Alison Sweeney is back for the fourth Loveuary movie, Romance At Hope Ranch. This is a very personal movie that is also the debut of her daughter, Megan Sweeney. In addition, the Days Of Our Lives star gets a little help from two of her Hannah Swensen co-stars, Gabriel Hogan, and Juliana Wimbles.
This is what this new romantic Hallmark movie is about:
Hope Morgan sets out to begin a new chapter of her life—fulfilling her childhood dream of running a ranch in the picturesque town of Ruidoso, New Mexico and reviving the beloved Giddy Up Gala.
In this Mystery and Romance TV Exclusive Interview, the Pie To Die For star shares what it was like starring alongside her daughter and how this changed the mother-daughter relationship.
Also, the writer, producer and actress shared more about the special script her co-star wrote. Most importantly, she shares how personal Romance At Hope Ranch is to her.
Thank you to Ali for taking the time out to talk about this beautiful and romantic movie.
What Is ‘Romance At Hope Ranch’ About?
Alison Sweeney kicked off our interview by sharing what her new Hallmark movie, Romance At Hope Ranch, is about.
Well, it’s a really fun story about a woman who is looking to start a second chapter of her life. So she has a plan too! She’s bought a ranch, and she wants to raise and have horses, This is a kind of a new adventure in her life.
Her daughter’s gone off to college, and she’s looking for, just something real to connect to. She finds this beautiful place in New Mexico that she used to grow up visiting. And now she’s ready to make it her own. It’s been really fun to be a part of.
Alison Sweeney On Her Daughter Megan’s Acting Debut
Now, somebody special is co-starring with you, and that would be your daughter. Tell us about how this happened. This is so great.
“I know. It turned out so fun. I loved the opportunity to get to have Megan on the cast and in the scenes with me. And she did such a great job.”
Why ‘Hope’ Is So Significant To Alison Sweeney
One thing that is important to this new Alison Sweeney movie, Romance At Hope Ranch, is the name of the ranch. Ali shared how significant the name “Hope” is. In turn, this shows how personal this story is to Ali.
This story goes full circle with the name Hope which honors her mother, and grandmother, all the way to her daughter Megan playing her daughter in this movie. In real life, Megan is going away to college next year!
First, she explained that they “had been developing this idea. And obviously it’s loosely based on my passion for horses, my family, my mother’s name.”
Next, the Love & Jane shared the full circle that this new Hallmark movie features.
Her birth name was Hope, and my grandmother’s name, whom I never got to meet, was Hope. And so, you know, we thought this idea of calling it Hope Ranch and my character being named Hope was just such a fun family celebration. And then when we were really developing the idea, the writer Juliana and I, it came around to, like, oh, you know, the character and having a daughter and then the daughter going off to college.
I was like, well, my daughter’s about to go off to college. And everyone immediately stopped what they were doing to say, oh, Ali, it has to be Megan. If Megan wants to be in this, we have to do it.
So this is her acting debut. It is. It is indeed her acting debut.
Did Alison Sweeney Give Her Daughter Megan Advice Before Her First Movie?
Hallmark’s Romance At Hope Ranch is Megan Sweeney’s first movie ever. However, Alison Sweeney did confirm that Megan had done some acting prior to this Hallmark movie. “It is indeed her acting debut.”
Then she added, “Well, I should say, I mean, she’s done some stuff here, you know, just with her school and stuff. So she’s it’s not it’s not it’s not completely out of the blue, but, you know, it’s definitely uncharted territory.”
Next, Ali shared if she had given her daughter any advice. This is when she had to let her daughter know that this is not home life, this is professional life! In this movie, Alison is not only starring in this romcom, but she is also a producer. She had to explain the difference to Megan.
So we had to talk about the difference between, mom advice that, you know, usually you ignore and your producer’s advice, which you actually have to listen to. So, you know, there’s two different categories.
So I was like, in this instance, if you’re going to say yes and do this job, you’ve got to you’ve got to take your producer, your boss’s advice.
And so she did. She was great. She was fun and she listened.
She listened to our director. She totally did such a great job with working with her. I think also she just had good instincts.
Next, she shared that there were time limits for kids. “But she just had such a great energy and such a comfort on set.”
