Hallmark’s Paris Is Always a Good Idea is based on a book — but star Lacey Chabert promises there’s still room for viewers to be surprised.
“I can’t answer for the book fans, but I do think they will be happy with this adaptation,” Chabert, 43, exclusively told Us about how the limited series brings Jenn McKinlay‘s novel to life.
Chabert hinted that there were “some changes that had to be made in the adaptation,” adding, “But I think it’s such a rich story. The characters that people fell in love with in the book are represented so well in this.”
The six-part show follows nonprofit executive Chelsea (Chabert), who goes to Paris with rival Knightly (Scott Michael Foster) to secure a donation. Through a message from her late mother — and support from her family — Chelsea decides to revisit three past loves across Ireland, Paris and Spain.
“I am so happy that this is a limited series because it gives us six episodes to tell this story,” Chabert gushed. “And with a movie, you’re limited in the amount of time that you have to do that.”
By expanding the running time, Paris Is Always a Good Idea is able to get viewers even more invested in the love stories at the center of the show. Chabert appreciated the opportunity to dive into Chelsea’s adventure, which is “a very layered” story.
“It’s a romance and it’s a family drama. It’s a beautiful travel story,” she shared. “We get to go to Ireland, Paris and Spain. We’re also dealing with three different timelines, which was really my favorite part of it.”
Chabert continued: “Because I think it’s just human nature to reflect back on your life and ponder about the future. We get to see my character live in all three of those. As an actress, it was really fun to play.”
Paris Is Always a Good Idea did come with its challenges — specifically when it came to filming scenes from every episode at the same time.
“We shot all six episodes simultaneously. So we were filming different parts of them at all times,” Chabert recalled. “Scott and I, our very first scene together is one of the more complicated scenes in the show. And we were like, ‘Hi, nice to meet you. Let’s go. Let’s do this difficult scene.’”
The actress praised the work that went into bringing Paris Is Always a Good Idea to life both in front of and behind the scenes.
“We had the most incredible directors and producers, and the writing is so rich and wonderful,” she gushed. “So it just supported us as actors. It’s my job, so I was carrying around that 300-page script and guarding it. You just plot out where you think you’re going to be, but then sometimes scenes take you by surprise and it doesn’t exactly land the way you expected. So you just adjust. But that is the favorite part of my job; it’s a puzzle.”
New episodes of Paris Is Always a Good Idea airs Thursdays on Hallmark+.
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