CTV brings the Canadians a Mini Gilmore Girls Reuniting with his new original drama Sullivan’s Crossing (Premiers March 19 at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca and the CTV app) which also stars Canadian Morgan Kohan Gilmore Girls Former Scott Patterson and Chad Michael Murray (also the star of A hill of trees).
Sullivan’s Crossing follows Maggie Sullivan (Kohan), an ambitious and talented neurosurgeon in Boston who finds herself in complicated legal troubles. Restrained, Maggie travels to a Nova Scotia campground called Sullivan’s Crossing, her childhood home run by her estranged father, Sully (Patterson). Cal (Murray) helps Sully at the campsite, who had no idea Sully had a daughter. Thrown back into this tight-knit community, Maggie must confront her complex past while her future looks messier than ever.
“She’s someone who’s built a life around her in the way that’s expected of her and realizes that maybe it’s not quite her, and I think a lot of people can resonate with what I’ve done ‘ Kohan said Yahoo Canada. “Having her back in a small town and dealing with these two versions of herself was really interesting to me.”
“I’m from a small town too. So I have some experience with that. That really blew my mind.”
Based on the novels by Robyn Carr, adapted by showrunner Roma Roth, who is also Executive Producer for Netflix Virgin River series (also based on Carr’s books), Sullivan’s Crossing really digs into two popular TV genres. There’s the medical drama aspect of Maggie’s career, with slight echoes of a show like Grey’s anatomybut it’s also a family drama, something of a this is us or parenting.
“I feel like there are so many different parts that we can play with,” Kohan said. “There’s the family drama, there’s the medical side of things, there’s city life, there’s the little community connections and friendships. That, I think, just makes it a little bit different.”
“I think everyone will see something on the show that they can resonate with and see themselves as a part of.”
“He was a guy not unlike Luke Gilmore Girls’
At the moment the first pictures of Sullivan’s Crossing were released, fans of 2000s television were quick to express their excitement at TV legends Patterson and Murray reuniting for a new show.
For Patterson, he explained that his character “got it” after reading some of the scripts. After long discussions with Roth about Sully, Patterson found beats similar to his own Gilmore Girls Character Luke.
“He was a guy not unlike Luke gilmore girls, and I was like at that moment, well, that’s a little bit intriguing,” Patterson said Yahoo Canada. “Not that I wanted to repeat myself, but I read the first few scripts and I thought, . . . this is a guy who’s so complex.”
“He has a real history and a real connection to this country. … I think he really spoke to me, and on many different levels, as Luke did. I had a choice of doing this or walking away. I mean, I’m not a spring chicken anymore and I have the luxury of passing things on…while Gilmore was the start of my career. But I just thought I could do a lot with it [an incomplete canvas], that’s the way of writing I like. I don’t want everything spelled out for me.”
For Murray, he revealed that it was showrunner Roth’s “sale” of the character of Cal and his journey, including the trials and tribulations of his past, that brought him to Sullivan’s Crossing, which prompted the actor to come on board for the show.
“That’s a guy I identified with,” Murray said. “I felt a symbiotic relationship in healing, I also felt like he’s just good for the world.”
“Cal’s journey is much deeper and much darker than you can imagine. I think he came to Sullivan’s Crossing to heal and that’s something we don’t know about him. … I really want to believe that you will fall in love with him. There’s just something very open and beautiful about his journey and how he comes together in this world of Sullivan’s Crossing.”
“She’s one of the best young actresses I’ve ever worked with”
While there’s no denying that Patterson and Murray are TV icons, they’re also very quick to praise their Canadian co-star Kohan.
“She’s very gifted, she’s very intelligent,” Patterson said. “Her acting IQ is very high and there isn’t much room for discussion with her.”
“She’s kind of an unknown commodity in the States and that won’t last long. She will become very well known. She’s got this actor’s shorthand where she just gets it real quick, and we just do the scene. … I’m very impressed with her and she’s one of the best young actresses I’ve ever worked with.”
Murray, teasing what’s to come between Cal and Maggie, urges Canadians to “get your popcorn ready” because it’s a relationship he believes “people want to fight for.” Also made even more impactful by the acting synergy between Murray and Kohan.
“Morgan was so welcoming and she was number one. Checked in early, checked out late, ready to go, ready to get the job done,” Murray said. “She was always open to hearing anything other people wanted to bring to the table.”
“We just created that dynamic between Cal and Maggie that she and I really could create, just a bond of friendship. She comes to hang out with the kids and my wife and we got to know each other really well. ”
For an actor like Murray, who truly embodied the teenage heartthrob for an entire generation, moving from the teenage-based drama world to intergenerational drama is part of “growing with your fandom.”
“I think audiences will adjust with us,” Murray said. “Scott and I were both on the WB, which became the CW, … and it was more teen drama, teen angst, but drama. Now you can have more adult drama and more adult storylines.”
“The fan base that has grown with us since 2003, 2004 is now 20 years away. You are 20 years older. We now have the moms and dads who have grown with us and all want to see more adult content. something they can relate to, a relationship they can get excited about. It’s an exciting thing to be a part of and I just hope everyone jumps on the ride and embarks on this journey because I’m telling you, they really start driving around [Episode 5].”