Daughter Megan Made Ali Proud
It is one thing to bring your daughter to work for the day. But it is another when your child is a big part of your work project. It turns out that Alison Sweeney’s daughter Megan, made her mama quite proud. Megan turned out to really be the “life of the party.” The cast loved working with Ali’s daughter. Moreover, that made her so proud.
We shot her scenes first. And when she had to leave, like three people came up to me and say, ‘does she really have to go?’ I’m, ‘Yes, there’s rules about this. She has to leave.’
And she just brought such an energy and enthusiasm. And she she really was like the life of the party in so many ways that people were super bummed when it was time for her to leave. And you can see, she felt the same way.
But it was just it meant so much to me to get that kind of compliment that not only was she good in the movie and a genuinely a wonderful actor, but she just brought a real enthusiasm and positive energy and fun to the sets that everyone noticed. And that really made me feel great. Yeah.
You want that like even just as a producer, you want the actor, the whole crew to feel supported and inspired and having a good time. You want it to be a great place to work. And so when, you know, you cast people that bring that positive energy to the set, you’re thrilled.
And then to find out it’s your you know, it’s your own kid that’s doing it, that’s making everyone have like adding to the positive energy. It’s just it was really fun. Dave and I both were so proud of her.
Gabriel Hogan Brings The Charm In ‘Romance At Hope Ranch’
Hannah Swensen fans have long anticipated Gabriel Hogan and Alison Sweeney’s characters getting together in the Hallmark Mystery. In Romance At Hope Ranch, they finally get to play love interests. I asked what it was like playing love interests in this new romcom.
It was fun and different. And the game was different. You know, he’s been my partner in crime and going through dumpsters in Hannah Swenson for years. That’s just such a different role. And it just speaks to Gabe’s the quality of his work and what a talented actor he is.
That in this situation with this character, he was able to bring all the same charm and fun to this role that you come to know from him. But also to bring such a strong leading man vibe. And he just brought it.
There were a couple scenes: There’s one we shot near the fence that’s broken. And I was like, dang, Gabe, like he’s like all star. He’s just a great guy, a talented actor.
And he really knows what he’s doing. He’s sensational in this movie. Well, he also comes from a talented family.
When it was pointed pointed out, “It’s very similar to your you know, with you working with your daughter. He’s you know, his family is pretty renowned. His parents.”
Ali responded, “Yeah. Really talented actors. And of course, he got the best. Right. His dad is super funny. His mom has such great drama chops. So he got it all.”
Juliana Wimbles Wrote This Movie For Alison Sweeney
Juliana Wimbles wrote Romance At Hope Ranch for Alison Sweeney. Wimbles, who wrote the January Winter Escape movie Love On The Amazon, wrote this especially for Alison. How did this come about? I asked Ali about Juliana’s participation in this new Loveuary movie.
Another colleague, another fun actor I get to work with all the time. She plays Lisa on Hannah Swenson Mysteries. And I’ve known her for 10 years now.
And she’s a talented writer in her own right. And she has done a bunch of movies for Hallmark. And we started just like brainstorming.
And when I first started developing this idea, she was the first person I thought of to bring into the mix to make a really fun, really fun romcom.
‘Romance At Hope Ranch’ Is ‘Real Heart’ ‘Grounded In Reality’
Alison Sweeney put a lot of herself in Romance At Hope Ranch. Does she have any final comments about this upcoming Hallmark Loveuary movie?
The love story in this one, again, I felt was really rooted in. Like true romance, like real heart, you know, it’s… it’s grounded in reality.
And as much fun as it is to sort of play the magic of Christmas movies and stuff, I really enjoy this movie. It’s really fun to write and develop a story that feels like that could be you. That that this romance is, you know, just so close to real life, a relationship that didn’t work out right.
And then, you know, you always wonder, like, ‘Oh, was it me? Was it the time? Was it that stage I was in?’ And if I just given it another chance. So I really like this, the way it sets up of like they they’ve known each other a long time. They go back.
Don’t miss the premiere of Romance At Hope Ranch on Saturday, February 28, at 8 p.m. Eastern on the Hallmark Channel. Stream this new romcom the next day on Hallmark+.
Lastly, be sure to return to Mystery and Romance TV next week for another Exclusive Interview with Alison Sweeney about her thirteenth Hannah Swensen Mystery, Sugar & Vice.
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