Sarah Drew to Headline Hallmark Movie Guiding Emily — Eric McCormack to Voice Guide Dog (Exclusive)
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Some furry fun casting news via Hallmark: Grey’s Anatomy vet Sarah Drew will star in the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries flick Guiding Emily opposite Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) as the voice of her character’s guide dog, TVLine has learned exclusively.
Related Stories
Party of Five’s Scott Wolf, Lacey Chabert Reunite for Hallmark Christmas Movie
Cress Williams Was Will & Grace’s Fifth Cast Member — Here’s What Happened
More from TVLine
<em>Party of Five’</em>s Scott Wolf, Lacey Chabert Reunite for Hallmark Christmas Movie
Cress Williams Was Will & Grace's Fifth Cast Member - Here's What Happened
Premiering Friday, Sept. 8 at 9/8c to coincide with National Service Dog Month, Guiding Emily features Drew as the titular heroine, whose “life veers off course when she becomes permanently blind after an unfortunate rock-climbing accident and struggles to cope with her new reality,” per the official synopsis. “Meanwhile, a potential guide dog named Garth” — whose thoughts are voiced by McCormack — “is also struggling with his rigorous training. With the help of Emily’s friend Matthew (Blood & Treasure’s Antonio Cupo) and Garth’s trainer Katie (Altered Carbon’s Sharon Taylor), both make headway in their important transitions. Through a series of missed encounters, both overcome their obstacles and Garth ends up being paired with Emily. With Garth by her side, Emily takes on her biggest challenge yet: opening her heart.”
“Shooting Guiding Emily was a deeply moving experience that allowed me to enter into the blind and partially sighted community in a very powerful way,” Drew said in a statement. “We were honored to have two actresses from the community play roles in the film, and sitting with them both and hearing their stories was transformative for me and for our crew.”
“I was also honored to visit the Guide Dogs of America open house the weekend before we started shooting and was able to tour the facility and learn all about the process for raising service dogs and the sacrifice puppy raisers make to train them for two years and then send them off to a member of the blind and partially sighted community to partner with them,” Drew added. “Guiding Emily walks the audience into this world in a moving, tender, educational and compassionate way. I hope the audience will be as affected by this film as we all were making it.”
In addition to her nine-season run as April Kepner on Grey’s Anatomy, Drew is known for her roles on Everwood and Cruel Summer Season 1. She’s also no stranger to Hallmark, having starred in the movies One Summer and Christmas in Vienna. McCormack, meanwhile, previously co-starred in the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries film A Heavenly Christmas.
Hallmark aficionados, are you into this premise? And are you noticing a doggie rom-com trend? (Amazon’s Freevee will premiere the movie Puppy Love, starring Lucy Hale and Grant Gustin, on Aug. 18.)
Best of TVLine
Get more from TVLine.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
