Sweet Magnolias fans didn't see this one coming. In the second episode of Season 4, which is now available to stream on Netflix, viewers learn that Bill Townsend (Chris Klein) has died.
“We came to a point where we were looking for an event that would just torque the whole town, and we thought of that awful point in your life where the first member of your friend group dies,” showrunner Sheryl J. Anderson exclusively tells Parade.
Anderson added that Bill’s death was handled off-camera because “we were a little smitten with the shock value.”
As for Swisher's response to the storyline, she said, "As a mom, I just kept thinking to myself, 'I can’t image what my kids are going through,' and I think there were a few moments in the episodes that we were dealing with the death, that you can really see that was what I was thinking about. It was tough; I saw it as the end of an era. Lots of mixed emotions, a lot of heartache, but also closure, and just kind of a fresh start for them.”
Joanna Garcia Swisher as Maddie and Justin Bruening as Cal.Photo credit: Netflix©
Of course, the fact that only Maddie, Cal, her children and Pastor June knew about the wedding beforehand led to some hard feelings for Helen (Heather Headley) and Dana Sue (Brooke Elliott), who were upset they were not part of the planning process.
When she initially read the script, Swisher recalls saying to herself, “'Oh, Lord, Helen and Dana Sue are going to kill me.' But I got over that quickly and embraced it," she tells Parade. "It was a fun way to start the season. I was excited about it more than anything."
“We have a theme running through Season 4 of how often women are expected to put their dreams aside in order to take care of other people, and we wanted to look at that with Maddie, Annie, Dana Sue, and Helen,” Anderson tells Parade. “We have a lot of women writers on Sweet Magnolias, and the men in the writers’ room were also interested in exploring this. Just because she has a husband and a family, is she supposed to say no to this great job opportunity?”
Joanna Garcia Swisher as Maddie in 'Sweet Magnolias.'Photo credit: Netflix©
Swisher says she's excited about Maddie’s job offer because it reflects real life. “You get job opportunities that take you outside of your bubble and reinvent relationships, and that’s what life is all about: how you do it together. So I think it’s a new level to explore, a great thing for Maddie to feel that sense of self again and reconnect in that way.”
"Life takes you in a million different directions, but their relationships certainly aren’t a function of the fact that they all live in this small town together," Swisher adds. "They are definitely in it for life, and wherever that life may take them.”
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