Sweet Magnolias

Premise

Sweet Magnolias follows "three South Carolina women, best friends since childhood, as they shepherd each other through the complexities of romance, career, and family."

Cast and characters

Main

JoAnna Garcia Swisher as Maddie Townsend, a recently separated woman with three children in Serenity, South Carolina who is trying to get back in the workforce while going through a divorce from her husband, Bill. She's a part of a friend group that calls themselves Sweet Magnolias.

Brooke Elliott as Dana Sue Sullivan, a chef, and owner of a restaurant called Sullivan's. She is Helen's and Maddie's best friend and part of the Sweet Magnolias.

Heather Headley as Helen Decatur, an accomplished attorney. She is Dana Sue's and Maddie's best friend, and one of the Sweet Magnolias. She bought a mansion which she converted into The Corner Spa with Maddie and Dana Sue.

Logan Allen as Kyle Townsend, Maddie and Bill's younger son who is a freshman at Serenity High School with a talent for acting. He had a crush on Annie but later shows interest in Nellie Lewis.

Anneliese Judge as Annie Sullivan, Dana Sue's daughter. She is friends with the Townsend brothers and an avid photographer. She and Tyler are childhood best friends and whom she kissed after having too much to drink at a party while being oblivious to Kyle's feelings. Annie is pursued by Jackson, whom she later ends up dating. The two break up later on in the series.

Carson Rowland as Tyler "Ty" Townsend (seasons 1–4), Maddie and Bill's eldest son who is a junior at Serenity High School and a star pitcher on his high school baseball team

Justin Bruening as Cal Maddox, Ty's baseball coach and Maddie's new love interest. He is a former professional baseball player.

Chris Klein as Bill Townsend (seasons 1–3), Maddie's ex-husband and a family doctor at Serenity Family Physicians

Jamie Lynn Spears as Noreen Fitzgibbons, Bill's pregnant fiancée, a nurse in his office who became his mistress

Recurring

Bianca Berry Tarantino (seasons 1–2) and Ella Grace Helton (seasons 3–present) as Katie Townsend, Maddie and Bill's only daughter and youngest child

Frank Oakley III as Harlan Bixby, the assistant coach of Serenity High School baseball team

Allison Gabriel as Mary Vaughn Lewis (seasons 1–3), the wife of Trent Lewis, Mayor of Serenity and main adversary of the Sweet Magnolias

Simone Lockhart as Nellie Lewis (seasons 1–3), Mary Vaughn's daughter. She has a crush on Kyle.

Brittany L. Smith as Peggy Martin, the owner of the newspaper The Centinel of Serenity and later mayor of Serenity

Tracey Bonner as Pastor June Wilkes, pastor of the church of Serenity

Charles Lawlor as Collins Littlefield (seasons 1–4)

Harlan Drum as CeCe Matney, Ty's love interest

Sam Ashby as Jackson Butler Lewis (seasons 1–3), Ty's baseball rival teammate and Mary Vaughn's son. He previously dated Annie.

Hunter Burke as Trotter Vidhyarkorn (seasons 1–3), Cal's best friend who works at The Corner Spa as a yoga instructor

Al-Jaleel Knox as Gabe Weatherspoon, Ty's best friend and baseball teammate

Michael Shenefelt as Ryan Wingate (seasons 1–3), Helen's on-and-off boyfriend

Michael May as Simon Spry (seasons 1–2), Annie's friend

Episodes

Production

Development

On September 27, 2018, it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. The series was based on the Sweet Magnolias book series by Sherryl Woods and executive producers were expected to include Woods, Sheryl J. Anderson, and Dan Paulson. Anderson was also set to serve as the series' showrunner. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Daniel L. Paulson Productions. The series premiered on May 19, 2020. Norman Buckley directed six of the episodes and served as co-executive producer. On July 23, 2020, Netflix renewed the series for a second season which premiered on February 4, 2022. On May 4, 2022, Netflix renewed the series for a third season which was released on July 20, 2023. On October 19, 2023, Netflix renewed the series for a fourth season which was released on February 6, 2025. On April 23, 2025, Netflix renewed the series for a fifth season which premiered on June 11, 2026.

Casting

On May 20, 2019, Monica Potter, Brooke Elliott, and Heather Headley were announced as the leads. On July 1, 2019, it was reported that Chris Klein, Jamie Lynn Spears, and Justin Bruening had joined the cast as series regulars. On August 1, 2019, JoAnna Garcia Swisher was cast as Maddie Townsend, replacing Potter who was originally cast as the lead. On May 4, 2021, Dion Johnstone and Brandon Quinn were promoted to series regulars for second season. On June 9, 2023, it was reported that Ella Grace Helton joined the cast in a recasting, replacing Bianca Berry Tarantino for the third season. On July 22, 2025, it was announced that Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Janice Wesley, Courtney Grace, John Gabriel Rodriquez, Aidan Merwarth, Austin Woods, and Iman Benson were cast in undisclosed capacity roles for the fifth season.

Filming

Principal photography for the series began on July 8, 2019, in Covington, Georgia. Filming for the fourth season started on February 20, 2024, and wrapped on May 30, 2024.

Reception

For the first season, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 78% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The second season has an 80% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The third season holds a 57% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The fourth season has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10.

In its first 30-days on Netflix, season 2 was watched globally on Netflix for 161.3 million hours.