Nikki DeLoach is one of Hallmark’s most beloved actresses, starring in more than 20 Hallmark rom-coms and mysteries on the network since 2015. But as soon as she got the script for her newest movie — “Home Turf,” premiering on October 4, 2025 — DeLoach knew it was something special.
“I was working in Ottawa when the movie (script) came through, and it was the first time in my 10-year history at this network that I said yes to a movie after reading just the first act,” DeLoach told EntertainmentNow.
“The script was so good,” she continued. “It was funny, it was succinct. The writers did such an incredible job setting up who these characters were. By the time I finished Act One, I called my reps and said, ‘I’m in, this one is fantastic!'”
DeLoach is just as excited about the movie after filming it as she was when she got the script, telling EntertainmentNow that the comedy has all the ingredients — from a “perfect” leading man in Warren Christie to its fall football theme — for becoming a Hallmark classic.
From Working With Warren Christie Again to Using Her Comedic Chops, Nikki DeLoach Says Making ‘Home Turf’ Was a Joy
In “Home Turf,” DeLoach plays a small college president “whose life is thrown for a loop when freshmen on the football team move into her home,” per Hallmark’s synopsis, and the team’s “handsome coach” tries to smooth things over. As DeLoach was reading the script, she instantly envisioned Christie — her co-star in 2024’s “Our Holiday Story” — as the coach, but didn’t expect to be paired up with him again so quickly.
“It was honestly such a surprise because, in our world, it’s not often that you get to do back-to-back (movies) with someone,” DeLoach told EntertainmentNow. “We had such a great experience working together on ‘Our Holiday Story,’ and to be perfectly honest, when I read the first act, I immediately thought to myself, ‘Wow, Warren Christie would be perfect for this role.’ So I was so happy to be reunited with him.”
DeLoach, known for taking on poignant Hallmark movies like “The Gift of Peace,” was also thrilled to let loose in a comedy, noting, “I’m often the one they go to for the movies where we are dealing with very tough subjects, like grief. So to be able to just do a straight-up comedy? What a joy! It was so much fun.”
“Home Turf” is the “quintessential fall movie that everybody has been waiting for,” DeLoach added. “I said it from the moment that I read the script. I just think this is going to be a fan favorite for a long time. I love a good sports movie, it’s got so much romance, it’s got comedy, it’s multi-generational. It’s got something for everybody. And it’s also got the pumpkin spice lattes and all the things that you love about fall.”
Nikki DeLoach Says ‘Home Turf’ Script Was the Kind That Allowed Her to ‘Just Have a Blast’ On Set
In addition to her starring roles, DeLoach also works behind the scenes as a screenwriter with her creative partner Megan McNulty. The duo’s “True Justice” Hallmark mystery franchise premiered in 2024, with two more already filmed and expected to be released in 2026.
DeLoach’s unique perspective made reading the “Home Turf” script all the more exciting. She said screenwriting team Gregg Rossen and Brian Sawyer, along with Hallmark development exec Ayse Francis, created a timeless winner that was a joy to film.
“I cannot even tell you what that feeling is like for an actor when that script is in such good shape (from the start),” DeLoach marveled to EntertainmentNow. “It allows you to just step on set, do your work on
your character and your lines, bring the character to life, and just have a blast.”
DeLoach also said Rossen and Sawyer gave her a layered, strong character to portray with a storyline she thinks many women will relate to.
“She’s a very Type A person,” she said of college president Cassidy, “and all she really needed to do was to let love and life and laughter and fun into her life because she was missing that. And it thinks sometimes in our striving and our ambition, we often forget that we have to also have fun along the way.”
Nikki DeLoach Reveals How Her Perspective as a Writer Impacts Her Acting Roles
Hallmark“When you are a writer, two things happen when you read a script,” DeLoach told EntertainmentNow. “Number one, you can see really quickly what’s missing or what might not be fully developed. But you also know how to fix them, which is incredible. It’s such a gift (to be able to do that).”
But the second thing that happens for DeLoach is more of a challenge, in that she can quickly recognize, even with a great script, which scenes might be tough to pull off due to everything from budgetary constraints to location limitations.
That can lead to “rewriting all the way through,” DeLoach said, but added that she has “so much compassion for the writers because you understand the work they had to put in just to get (the script) to the shape that it has to be in (to get made).”
But there was no need to reinvent the wheel with Rossen and Sawyer’s script, she said. That may be due, in part, to the fact they’ve written so many Hallmark classics, including the “Crossword Mysteries” franchise and 2017’s “The Perfect Catch” — co-starring DeLoach and her dear friend Andrew Walker.
“Home Turf” premieres on Hallmark Channel on October 4 at 8 p.m. Eastern time and will be available to stream on Hallmark+ the following day.
