Retour à Sullivan's Crossing

If you're a fan of Hallmark series or other Canadian series like Virgin River, Chesapeake Shores and Cedar Cove, you'll definitely enjoy Sullivan's Crossing. As importantly, if you loved Gilmore Girls, this show stars Scott Peterson who played Luke Danes, the owner of Luke's Grill in the fictional town of Stars Hollow. Now, he plays "Sully," short for his surname, Sullivan, owner of a campground-style resort in Nova Scotia called Sullivan's Crossing. His daughter, Maggie, a young neurosurgeon, returns to help him after she was taken away abruptly by her mother when just a child after the marriage fell apart. Her character is the lead and her love interest is none other than Chad Michael Murray, best known for his role as Lucas Scott on One Tree Hill. He plays a lawyer who left his career behind and is staying at Sullivan's Crossing as he seeks a new path forward and a simpler life. He is as hunky and handsome as can be. The series features plenty of drama, ups and downs, and soul searching, but always with a family-friendly tone and sympathetic approach. It can be a bit sappy and hokey, but overall, it's like the comfort food of tv series.

I tried watching Sullivan's Crossing but I ended up giving up on it. I just couldn't watch it at all.

I understand it's based on the books but everything about wat just bad.

The story revolves around a man whose daughter is taken from him by his ex-wife and her new husband. Okay, kidnapped is the right word for it. She returns home to Nova Scotia as an adult to try and reconnect with her father.

I feel I was very generous in giving Sullivan's Crossing six stars out of ten when I could have gone lower than that but I decided not to because at the time I had hoped it would get better than it did.

Based books by the same author as Virgin River, this has exactly the same template. Big city girl moves to a small town to escape her problems, drama ensues with some romantic tension between main character and handsome local. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Each episode. If you enjoy that formula, you'll probably really enjoy this show. It's campy and soapy, and generally a cute formulaic romance drama.

A note though, calling this "Canadian" is being generous. It's supposed to be set in a Canadian maritime town, yet most of the characters have obviously very American accents and don't sound like locals in Nova Scotia would sound at all. They also seem to have ignored the fact that culture and laws are markedly different in Canada than in the US, and consistently make references that aren't accurate for Canada. If you want something authentically Canadian, this won't do it for you.

I decided to give this show a try, on the strength of liking Scott Patterson and Chad Michael Murray. Im giving this show a 6 simply because of them. If they were not in the cast this show would be a solid 3. The character of Maggie is hugely unlikeable. So full of herself. Completely unapproachable as a person. The only reason any other characters interact with her is because its in the script. In real life they would tell her to F off. She has zero redeeming value and I found myself hoping she'd go to jail or be sued into oblivion on principle alone. The rest of the cast (except for Sydney) are engaging and enjoyable. But the stories are just so sad. Every episode is sad sad sad. The scenery is gorgeous and the music is more enjoyable than the LOUD background music of Sweet Magnolias. Maybe things will improve in Season 4? Fingers crossed!

If you like Virgin River you'll love Sullivan's Crossing.

Plotlines are predictable but the character development has come a long way from the beginning. Sully is a character you can really pull for. Morgan Kohan is really settling in to the leading role. Being able to lean on veteran actors like Tom Jackson, Scott Patterson and Chad Michael Murray has given her time to lean in to her character and Maggie has become relatable and warm, something not there at the start.

If you love the books you may not embrace the differences but that's not unusual. Nice scenery of the Canadian Maritimes...

BTW DON'T read the lone critic review unless you want to laugh. Not sure what show they think they're reviewing but Nova Scotia looks nothing like the Rocky Mountains...