By: Valerie Milano
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 9/18/2024 – The CW’s one-hour hit drama “Sullivan’s Crossing” tells the story of neurosurgeon Maggie Sullivan, who reconnects with her small-town past after a scandal causes her to leave her professional and personal life behind in the city. She returns to Sullivan’s Crossing, a campground owned by her estranged father, Sully. As season two opens, Maggie returns to the Crossing to find Sully in the hospital struggling with the feeling that he’s forgotten something. Handyman and love interest Cal is confused when Maggie gives him the cold shoulder, unaware that her rival, Lola, pocketed his goodbye letter to her. Additionally, Frank and Edna, the married indigenous Mi’kmaq couple who are fixtures at the Crossing, are at odds.
CW (Courtesy/Ladder and Lake)
The Hollywood Times sat down with the show’s creator and showrunner, Roma Roth, for a conversation about this wonderful show, which is among the Top 10 shows on The CW:
The Hollywood Times: This show appeals to a wide variety of viewers and has established itself as one of the CW’s favorites. It’s certainly one of mine. In the first season, we were introduced to this wonderful story from Robin Carr’s bestseller and its brilliant cast and breathtaking locations. The show was a consistently high performer in the ratings for The CW and from what I saw from the first episode of season two, Sullivan’s Crossing looks to be a juggernaut. Did you expect this show to find the audience it has found and have this much success?
Roma Roth: Well, I was hopeful. I mean, we have another Robin Carr show on the air that did exceptionally well all over the world. So, I was hoping that the same audience would be interested in coming to see Sullivan’s. And I think the books themselves really have wonderful characters, and Robin has a dedicated fan base. So I was definitely hoping, but I wasn’t expecting. I was waiting to see how it did, so I’m just very thrilled that it has done so well, both in the US and Canada.
THT: The CW series is about six months behind the Canadian season. How’s the series doing north of the border? Is the Canadian audience as wild about it as the American audience seems to be?
RR: Yeah, it’s the number one show in Canada. It did really, really, really well, and you know, when you’re walking around Canada, everyone recognizes the actors. They said that they hadn’t expected that, but it’s a nice surprise for them as well.
THT: The cast certainly is an attraction, starting with Chad Michael Murray as Cal and Morgan Cohan as Maggie, and of course, Scott Patterson as Sully. But then you add in Andrea Maynard and Tom Jackson as Edna and Frank, and this cast becomes magical. How was this cast assembled?
RR: Well, thank you for saying that. I handpicked every actor in the Robin Carr books, there were no Indigenous characters, but since we were filming in Halifax on Mi’kmaq territory, we wanted to reflect kind of a slice of the multiculturalism that’s going on in Canada, to reflect the world that we live in. Tom Jackson (who plays Frank) is part Cree, and Andrea Maynard is Métis in real life and also in the show.
When I was looking for the perfect lead, you know, to play Cal, there’s not that many people out there that you can pick from that I think would kind of land with an audience as being that smoldering, sexy, but also very talented actor. And Chad was definitely the first pick for us to play that role. And then Scott Patterson … I was trying to figure out who was going to be the lovable curmudgeon of Sully, and there really aren’t a lot of people that can play that role. So, I happened to be walking by the living room and my daughter, who I think was like 13 at the time, was watching “Gilmore Girls.” I looked up and I saw him, and I thought, ‘You know what? He’d probably be about the right age for this now.’ And I went back to IMDB and checked him out, and lo and behold, I was right, and he was available, which was terrific.
For Maggie, we needed a person who could play the emotion of the character, but also had kind of the character who you could buy as the personality of a neurosurgeon as well. There’s not a lot of people in Canada that were available for that role. And I had done an audition with Morgan, and she really knocked it out of the ballpark. And the chemistry between her and Chad was wonderful too.
THT: The music is outstanding, beginning with the theme song, “Time and Time Again” by Wild, along with the other original songs. It truly is engaging. Can you talk a bit about the musical score and the men behind it, Ari Posner, Amin Batia, and Joel Schwartz?
RR: Well, we have a wonderful music supervisor. Lindsay Wolfington is our music supervisor, and Ari, Amin, and Joel as well. They’re just very talented Canadian composers. I really enjoy music that’s a little bit more not so simple, because it’s not simple music. Utilizing the cello and traditional instruments, I think, as opposed to doing everything on a synthesizer added value. And so, we were very lucky because we have a wonderful cellist as well, who’s part of the mix with the composers. So, for the score, you know, we wanted to live in the world of melancholy, because I feel that’s kind of where the show lives. It’s bittersweet, it’s about romance, heartache, and loving people. And so having that kind of score also is a layer that helps to sell that feeling. We’ve been very lucky to have such talented composers and the team behind us to do that.
THT: The series is set in Nova Scotia, and that provides a spectacular backdrop for Sullivan’s Crossing, and your team of cinematographers knocks it out of the park. How much do you film on location?
RR: All of it. We do have some interior stage work that we do. The first year, we did everything on location. We did have a couple of sets, but we’re here in Halifax, in Nova Scotia, and shooting around the area, and trying to really show people a glimpse into what the world over here is like, because it’s definitely a different location than we’ve filmed in before. It’s just really a gem.
THT: Have you thought about your next project? Or do you even have time to think about that?
RR: Well, yes, I have. We do have a lot of thoughts that we’ve optioned to turn into different shows. And I guess, you know, we also have Thunder Point, Robin Carr’s other novel series, which is kind of a little bit different from a male protagonist standpoint, but still has a romance. It’s kind of like, “Friday Night Lights” meets “Everwood”, is the way I would compare it.
We have a wonderful book series by Debbie Macomber, called Heart of Texas, which we’re looking forward to developing. And we have another book series called Bourbon Kings, which is another world building show that’s set against the backdrop of the bourbon industry, that’s also kind of like an “Upstairs, Downstairs,” but contemporary. You get kind of a “Yellowstone” feel to it, but with liquor.
