Exclusive Interview

‘Sweet Magnolias’: JoAnna Garcia Swisher Shares Hopes for Maddie & Cal’s Future

Maddie (JoAnna Garcia Swisher) and Cal (Justin Bruening) have proven they can get through just about anything over the course of Sweet Magnolias. Season 5 gave the a couple a bit of a break from turmoil, and Swisher is looking ahead to what the future could hold for them. (Warning: Spoilers for Sweet Magnolias Season 5 ahead.)

Swisher tells Swooon that she believes the future is “bright” for Maddie and Cal after he accepted the job of general manager for a new independent baseball team coming to Serenity. And while Cal has stepped in as a stepfather to Maddie’s three children, there’s still a possibility that they have a child of their own.

“We’ve talked about it a lot,” Swisher says. “It’s definitely something that could potentially happen, but I don’t think there’s some sort of need. If that’s a box they checked, it’s not that they would be doing it just because Cal wants to have kids. I don’t think that would be the reasoning for it.”

Season 5 really showed Cal stepping in as a father figure to Maddie’s two younger children, Katie (Ella Grace Helton) and Kyle (Logan Allen). Maddie spent six months in New York for her new job before she was fired, leaving Cal at home with the kids.

“I do think that knowing that he is the only father figure that they have left in their life at this point, that would probably be really meaningful,” Swisher points out. “He’s such a positive influence in their life and a great role model and a great source of support.”

Swisher says she believes this was a “fulfilling and meaningful role” for Cal to step into. “These are kids that he loves,” she explains. “He is an incredible stepparent and father to these kids. I think it was a beautiful and honest storyline for the best case scenario of what that relationship could look like.”

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While Sweet Magnolias has not been renewed for a sixth season yet, the Season 5 finale left the door open for the show to continue. “It would be cool to see this baseball team coming in and all the drama and kind of new, fresh-faced characters we would get,” she shares. “There’s still more there in the way of doing life together. There’s still more life to live together.”

With the way “Serenity’s sort of opening up a little bit,” Swisher sees “great promise” in the future.

Sweet Magnolias, Season 5, Streaming Now, Netflix