Exclusive Interview
‘Sweet Magnolias’ Star Justin Bruening Talks Cal & Maddie’s Future and Season 5 Hopes
Sweet Magnolias Season 4 was full of changes, especially for Cal (Justin Bruening) and Maddie (JoAnna Garcia Swisher). The beloved Serenity couple had a surprise wedding during the town’s Halloween party, but there wasn’t much time to celebrate after that due to Bill’s sudden and shocking death.
As Maddie and her kids coped with the loss, Cal was right there to be a pillar of support. However, Cal dealt with his own struggles as he tried to balance everyone’s needs and the pressure he’s always put on himself. Just as everything started to settle in Serenity, Maddie got the opportunity of a lifetime — in New York City. Bruening spoke with Swooon about Cal and Maddie’s next chapter in a possible Season 5.
With so much going on in Maddie and Cal’s lives, they have yet to take a honeymoon. “That’s actually why I hope there’s a Season 5,” Bruening quipped. “I would like to go on a honeymoon. That would be wonderful.” (Dana Sue and Helen, get on that!)
Courtesy of Netflix
Now that Cal and Maddie are married, could a baby be in their future? For those who have read Sherryl Woods’ Sweet Magnolias book series, the couple eventually welcomes two kids! However, it’s important to note that the Netflix series has veered from the source material, specifically when it comes to Bill’s death.
“I almost thought it was going to happen this season because we were going into our room a lot, but we haven’t gone on a honeymoon yet, so who knows,” the actor said when asked about a Cal and Maddie baby. “It’s up to the powers that be, but I would love to see that.”
The Netflix small town drama hasn’t been officially renewed for Season 5 as of now, but Bruening believes there’s still so much to explore with Cal.
“I have noticed we keep hinting at his childhood,” the All My Children alum told Swooon. “His mom brings it up a few times, like how Christmases were hard, so we’ve never really gone into it. I think I once asked, ‘Does Maddie know the extent of my childhood?’ Our showrunner and writer, Sheryl [J. Anderson], said, ‘You’ve told her things, but you’ve never told her everything.'”
He continued, “I kind of want to unwrap that, and not in a carrying it into the characters sort of thing or to drive this new storyline, but it’s more I’d love to see where he came from, to really delve into where he’s going. Those are little things that change who you are. It has come up a few times a season, and then I was like, ‘Wait, why are we talking about this again?’ Sometimes that’s the little breadcrumbs that you lay to go into something else. You can tell when Maddie starts to ask me questions, I don’t really answer them.”
As the actor reflected on Cal’s journey so far, he opened up about exploring Cal’s vulnerability. “He never needs to think he’s perfect, but I don’t think he ever thinks he’s good enough or that he fulfills the challenge that’s placed in front of him, whether it’s at the restaurant or a friendship or his wife or his new family,” Bruening said. “I think that he struggles with being enough. I think that’s been the theme of most of the seasons. He’s trying to be someone who he’s not and not just himself. He’s so used to being in the limelight and being this person that everyone knows from baseball that he kind of lost track of who he is, and that’s what Maddie helps him discover.”
What are your hopes for Season 5? Do you want Cal and Maddie to have a baby? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Sweet Magnolias, Season 4, Streaming Now, Netflix
