnolias. You can also see the exterior of the high school that Dana Sue and Maddie's children attend, the Oakhurst Presbyterian church that doubles as the trio's church as well as the Sweet Magnolias spa all in and around Covington.
Cast and Crew
We know for certain that each member of the iconic Sweet Magnolias trio will reprise their roles as Maddie, Dana Sue and Helen. Their children also traveled back to Serenity for the third season so Carson Rowland, Logan Allen and Annelise Judge are coming back as Tyler Townsend, Kyle Townsend and Annie Sullivan, respectively.
We also can guess there will be no shortage of drama with the trio's love interests. Justin Bruening will return as (former) Coach Cal Maddox, Brandon Quinn is back as Ronnie Sullivan, Dion Johnstone will reprise his role as Erik Whitley and Michael Shenefelt will again take on his role as Ryan Wingate.
Based on the cliffhangers season two left, we can also assume Isaac Downey, played by Chris Medlin, is still in Serenity and that Chris Klein will have a small role as Bill Townsend.
Finally, we know from social media that Jamie Lynn Spears is returning to play Noreen Fitzgerald, Bill's baby mommy and the woman he cheated on Maddie with. Spears posted on Instagram a photo of her shedding her blonde and going brunette once again for her character.
Norman Buckley will also be back in the director's chair and continues to steer the ship as the show's co-executive producer.
In interviews, some of the cast and producers have hinted there may be some new faces in Serenity this season, but no new cast members have been confirmed yet. We'll have to stay tuned!
What Will Happen in Season Three?
This section contains spoilers from seasons one and two.
The season two finale delivered one shocking twist after another, leaving Sweet Magnolias fans craving answers and a third season. And since there are still at least a few months before we get any answers, here's a recap of where we left off in Serenity.
After inheriting a massive fortune from Ms. Francis — for reasons we haven't discovered yet — Dana Sue and her family are facing hostility from a mysterious woman. She accosted Dana Sue's daughter, Annie, at Ms. Francis's wake and was caught on camera slashing her tires. When the trio of Magnolias watched the video, they all recognized her immediately and said, "She's back."
Viewers, of course, have no idea who is back and what she might be after. In an interview with TVLine, Anderson said many of the questions from season two will be answered in the new episodes, including about the mystery woman.
"I'll just say that she has a past in common with our ladies and other people in town," Anderson said. "She's been away for a while, but she's come back with an agenda. She's come home to settle a score."
Dana Sue has also been working to fix her relationship with Ronnie, her on-and-off-again husband. He cheated on her before the show started and finally returned to Serenity late in season one. His character has had a redemptive arc over season two and was finally given permission to return back to the family home. In season three, will their reunion last? Or will he return to his previous ways and hurt both Dana Sue and Annie again?
Plus, we finally learned who Issac's biological parents are after searching for two seasons. Surprisingly, the town's newspaper editor Peggy (Brittany L. Smith) admitted to having a one-night stand in high school with Bill Townsend! Bill's initial reaction to that news did not leave us feeling all warm and fuzzy. Will Bill and Isaac be able to have any sort of relationship? And how will Bill react to Isaac and Noreen getting really close?
Additionally, Helen's ex-boyfriend proposed to her out of the blue! Ryan and Helen rekindled their young love in season one but broke up because Ryan didn't want children. But there's been a spark between Helen and her new love, Erik. Will she accept Ryan's proposal? Or will Helen start a new chance at love and a family with Erik?
Finally, we are dying to know what happened to former MLB star Cal after he was carted off in handcuffs for punching a fan in the face at Sullivan's. His anger management issues leaked through his cool exterior in the second season, especially once he lost his job as the high school baseball coach. Will Maddie be able to forgive him and help him face his issues?
We'll have to tune in to find out! Stream the entire series on Netflix before the Season 3 premiere in July.
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