Exclusive Interview
Danielle Panabaker on Why She Was Drawn to ‘Second Guessing Fate’ After ‘The Flash’
What To Know
- Danielle Panabaker stars as Gemma in Second Guessing Fate, a new CW movie inspired by Harlequin romance novels.
- Panabaker told Swooon why she loved this new role after years on The Flash.
- The actress opened up about Second Guessing Fate’s “really modern take on romance.”
The world of dating today is rough. But what if you knew you were only one horrible date away from true love?
Danielle Panabaker stars as Gemma in the new CW movie Second Guessing Fate, an event planner who’s pretty much given up on dating. When a fortune teller predicts Gemma will meet her soulmate after one more bad date, Gemma gives dating one more shot. Swooon spoke with Panabaker about Gemma’s journey and how it isn’t your typical rom-com.
“I thought that this was a really modern take on romance,” Panabaker said of the film, which is based on a Harlequin bestseller. “She gets to this moment in her life where she’s been on 100 bad dates and she’s given up, and I think we’ve all been there in one way or another. Like, this isn’t working, and I can’t give it energy anymore.”
The post-fortune teller prediction date with Nick (Corey Sevier) is a “terrible” one, and then Geema literally crashes into a handsome stranger named Enzo (Brendan Morgan). But this isn’t just a movie where the love interests “have a meet-cute, and they live happily ever after. There are still some hiccups along the road.”
Tahj Raju / The CW
Panabaker explained that Second Guessing Fate is a “modern, atypical romance” because Gemma’s romantic future isn’t crystal clear. “There are many moments as we go on this journey with Gemma where you’re like, oh, well, who is the right person for her?” she said.
The film marked Panabaker’s return to The CW network after two years. After working for nearly a decade on The Flash, which ended in 2023, a role like Gemma in Second Guessing Fate was a refreshing change of pace for the actress. “It was such a nice opportunity to get to do this,” she told Swooon. “I think having been on Flash for so long, where my role leaned a little more toward the dramatic, it was so fun. I mean, it’s nice to have fun and bring that levity to set and that kind of thing.”
She continued, “There is a certain element of empowerment in this movie, specifically, where she is not a damsel in distress, just waiting for someone to come rescue her. She is fine, living a full life without someone. It’s certainly, I think there’s elements of sadness, but her life by no means feels incomplete.”
Second Guessing Fate, Movie Premiere, November 23, 8/7c, The CW
