As the beloved Hallmark Channel series “The Way Home” nears its conclusion with the fourth and final season, star Chyler Leigh is opening up about just how meaningful her time on the show has been for her personally.
In a recent interview, Leigh, who plays Katherine “Kat” Landry, reflected on the emotional core of “The Way Home” and how the show’s depiction of mother-daughter relationships deeply resonated with her. She also shared how the dynamic with her co-star Andie MacDowell, who plays Del Landry, extended far beyond the script. She explained how many on-screen moments echoed themes she’s had to navigate in her own life, especially in motherhood.
Leigh Says She Utilized ‘Traumas’ From Her Own Life for ‘The Way Home’
When asked what she thought “The Way Home” got right about mother-daughter relationships, Leigh responded, “I think they got right the ups and downs, the highs and the lows.”
She continued on about how she was “constantly learning things” from MacDowell and that she was “so grateful” for “so many of the words and the intention and the genuineness,” especially when MacDowell would speak to her about her “own life” and “about being a mother.”
Leigh added that “through Del to Kat,” there were “so many things” that she wished she had “heard” from her “own mother.”
“It was so healing, in so many ways. And then I have daughters that are teenagers, and I feel like I was able to utilize so many things that I struggled with and the traumas and stuff in my own life,” she said. “To try to change that for my daughters as well, like the buck stops here, then it also lends itself to the dynamic in the show. You know, where having a teenage daughter, like the through line, and to see generationally what we carry with us and what we try to change.”
Leigh concluded, “It was really interesting how well they hit it, like, on the head. I feel like it was, it’s been a really beautiful story.”
Leigh Discusses ‘Cathartic’ Final Season Ahead of Premiere
Hallmark“We learned early on that our show could heal people, relationships, and families,” Leigh told Parade in an exclusive interview from April 18 prior to the Season 4 premiere on April 19.
“We heard from viewers that they felt healing from grief, anger, resentment, and bitterness,” she said. “Sometimes life is more than you expected, but you keep going. You keep moving forward. You don’t stop.”
She explained that “every answer leads to another question,” but “by the end, the creators, writers, and actors have done everything within our power to tie these stories back together.”
Many of the themes explored in the show hit close to home for Leigh as a mother of two teenage daughters, who also experienced a 22-year estrangement from her own mother, according to the outlet.
“Those conversations in Season 4 are incredibly cathartic,” Leigh said. “The experience of this series has been extremely cathartic. Kat will live in me forever; I will always hold a piece of her in my heart.”
The actress went on to say that although she doesn’t “ever want to say goodbye” to Kat or to the show, she loves that “the audience will see how hard we worked, and that they’ll get real closure.”
It’s wonderful to hear how much this role has helped her. Finding moments of connection and joy through storytelling can be really powerful.