Stream It or Skip It: ‘Sweet Magnolias’ on Netflix, a Southern Soap Begging to Be Binged

Netflix brings Sherryl Woods’ beloved series of novels to life in Sweet Magnolias, a deep-fried drama about a trio of southern ladies living and loving in South Carolina. Chris Klein and Jamie Lynn Spears round out the cast of characters that make up the town of Serenity. But is this town worth checking out for a spell or should you just keep on driving?  

SWEET MAGNOLIAS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Divorce proceedings are underway between Maddie (JoAnna Garcia Swisher) and Bill (Chris Klein). Maddie’s lawyer and BFF Helen (Heather Headley) is trying her damnedest to make sure Maddie gets a fair shake—but the meeting is tense!

The Gist: Maddie, Helen, and Dana Sue (Brooke Elliott) are three tight-knit friends living their lives in South Carolina, lives that include juggling kids with careers and making room for a little romance, should any come their way. Really, that’s it—that’s the show. Think of a Hallmark holiday movie, just without all the Christmas stuff and slightly more artful production.

Our Take: Ask yourself one question: what’s your visceral reaction to the phrase “Hallmark holiday movie, just without all the Christmas stuff and slightly more artful production”? Because that’s exactly what Sweet Magnolias is, and that will determine whether or not this show is for you. Me? Being a gay man born and raised in Tennessee, Sweet Magnolias feels as if my love of Designing Women, Nashville, and Christmas at Dollywood all crystallized into one sparkly ruby brooch, one I’d proudly pin to my seersucker suit. The show is absolutely ridiculous, but also absolutely delicious.

The show is based on a series of novels, which you can tell because the first episode packs in, no exaggeration, a dozen plots that makes it feel like the Netflix equivalent of a Sunday brunch buffet. You’ll have a side of divorce drama with a few scoops of a scandalous Instagram account, just a thing of small business drama topped with some vandalism, all next to the main course of opening up a spa (with a dash of fertility woes). All these ingredients make up a Netflix casserole that should be way too much to tackle in one sitting, but it all goes down smooth. You’ve seen every single one of these plots before, but that just makes Sweet Magnolias pure comfort food.

A plot this stuffed, though, would be borderline unwatchable if the show wasn’t powered by three absolutely charismatic leads, each one of whom could—nay, should—get their own holiday movie franchise out of this. JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Heather Headley, and Brooke Elliott essentially divide the show into thirds, making it part family drama, legal drama, and restaurant drama—and all three shows are infinitely watchable on their own. But then these three get together and, watch out, it’s fun. Here’s a tip: when you see all three of them on-screen, margaritas in hand, go on and pour a glass for yourself.

Sweet Magnolias isn’t prestige TV and it ain’t trying to be, either. But it’s an excellent soap, one that is worth watching if you need some comfort right now.

Sex and Skin: Absolutely none at all. While Sweet Magnolias is slightly edgier than Hallmark fare (I mean, an affair and pregnancy out of wedlock?!), it’s still suitable for women and gays of all ages.

Parting Shot: Maddie’s faced with a decision: will she go in on this spa business with Helen and Dana Sue?!

Sleeper Star: Jamie Lynn Spears has a 12 year gap on her IMDb between the end of Zoey 101 and Sweet Magnolias, and lordy you can’t tell. She’s given a pretty thankless role as the pregnant mistress-turned-fiancee of the lead’s scoundrel of a soon-to-be ex-husband, but Spears infuses Noreen Fitzgibbons with a sweet, almost heartbreaking innocence that you find yourself rooting her to ditch Bill and join in with the girls at the spa.

Most Pilot-y Line: Sweet Magnolias was born for this category. Nearly every scene includes at least one, sometimes two, sometimes three lines that are so joyously pilot-y that you’ll want to rewind and savor every single syllable. Truly, I live. And narrowing down to just one is impossible, so here’s the best of the best:

• “Seriously, first a baseball star and now a theater star. Am I even worthy to walk to school with the two of you?”
• “I keep telling him that it’s an honor to be coached by a professional player—” “Former professional player.”
• “You and I have always been committed to bringing business to Serenity, Helen. Why else be on Town Council?
• “Maddie, Maddie, we have been talking about this since we were Katie’s age! Going into business together, remember? The Sweet Magnolias making their mark on Serenity.”

But if I had to pick one pilot-y line as the best one pilot-y line, it would be these three, which come in a span of literally 4 minutes (I timed it):

• “Ah, the Pickle Jar sales stakeholders! And are you holding this meeting in your role as our mayor’s wife or in your role as the realtor with the greatest financial interest in these sales going through?”
• “And, Peggy, I hope that for the benefit of an informed populace, you will cover this public meeting in your role as a deputy editor of our paper and not in the role of Mary Vaughn’s best friend.”
• “Okay, but asking as your old—make that longtime friend, not your doctor, something happen?”

Our Call: STREAM IT. With our lives still in quarantine mode, this show is a mighty fine substitute for gabbing and gossiping with your BFFs over drinks.

Stream Sweet Magnolias on Netflix