Sweet Magnolias author reveals big changes from books

Alongside the beloved trio, fans also welcomed back plenty of other familiar faces and some new ones, too, who all had their respective challenges to overcome. But executive producer Sherryl Woods – who is the author of the 11 Sweet Magnolias books – has revealed that much of the season 3 action does not take place in the source material.

In an interview with Parade, Woods was asked about Ronnie's sister Kathy (played by Wynn Everett), revealing: "No, Kathy was not in the books. It's been interesting to me to watch what showrunner Sheryl Anderson has done in terms of bringing in new characters and how that allows deeper explorations of some of the regular characters from the series."

Woods also said that Helen's love interest Ryan (Michael Shenefelt) was an entirely new addition also: "It was strictly a television thing; he did not exist in the books. The tests between Helen and Erik (Dion Johnstone) were not related to a love triangle, so that is completely different. And that’s just the nature of things.

"As human beings and as readers, we want [characters] to live happily ever after. But for good television, there need to be challenges of one kind or another. It doesn't have to be a love triangle, necessarily, but there certainly have to be challenges in order to keep that spark going and keep viewers invested in getting couples back together and things like that."

As for her own views about the ongoing chemistry between Erik and Helen despite the attorney choosing her ex over the chef, Woods said: "For me, of course, I'm very much Team Erik from the get-go because he was my character and he and Helen are a couple who I think ought to be together, and I like them together on screen. So it's been hard for me to watch that play out because I'm thinking, 'Get over there where you belong!'"

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There's currently no word on whether Sweet Magnolias will return for season 4, but there are multiple questions that need answering following the season 3 finale. Watch this space for updates.

Sweet Magnolias season 3 is available on Netflix from Thursday 20th July 2023. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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