Erin Cahill Talks Making Hallmark Magic, Her Co-Star Group Chat and Gives a FIRST Look at Her New Rom-Com!
Ever wonder what it’s like to be a Hallmark leading lady? Erin Cahill, who will next star in Autumn at Apple Hill alongside Wes Brown as part of Hallmark’s Fall into Love event (get a full first look below!), sat down with FIRST for Women to tell us just that!
The one-time Power Ranger also takes us behind the scenes of the anticipated Holidazed series — which is set to premiere on Hallmark+ this holiday season and stars Dennis Haysbert, John C. McGinley, Loretta Devine, Virginia Madsen, Lucille Soong, Holland Roden, Noemi Gonzalez, Rachelle Lefevre, Lindy Booth, Osric Chauand more — as well as gives us insight into her cherished relationships with her co-stars.
The Hallmark leading ladies’ secret group chat
Via @AshleyWilliamsandCompany/Instagram
When Hallmark descended on the Summer 2024 Television Critics Association Press Tour last month, it was like old home week. Stars like Erin Cahill and Ashley Williams were as excited to promote their new shows Holidazed and Small Town Set Up, respectively, as they were to see each other.
“A bunch of us knew each other before, but Hallmark has brought us together and now we're just inseparable,” Cahill says of herself and the network-turned-streamer’s leading ladies.
“For example, I've known Ashley Williams going on 20 years. And Nikki DeLoach and I have mutual best friends, so we've been circling each other's orbit for over a decade. It's so cool.”
Not only do these Hallmark beauties “hang out all the time,” but a slew of them are also on a group text thread. Cahill won’t speak out of turn and share their secrets, but she will say she’s glad to have these rom-com queens in her corner.
“We call each other when we have problems,” she says. “I can name a bunch of the Hallmark actresses who I've been on the phone with for an hour, working things out or crying. And we celebrate each other, too. I watch their movies! I know actors always say, ‘Oh, we’re a family,’ but we really are one.”
Bonding with Hallmark+’s ‘Holidazed’ cast
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Hallmark Media
That sense of family was incredibly strong among the cast and crew of Hallmark’s first-ever Christmas limited series, Holidazed – which follows six multi-generational families from different backgrounds and cultures who live on the same cul-de-sac and instead of being a one-hit movie, promises eight episodes of drama and laughs.
“The Hallmark movies are such a joy to shoot for three weeks, but then it's over and I'm a little heartbroken,” admits Cahill. “I always wish we could continue – and with Holidazed, we got to continue! We were together for three months in Victoria, Canada, last winter.”
Not only did this large (and stellar!) cast work together to create family onscreen, but the show’s married executive producers, Gina Matthews and Grant Scharbo, made sure they got to know each other off set, as well.
“Gina always cooks her homemade meatballs and pasta and has the cast over for dinner – which, given the size of Holidazed, was no small feat,” Cahill shares. “We were all in her apartment, shoved in, eating food, drinking wine and laughing.
“The cast also went and saw the Christmas lights together,” she adds. “We did actual family things that families do together.”
Why working for Hallmark brought Erin to tears
In addition to being part of Hallmark’s Fall into Love event and Holidazed, we hear rumblings that Cahill might also have yet another holiday movie to come this year. With much to celebrate, Cahill was clearly on cloud nine during the feel-good network’s big day at the TCA press tour in July.
“I am not being hyperbolic when I say I got moved to tears multiple times,” she admits. “How lucky am I to be working with a group of people who actually care about putting good in the world? It’s such an anomaly, in general, but in entertainment? To find a huge company whose entire intention is ‘This is where love lives’ is remarkable.”
And with Holidazed, viewers will be treated to not just one happily ever after – but several! First, however, each household and character will have some real drama to navigate.
“Humans are messy and complicated and layered – and the holidays are all those things, because it's heightened emotions,” Cahill teases. “The series tackles a giant myriad of subjects that are really heartfelt, and does it with levity, grace and integrity.”
Get a first look at Erin Cahill and Wes Brown in Autumn at Apple Hill
The Hallmark Channel
Hallmark fans will want to keep their eye out for the official Holidazed Hallmark+ premiere date and in the meantime, mark their calendars for Cahill’s next rom-com, Autumn at Apple Hill. Based on the book by Angie Ellington, Autumn at Apple Hill follows Elise, who was recently divorced and is renovating an Inn she inherited from her grandparents. When Luke, CFO of a major hotel chain, arrives in town, she does her best to scare him off… but Luke just might be the best person to help her restore the Inn at Apple Hill to its former glory.
"What a joy and a gift it was to make this beautiful story alongside my friend of many years, Wes Brown,” Cahill tells FFW. “I hope that everyone watching Autumn atApple Hill enjoys it as much as we did making it.”
Autumn at Apple Hill premieres Saturday, October 5 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel as part of the Fall in Love event – which includes six Fall into Love movies that will premiere Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT, beginning on September 7 with His & Hers reuniting Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliott.
Keep reading for more Hallmark stories!
Jessica Lowndes, Hallmark and Great American Family Sweetheart, Was Previously a Teen Drama Queen
From Paris to Fiji, Here Are the 10 Best Destination Hallmark Movies for the Jet-Setter in All of Us
