Netflix’s Sweet Magnolias Is Like If Sex and the City Were a Hallmark Movie
About 20 minutes into Netflix's new series Sweet Magnolias, I had a revelation: This is just like Sex and the City. Mind you, it takes place in a small South Carolina town (the fictional Serenity), and there's no sex. There's not so much as a steamy make-out session. No, this show is about as Hallmark as a show can get (besides the ones on actual Hallmark). But even still, something about seeing the three main women together, drinking cocktails on their sacred Margarita Night, reminded me of Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha. Only instead of overpriced cosmopolitans at a pretentious downtown restaurant, the women of Sweet Magnolias mix their own drinks and bond in their living rooms.
Their names are Maddie Townsend (JoAnna Garcia Swisher), Dana Sue Sullivan (Brooke Elliott), and Helen Decatur (Heather Headley), and each of them is going through something difficult. Maddie's husband (Chris Klein) has left her after having an affair with the much younger Noreen (Jamie Lynn Spears). Dana Sue is grappling with working, single motherhood after leaving her husband and firing her vindictive sous chef. And Helen is the glue keeping everyone together, though she's yearning for a child and partner of her own. All at major crossroads in their lives, the women—who've been best friends since high school—decide to open a spa together, a tangible sign of new beginnings. Sweet Magnolias chronicles that journey and all the personal, juicy narratives that come with it.
I won't divulge too much—but if I'm being honest, there really isn't a lot to say. Which isn't a bad thing. Much like Sex and the City, Sweet Magnolias isn't plot-driven; it's a character-oriented piece. Watching these women sit around their warm, cozy houses and muse about life is the entertainment. I always said I could spend hours watching Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha talk about nothing, and I feel the same way about Maddie, Dana Sue, and Helen. Their presence is comforting.
Of course, this may be specific to just me. I grew up in South Carolina, and many of my friends' mothers are just like these women. I've witnessed plenty of iced tea gab sessions, church bake sales, and Friday-night football games—all things I rejected wholeheartedly, and still do. I mean, I left the second I graduated college and moved to New York City. But in light of all the confusing, horrible things happening in the world right now, I find myself looking for comfort more than usual—for a home in the midst of chaos. Sweet Magnolias is an exaggerated depiction of Southern living for sure, but it feels like so much of what I grew up around. It feels like home. And if I can't go home right now and sit outside with a glass of homemade lemonade, then this show is the next best thing.
That isn't to say it doesn't have teeth. Sex and the City had conflict, and so does Sweet Magnolias; it's just dressed in Lilly Pulitzer, not Manolo Blahnik. Maddie begins an ongoing flirtation with her eldest son's baseball coach, the ridiculously hot Cal (Justin Bruening). Dana Sue finds herself on the receiving end of some terrifying vandalism. And Helen might find the family she's looking for in the most unexpected place. Throughout the show's slice-of-life drama, the three women get together—usually at night, over margaritas—to relax and regroup. Their debriefing sessions serve as lampposts of sorts for the show, much like the lunch dates on SATC did.
It's during those casual scenes around the kitchen table that we see the heart of Sweet Magnolias. The message is admittedly cheesy but universal: There really isn't anything that solid friendships, specifically friendships among women, can't fix. Sometimes all you really need to turn your day around is the right conversation with the right person. Believe me, I wish we could gather with our friends right now like Maddie, Dana Sue, and Helen do in Sweet Magnolias. It would fill me up with immense joy. But until then, we must remember we can still find connection with our loved ones virtually. We can still laugh, cry, drink, and confess the way our souls crave. Don't lose sight of that—or lose touch with your versions of Maddie, Dana Sue, or Helen. When you finally can reunite with them IRL, it will be so sweet. Sweeter than sweet tea.
Sweet Magnolias is now streaming on Netflix.
Christopher Rosa is the staff entertainment writer at Glamour. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrosa92.
Originally Appeared on Glamour
