Exclusive: The Chicken Sisters’ Lea Thompson Has an Idea For Who Should Play Nancy’s Love Interest in Season 2

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More than 15 years after she starred in Hallmark‘s Jane Doe mystery series, Lea Thompson is back at the network for a new adventure in The Chicken Sisters, a family drama for the channel’s brand-new streaming service, Hallmark Plus, about two families running rival fried chicken restaurants who compete against each other in a fictional reality competition called Kitchen Clash. 

In the series, which is based on KJ Dell’Antonia’s 2020 novel of the same name and aired its first season finale on October 27, Thompson plays Nancy Hillier, the sweet-as-pie mother-in-law to protagonist Amanda Moore-Hillier, who moved from her mother (and Nancy’s rival) Gus Moore’s fried chicken restaurant to Nancy’s after she married Nancy’s son, Frank Hillier Jr. Rounding out The Chicken Sisters crew is Mae Moore, Gus’ other daughter and Amanda’s sister who returned to their small town of Merinac after a failed attempt in Hollywood. 

The first season saw Nancy, Amanda, and Frank, and Gus and Mae duke it out for the title of the best fried chicken restaurant in Merinac before — spoiler alert — coming together in the finale to open up their own restaurant after learning that the reason the two families were torn apart to begin with was a total lie. “It’s really important right now for people to have a sense of community,” Thompson tells Soaps.com. “The show really brings together the idea that we can disagree, but we can make things work out between each other, which you have to when you live in a small town and you’re family.”

In the discussion below, Thompson reveals her prediction on how Nancy and Gus will be ripped apart again in The Chicken Sisters Season 2, who she would cast as Nancy’s love interest next season (hint: It’s not someone you would expect), and her idea for another Back to the Future movie. 

Photo: George Chinsee/Soaps.

Soaps.com: You have a long history on Hallmark and were in nine Jane Doe movies more than a decade ago. What was it like to return to the network after all these years in The Chicken Sisters?

Lea Thompson: It feels like home. It’s such a lovely atmosphere that’s so women-centric. There are so many women executives. It gives a lot of us actresses a place to work where we’re appreciated, held up, and respected. It was so fun to be in the forefront of this new push for the streaming service. It was great to be a part of something new for something so established.

Soaps.com: How did the opportunity for The Chicken Sisters come about? 

Thompson: Another thing that’s so nice about the Hallmark Channel is they do like their stars, and they like to use us again and again. It’s kind of like the old studio system. So they got the idea for me [to play Nancy in The Chicken Sisters]. It took me a while to warm up to the part. I was like, “I don’t really know if I relate to this person.” But then when I started to speak the words and got an idea of where they wanted her to go, it made sense to me. 

Soaps.com: Why were you so hesitant about the role? 

Thompson: It’s very easy for me to see between my part and Wendie [Malick’s part as Gus] that Wendie’s part is better. It’s more fun. It’s also more intrinsic to the story because she’s the mother of the two girls. I’m not tied to the mother story as deeply as she is. But when I realized it was [Wendie who got the part], I was like, “I’m happy to give you the better part, because you’re a genius.” We talked amongst ourselves [before deciding to do it]. We were like, “Are you doing it? Are you doing it?” We’ve always wanted to work together again. I have the utmost respect and love for her. I had also just come off this show called The Spencer sisters, where I played this showy, fabulous, rich woman. So I was still holding onto that fun character, so I had to try to find the fun in this one. She’s much more down to earth and a goody two shoes. 

Photo: George Chinsee/Soaps.

Soaps.com: In The Chicken Sisters, Amanda sort of has two mother figures. Gus is her real mother, but Nancy is also a mother figure to her. How do you think Amanda’s relationships with Gus and Nancy are different?

Thompson: It’s like night and day. [Amanda and Nancy] are like best friends. I’m just an older best friend. It’s much easier for Nancy to give love. She gives love to everybody. She’s very loving and tries to be as good-hearted as possible. But Amanda’s mom has got lots of issues, is cold, and has had to survive all by herself, which made her harder. It’s just easier to love my character. I’ll be interested in what happens in the second season, because we’ll all be a little bit closer. I’m sure they’ll figure out ways to rip us apart. I think Nancy really wants her to have a good relationship with Amanda’s mom. She admires her. She always done the things that Nancy secretly wanted to do.

Soaps.com: There are so many parent-child relationships in the show. How do you think Nancy’s relationship with her son, Frank, is different than the other family relationships in the show? 

Thompson: Nancy’s ultimately disappointed in her son. Her son took after his father in a way that didn’t turn out so great. That’s an interesting thing when you’re disappointed in your kids. They don’t turn out the way you want them to, but you still love them, and you still think you can guide them in a better way. Nancy doesn’t give up on her son. She hopes that Amanda can do the job that she wasn’t able to do in terms of making her son a better person. Recently my oldest daughter, Madelyn, got married, and it really was a weird thing when I realized that I’d kind of gained a son. I really love him, but it’s such a bizarre thing to all of a sudden think that I have a son. 

Photo: George Chinsee/Soaps.

Soaps.com: Margot Martindale narrates the show. Did you ever interact with her in person?

