How have Maggie and Cal evolved since we first met them?
CHAD: Trauma and things that occur in your life create a scar tissue, right? And it takes a while to heal those wounds. I would say that the more time goes by and the more that these two characters enter each other’s lives and just get deeper, that scar tissue starts to heal and show who they really are.
MORGAN: Yeah. I think it’s been a really beautiful experience getting to see these characters develop. Both of them started quite a bit more closed off, having gone through a lot — wary and having their walls up — and we get to watch them slowly drop any masks and be vulnerable, and see the fruits of that.
This third season opened on a surprising, devastating note. Morgan, what was it like getting into the headspace of a woman who’d miscarried?
MORGAN: I unfortunately, in my life, have people who have dealt with similar situations. I talked with them and I read some books on miscarriage — the grief and healing from the grief and what that does to your body. I try, no matter what’s going on with my character, to be open-hearted and empathetic and to put myself into that mindset.
I think, living in a woman’s body, there’s a sense of understanding. [But] I don’t think I could ever understand it unless I were to go through it myself.
Chad, Cal’s in a position of trying to support Maggie in the midst of this tragedy — right as their romance was finally beginning. Is he at a bit of a loss?
CHAD: Cal’s definitely at a loss, but I think one of the great attributes Cal has is understanding. He’s very much a listener and he’s trying to be keen on what’s going on . . . and trying to understand it. But it’s difficult to understand something when there’s no communication. I think what we discovered is we’ve gotta get to the root of the issue before they can move forward.
What’s the core appeal of wholesome small-town dramas like this? The genre has really taken off in recent years . . .
MORGAN: These kinds of shows have such a sense of community and belonging and support — and being seen. Who a person is holds value, not what they do or how fast they do it. I think that’s what’s so special about these shows, and what people like to see and be reminded of.
CHAD: Also, there are a lot of small towns out there — a lot of themes we deal with in this show that people deal with on a daily basis. You’re either gonna identify with something that you see and go, “I’ve been in that situation,” or you’re gonna see a character and go, “Gosh, that reminds me of me, or my uncle, or my sister, or my mom.”
On that note, Sullivan’s Crossing is more grounded than some other, soapier small-town dramas . . .
CHAD: Give us a few more seasons. We’ll jump the shark, OK? My ex-twin brother shows up . . . It’s gonna happen!
What’s the most memorable fan encounter of your career?
MORGAN: Prior to Sullivan’s Crossing, I had done When Hope Calls and I had someone tell me that they’d gone through a very traumatic part of their life, filled with grief. In that time, the sense of light that they had was watching the show. It was just a breath of fresh air and an easy watch. That’s always stood out to me — to be able to take some of the heaviness off of people’s day-to-day.
Sullivan’s Crossing airs Sunday, June 15, on CTV
MEMORABLE ROLES:
Summerland, B.C.’s own Morgan Kohan rose to fame as orphan turned orphanage headmistress Lillian Walsh in When Hope Calls, the wholesome frontier drama spun off from When Calls the Heart. Debuting in 2019, then going on a lengthy hiatus, Hope returned for a second season in early 2025. Meanwhile, Chad Michael Murray first got hearts a-throbbin’ as Lucas Scott on teen drama One Tree Hill. He’s since appeared in such films as Freaky Friday, Fruitvale Station and, recently, Netflix holiday romp The Merry Gentlemen.
CURRENT GIG:
Now in season three, this Canadian-made heartwarmer casts Kohan as Maggie, a Boston neurosurgeon forced to start over in her Nova Scotia hometown following a scandal. Murray plays Cal, a come-from-awayer with a traumatic past who might just be Maggie’s soulmate.