Get a pitcher of margaritas ready, because it’s almost time for Sweet Magnolias Season 3. The series, about three best friends living in a tight-knit Southern town, heads back to Netflix on July 20.
Newly divorced Maddie (JoAnna Garcia Swisher), lawyer Helen (Heather Headley) and chef Dana Sue (Brooke Elliott) have been best friends since they were children growing up in Serenity, South Carolina. Now as adults, the trio are there for each other as they juggle romantic relationships, family and careers (and dodging the town busybodies while they’re at it).
Want to catch up before Season 3 premieres? Read on for everything you need to know about Sweet Magnolias, including what happened in Seasons 1 and 2.
When is the premiere date for Sweet Magnolias Season 3?
You’ll be able to hang out with all your friends in Serenity beginning July 20, when all 10 hourlong episodes of Season 3 debut.
Who’s in the Sweet Magnolias cast?
In addition to the three women, there’s Maddie’s no-good ex, Bill (Chris Klein); Kyle (Logan Allen), Maddie and Bill’s baseball superstar oldest son; Ty (Carson Rowland), their theater-loving middle son; Katie (Bianca Berry Tarantino), their youngest child and only daughter; Annie (Anneliese Judge), Dana Sue’s photographer daughter; Cal Maddox (Justin Bruening), Kyle’s ex-pro baseball coach; and Noreen (Jamie Lynn Spears), Bill’s pregnant mistress. Other town characters include Isaac (Chris Medlin), one of Dana Sue’s employees who comes to Serenity searching for his birth mother, and Erik (Dion Johnstone), Dana Sue’s sous chef who strikes up a friendship with Helen.
Is Sweet Magnolias based on a book?
Prolific romance and mystery novelist Sherryl Woods — whose Chesapeake Shores books were turned into a Hallmark Channel TV series — wrote the 11 (and counting!) Sweet Magnolias books that serve as inspiration for the show and were shepherded to the screen by executive producer Sheryl J. Anderson.
What happens in Sweet Magnolias Season 1?
The women team up and open a spa, which Maddie manages as Helen continues to practice law and Dana Sue runs her restaurant/town watering hole, Sullivan’s. In the romance realm, Maddie strikes up a relationship with her son’s handsome former MLB pro baseball coach, Cal, though they have a major fight before the season ends. Dana Sue, meanwhile, summons her estranged husband, Ronnie (Brandon Quinn), home so they can officially divorce — but Ronnie wants to move back in instead. She also reconnects with her old fling and silent business partner, Micah (Marland Burke), and grows close with hot farmer Jeremy (Chase Anderson).
Helen finally breaks up with her longtime, on-and-off boyfriend Ryan (Michael Shenefelt) because she wants children and he doesn’t, and develops a connection to Erik. Noreen and Bill break up, and Bill begs Maddie to take him back.
The younger generation has its own romantic woes, too: Annie has a crush on Ty but Kyle has a crush on Annie, and it all ends very badly in a dramatic post-prom party that leads to a massive accident. Kyle is pulled out of the car unconscious, but he has a passenger in the car. Who could it be?
How did Sweet Magnolias Season 2 end?
First things first: Kyle’s fine, and so is his passenger, Nellie (Simone Lockhart). But the accident continues to have repercussions throughout the season, including the fact that Kyle’s now sidelined from sports because he tore his ACL. Isaac discovers that his birth mother is the Serenity newspaper editor, Peggy Martin (Brittany L. Smith), and she informs him that his birth father is none other than Bill Townsend. Meanwhile, Noreen welcomes a little girl and reconciles with Maddie.
The Magnolias deal with a zoning issue related to the spa, which leads them to start a petition to recall the mayor. Cal’s past anger issues get him fired by the school board and later arrested after a brawl at Sullivan’s. Dana Sue officially gets back together with Ronnie. Helen suffers a miscarriage and is torn between starting a real relationship with Erik or reuniting with her ex, Ryan, who proposes. And finally, a mysterious woman from the Magnolias’ past comes to town. Who is she?
What is Sweet Magnolias Season 3 about?
Following the fight at Sullivan’s, Maddie wrestles with the best way to help Cal and works to clear her own emotional path. Helen faces difficult decisions about the men in her life. And Dana Sue searches for a way to use an unexpected check to help the community without upending her family.
Can I see some photos from Sweet Magnolias Season 3?
Voila!
Sweet Magnolias Season 3 Writers, Directors, and Episode Titles
Where available, we’ve compiled a list of who is writing and directing and the episode titles for season 3 of Sweet Magnolias. With thanks to IMDb and the WGA.
Season 3 of Sweet Magnolias will once again consist of 10 episodes.
- Episode 301 – Written by: Sheryl J. Anderson – Directed by: Norman Buckley
- Episode 302 – Written by: Caron Tschampion – Directed by: Norman Buckley
- Episode 303 – Searchers – Written by: Anthony Epling
- Episode 304 – Be Bold – Written by: Barret Helms
- Episode 305 – Written by: Shani Am. Moore
- Episode 306 – Teleplay by: Caron Tschampion – Story by: Anthony Epling
- Episode 307 – Written by: Anthony Epling
- Episode 308 – Beat Me at My Own Game – Written by: Shani Am. Moore
- Episode 309 – Written by: Barret Helms
- Episode 310 – Written by: Sheryl J. Anderson & Sara Jumel – Directed by Mary Lou Belli
Joy T. Lane is expected to direct in season 3.