By Neia Balao
3:00am PST, Feb 5, 2022
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Who doesn't love a television series about the power of friendship? To celebrate the season 2 premiere of Netflix's "Sweet Magnolias" — which follows the lives of three South Carolina women who've been best friends since childhood — on Feb. 4, 2022, Wonderwall.com is getting to know the actors and actresses of the romantic drama.
Keep reading for more on the "Sweet Magnolias" cast…
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JoAnna Garcia Swisher stars as Maddie Townsend, a mother of three who just got divorced and went back to work. Maddie, along with besties Dana Sue and Helen, refer to themselves as the Sweet Magnolias.
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Prior to landing her starring role on "Sweet Magnolias," JoAnna Garcia Swisher appeared on shows including "Reba," "Privileged" and the ABC fantasy series "Once Upon a Time" (in which she played Princess Ariel from "The Little Mermaid"). But the Tampa, Florida, native has been in the biz for a long time and may also be familiar from her work on everything from "Party of Five" and "Freaks and Geeks" to "Gossip Girl" and "The Mindy Project." JoAnna married MLB player Nick Swisher in 2010. They've since welcomed two daughters: Emerson in 2013 and Sailor in 2016.
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Heather Headley plays well-respected attorney Helen Decatur. She's single and doesn't have any kids.
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Heather Headley landed her first recurring television role on the Spike Lee's Netflix series "She's Gotta Have It," which is based on his 1986 film of the same name, in 2017. Before that, the Trinidad-born star was a critically acclaimed Broadway actress — she earned a 2000 Tony Award for best actress in a musical for her titular portrayal of "Aida." She added Grammy winner to her resume in 2010 when she took home the honor for best contemporary R&B gospel album for her third studio release, "Audience of One." Heather, who appeared on NBC's "Chicago Med" from 2018 to 2021, also portrayed gospel singer Clara Ward in the 2021 Aretha Franklin biopic "Respect." She shares two sons (born in 2009 and 2014) and a daughter (born in 2019) with her husband, investment advisor and former New York Jets player Brian Musso.
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Dana Sue Sullivan — a chef and single mom who owns Sullivan's restaurant — is portrayed by Brooke Elliott.
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Brooke Elliott previous played fashionable attorney Jane Bingum on Lifetime's "Drop Dead Diva," which aired for six seasons from 2009 to 2014. Brooke is also a talented stage actress who's appeared in the touring productions of Broadway musicals including "Beauty and the Beast" and "Wicked." More recently, she appeared on an episode of "Dolly Parton's Heartstrings" in 2019.
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Bill Townsend, Maddie's cheating ex-husband who's a physician, is portrayed by Chris Klein.
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Long before he played an unfaithful husband in the fictional town of Serenity, South Carolina, on "Sweet Magnolias," Chris Klein earned his first acting credit as Paul Metzler in the 1999 dark comedy "Election" alongside Reese Witherspoon. He's perhaps best known, however, for his portrayal of Chris "Oz" Ostreicher in the "American Pie" film franchise. More recently, he played DC villain Cicada (otherwise known as Orlin Dwyer) on the fifth season of the CW superhero series "The Flash" in 2018 and 2019. As for his personal life? Chris, who made headlines for his relationship with Katie Holmes from 2000 to 2005, married travel agent Laina Rose Thyfault in 2015 after getting sober following years of alcohol addiction. They share two children: a son (born in 2016) and a daughter (born in 2018).
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Jamie Lynn Spears plays Bill Townsend's pregnant fiancée, Noreen Fitzgibbons. They had an affair when she was working as his medical assistant.
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Jamie Lynn Spears — Britney Spears' little sister — found fame as a child star in the aughts on Nickelodeon's "Zoey 101." She made headlines when she had a baby — daughter Maddie, with former boyfriend Casey Aldridge — at 16 in 2008. She withdrew from the spotlight for nearly half a decade but found love again with businessman Jamie Watson and married him in 2014. They welcomed daughter Ivey in 2018. Before returning to TV with "Sweet Magnolias," Jamie Lynn pursued a career as a country music singer, releasing "How Could I Want More" in 2013 and "Follow Me" with model-DJ Chantel Jeffries in 2020. In 2022, she made headlines for feuding with big sis Britney surrounding the release of her memoir, "Things I Should Have Said," in which she opens up not only about her own life but about personal moment's in her sister's life.
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Justin Bruening portrays Tyler's baseball coach and Maddie's post-divorce love interest, Cal Maddox.
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Justin Bruening got his big break as Jamie Martin on the iconic ABC soap opera "All My Children." He also appeared on eight episodes of another daytime drama, "One Life to Live," from 2004 to 2005. Justin went on to land recurring roles on shows including "Ringer," "Switched at Birth," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Hawaii Five-0." In 2020, the St. Helena, Nebraska, native — who shares three children with his wife, Daytime Emmy-nominated actress Alexa Havins — appeared on an episode of "Lucifer" and in the Hallmark holiday film "Swept Up By Christmas."
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Carson Rowland plays Tyler Townsend, Maddie and Bill's eldest child who's the star player on his high school baseball team.
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Before "Sweet Magnolias," Carson Rowland landed a main role on the Nickelodeon drama series "I Am Frankie" from 2017 to 2018 and appeared on the ABC sitcom "American Housewife" in 2020. In 2022, he'll portray Chip on "Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin." The young actor married Maris Kenny in 2021.
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Anneliese Judge plays Annie Sullivan, Dana Sue's teenage daughter who has a passion for photography.
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Annie Sullivan is Anneliese Judge's breakout acting role! Before "Sweet Magnolias," Anneliese, who was born in 2001, attended the University of North Carolina, Greensboro with the intention of pursuing a degree in international business and marketing.
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Kyle Townsend, Maddie and Bill's teenage son who has a crush on Annie and a passion for the theater, is portrayed by Logan Allen.
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Logan Allen landed his first notable acting credit when he appeared on the Nickelodeon series "Talia in the Kitchen" in 2015. He went on to appear in the film "Bernie The Dolphin" and its 2019 sequel as well as on an episode of the Shudder anthology series "Creepshow."
