'Sullivan's Crossing' star Chad Michael Murray reveals why Nova Scotia set reminds him of 'One Tree Hill'
"The only other show I've ever been on that was like that was 'One Tree Hill,'" Murray said
CTV's Sullivan's Crossing, starring Morgan Kohan, Chad Michael Murray and Scott Patterson is off to a particularly dramatic and emotional start. While fans of TV dramas have lots of options, Murray said there's something special about this show that he hasn't felt since One Tree Hill, and that's the impact of the location.
"You can feel the vibe when you get in the city, it carries through the show, and I will tell you the only other show I've ever been on that was like that was One Tree Hill, where people are still making that voyage to Wilmington, North Carolina, to go be there and to get that feeling, that vibe," Murray told Yahoo Canada. "When I go back there that's all I feel, I feel the energy from that show, that energy was from the city."
Where to watch Sullivan's Crossing Season 2 on cable: CTV
Where to stream Sullivan's Crossing Season 2: CTV.ca and the CTV App
When does Sullivan's Crossing Season 2 premiere: April 14 at 9:00 p.m. ET, moving to 8:00 p.m. ET for the following weeks
Sullivan's Crossing showrunner: Roma Roth
Cast: Morgan Kohan, Chad Michael Murray, Scott Patterson, Amalia Williamson, Andrea Menard, Tom Jackson, Amalia Williamson, Lynda Boyd
Number of episodes: 10
Catch up on Sullivan's Crossing Season 1 on Crave, with plans starting at $9.99/month
Murray was "so excited" to get back to Nova Scotia to film Season 2 of Sullivan's Crossing, so much so he already can't wait to go back to film in the Canadian province again.
"I'm ready to go now. Let's go start Season 3," Murray said. "It's just a magical place and I love it, my family loves it, our cast loves it."
"I think it's always going to be weird walking on any set that's not Halifax because it just holds such a high place in my heart. ... You get in you say good morning, and you're hanging out and you're looking around and it's just water, and picturesque and nature everywhere you look. It's just so stunning and so fresh. The vibe and the energy sets the tone for the whole day, for the work, how it's going to come through, how it's going to be received. Everybody's more peaceful and calm. Like our crew, they jump in the lake at lunch. ... You don't get that other places."
Spoiler warning: Details of Sullivan's Crossing Season 2, Episode 1 included beyond this point
Maggie's relationship with Sully
As we saw in the first episode of Sullivan's Crossing Season 2, Sully (Patterson) is in the hospital, after we saw him collapse to the floor in the Season 1 finale. Doctors believe he could have Alzheimer's, with the episode ending with Sully having a dangerous fall at the hospital.
Things between Maggie (Kohan) and Cal (Murray) are very much up in the air, after Lola (Amalia Williamson) took the note that Cal left for Maggie, and of course, Maggie is still wrapping her head around her pregnancy.
In the Season 2 premiere we see Lola open the note Cal left for Maggie.
"I wanted to let you know how much I enjoy being with you. I just need to put my past behind me to move forward," the letter states.
Something Kohan teased we get to see more of in Season 2 is the relationship between Maggie and her mom, played by Lynda Boyd.
"We get to see a little bit more of Maggie and Phoebe, her mother's relationship in there too, because we've touched on Maggie and Sully quite a bit," Kohan said.
In terms of continuing the develop Maggie's relationship with Sully, the actor stressed how nice it is to move into a second season of a show, where she has an established relationship with her costar.
"You have an idea of how someone's going to take something," Kohan said. "I have a great scene partner in front of me, ... so it was nice to get to revisit those relationships and build together."
'There's a lot more that we don't know'
A big questions for Sullivan's Crossing fans is whether Cal and Maggie will end up together, particularly with Maggie's pregnancy in the mix and Cal still working through the trauma of his wife's death.
"I think there's always trepidation in putting yourself out there, and we pulled the veil back a little bit and we discovered a little bit more about Cal's history," Murray said. "What you'll find is that there's a lot more that we don't know."
"He gave his entire heart to a woman, she passed away and the pain that you would undergo, I don't ever want to imagine. That was a very real sequence when I was going through that, because if you put yourself in this scenario, what would you be feeling? ... It was painful. That was hard to shoot for Season 1. And so for Cal to put himself back out there now, hoping and praying that Maggie is the one, he's always going to kind of look over his shoulder and just hope that same bell doesn't ring again."
Catch up on Sullivan's Crossing Season 1 on Crave, with plans starting at $9.99/month
But one thing that remains consistent is that showrunner Roma Roth will still leave us with the most intense cliffhangers. It's something the cast also experiences working on Sullivan's Crossing.
"I am reading the script and I'm like, 'OK where's the next one? What's happening here?'" Kohan said.
"It's one of those things where you get to the end of the table read and everyone's like, 'No!'" Murray added.
"She's making great drama and we just want to do our best, and make sure that we're there for her and tell the story as she sees fit."