Thompson: It was all separate. But I was super happy with her as the narrator, because she just seems perfect, and her accent is not too extreme. Because there were other people who are lovely that they were talking to [to narrate the show] who just had really, really strong accents, and that would have made us sound weird.

Soaps.com: Where did the inspiration for your accent come from?

Thompson: I’ve done a lot of Southern characters and plays. I did Bus Stop. I’ve done Tennessee, Texas, Atlanta. But like any accent, especially with the Southern accent, you turn it on when you want it and you turn it off. 

Soaps.com: If there’s a second season, where do you see the story headed?

Thompson: I think they’re working on it right now, and I’ll be very curious and excited. I’m hoping in Season 2 that I’ll get to direct because I admire all the actors so much. The trick would be to get Sabrina back because she’s so good. How do you get her back in the show? I don’t know, but I have every faith that it’ll be great, because [creator] Annie [Mebane’s] such a great writer.

Photo: George Chinsee/Soaps.

Soaps.com: Season 1 ends with everyone together on the same. How do you think there can be tension again for Season 2?

Thompson: Very easily. If I’m actually living with Gus, and Gus continues to hoard and destroy my house, that’s pretty bad. And Nancy’s hopefully gonna date. And maybe Gus will date. Who knows? 

Soaps.com: If you had a dream actor to play Nancy’s love interest, who would it be?

Thompson: Oh gee wiz. Someone Southern. Gee, that’s hard. I have so many actors I love. Ryan Gosling. He’s Canadian, but we’d get the credit because the show films in Vancouver. 

Soaps.com: I want to talk about that hilarious hose fight between Gus and Nancy, which had so much physical comedy in it. What was that like to film? 

Thompson: Those things, everyone always gets so freaked out. How many costumes do we have? We have to cut now before this happens. Everyone gets so uptight about it, and of course, Wendy laughed all the time, so most of the takes were ruined. I was better at being stern about it because I was mad. But we looked forward to that scene so much because we didn’t get to act together that much, and we didn’t get to have a real fight. We both love physical comedy. Everybody’s like, “You guys are older ladies. You’re not supposed to love physical comedy.” But we’re both in good shape. I wish we could have done it all day. 

Soaps.com: Nancy has so many Southern sayings throughout the show. Were they all in the script or did you improv some?

Thompson: I don’t know what ended up in the end, but I added a few. I didn’t at first, but we were like, “What are the real ones people say?” Then we got to be like, you could say anything, right? This person makes it up. And then if I had a scene that didn’t have any, I’d be like, “I need one.”

Photo: George Chinsee/Soaps.

Soaps.com: Do you remember any that you made up?

Thompson: Stubborn as a stain. I made that up because I feel like stains are stubborn. I remember some of them that my grandmother would say, and she was from Ohio. My grandma used things like Malarkey, and she used to say a lot of weird things.

Soaps.com: You’re obviously known for so many incredible characters. Was there a role people would be surprised you’ve auditioned for?

Thompson: Steel Magnolias. The part Julia Robert was nominated for the Academy Award. I was down to the last two or three girls, and the director was like, “We’re gonna go with someone who’s really Southern.” That was sad. There have been a few parts I lost that I really wanted. Only the director knows really how close I got. Every once in a while, a director will be like, “I should have given you that part.” That’s happened to me more than once or twice. They’ve been like, “Sorry, I didn’t cast you. You would have been better.” 

Photo: George Chinsee/Soaps.

Soaps.com: Have you ever gone out for any of the movie franchises like Marvel?

Thompson: There are so few parts for women my age that they’re all going to go to Academy Award winners or nominees. That’s why it makes me so grateful to have a place to work like the Hallmark Channel or network TV. That’s also why I direct a lot. They say two percent of parts go to women over 50, and of those two percent, I probably don’t want to do most of them, and then the ones that I want to do go to the Academy Award and Emmy nominees. So it really was a blessing to become a director, because I can work in really wonderful projects and use all that I know. 

Soaps.com: With all the reboots and spinoffs happening, do you ever think there could be another Back to the Future movie?

Thompson: They didn’t expect Back to the Future to be a hit, so at the time, they didn’t even negotiate for sequels. Bob Zemeckis still has the rights, and he said that he will not allow a movie to be made. But I do believe that they’ll make a movie of the musical. 

Photo: George Chinsee/Soaps.

Soaps.com: Would you want to make a cameo if it happens? 

Thompson: Are you kidding me? Of course, yes. I’m so grateful to that movie. I would love to. 

Soaps.com: Maybe as the older version of your character?

Thompson: I mean, I did it once. Now, I don’t need the makeup.

Soaps.com: You’re also known for the Jane Doe series on Hallmark. Would you ever do another one of those movies?

Thompson: That would be so much fun. I’m super grateful, again, because that’s how I started directing. I directed two of those movies. So the Hallmark Channel has been very good to me.

Soaps.com: Where do you think your character is now?

Thompson: I would still be investigating. I’d still be the smartest girl in the room that nobody believed. Always underestimated.

The Chicken Sisters is available to stream on Hallmark Plus. 

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