Current:Home > Invest'Really old friends' Kathie Lee Gifford, Roma Downey reunite on new show 'The Baxters'-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
'Really old friends' Kathie Lee Gifford, Roma Downey reunite on new show 'The Baxters'
View Date:2024-12-23 20:04:09
NEW YORK ― Easter, the holiday in which Christians mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is for some a time to reunite with family over brunch and perhaps a few chocolate eggs. On TV, another reunion will happen between the families of two longtime friends: Roma Downey and Kathie Lee Gifford. Downey's new faith-based series “The Baxters” (now streaming on Amazon Prime), features a cast including Downey's daughter, Reilly Marie Anspaugh, and Gifford's daughter, Cassidy.Gifford, the Emmy-winning TV host, has known Roma since her cameo appearances on Downey's hit CBS show “Touched by an Angel.” She also makes an appearance in Season 1.
“I was visiting (Cassidy) out in Los Angeles when they were shooting,” Gifford, 70, tells USA TODAY before turning and shrugging. “I had to force my way on!”
Cassidy, 30, quickly adds, “She does that!”
“The Baxters” is based on a series of novels by Karen Kingsbury. Downey read the books and optioned them for the series, which she's been developing for a decade. Filming began prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I came to this series as a fan,” Downey, 63, says. “It was my intention that audiences won’t be able to stop watching it.”While mentioning this, Downey brings up a “new word” the way your parent might: “bingeing.” Save for the first episode, “The Baxters” is split into 22-minute episodes. The actress and executive producer surprised fans on Thursday by revealing all three seasons of the show (34 episodes in total) are available now. Downey has rarely appeared on camera over the past decade and says it was a little like getting on a bicycle again.“A little older, hopefully a little wiser,” she jokes. “But I had such a lovely cast to work with.”
As for working with her daughter, Downey tried not to be a “helicopter mom.”
“Every now and then (Reilly would) go, ‘Mom!’ because I’d walk over in between takes,” she recalls. “’Mom, let me be!’”
The other mother-daughter duo involved in the series, who live near each other in Nashville, disagree on the frequency of their visits: Kathie Lee believes she sees her daughter "hardly ever," but Cassidy quickly clarifies that they are together at least weekly. They are on the same page, though, when it comes to their faith and their belief in the timing of this series.
Frank Gifford, Cassidy’s father and Kathie Lee’s husband, died in 2015. "It's just hard to believe that it's been that long," she says, adding he’d be happy about the show. “He adored (Cassidy). He never thought he’d have more children. But he always felt like if that was something I wanted, then he had no right to not let me have children."
They had two; Cassidy's brother Cody, 34, has two children.
"My husband passed away almost nine years ago. It's just hard to believe that it's been that long," Gifford says in a reflective moment. "But you know, life is full of different seasons."
veryGood! (82)
Related
- Barbora Krejcikova calls out 'unprofessional' remarks about her appearance
- Simone Biles floor exercise seals gold for U.S. gymnastics in team final: Social reactions
- Perfect photo of near-perfect surfer goes viral at 2024 Olympics
- International Human Rights Commission Condemns ‘Fortress Conservation’
- Whoopi Goldberg Shares Very Relatable Reason She's Remained on The View
- Paris Olympics set record for number of openly LGBTQ+ athletes, but some say progress isn’t finished
- Perfect photo of near-perfect surfer goes viral at 2024 Olympics
- Wetland plant once nearly extinct may have recovered enough to come off the endangered species list
- Who is Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida congressman Donald Trump picked to serve as attorney general?
- Saoirse Ronan secretly married her 'Mary Queen of Scots' co-star Jack Lowden in Scotland
Ranking
- New Yorkers vent their feelings over the election and the Knicks via subway tunnel sticky notes
- Sheriff in charge of deputy who killed Sonya Massey declines to resign, asks for forgiveness
- US golf team's Olympic threads could be divisive. That's the point
- Orville Peck makes queer country for everyone. On ‘Stampede,’ stars like Willie Nelson join the fun
- Lions QB Jared Goff, despite 5 interceptions, dared to become cold-blooded
- How Harris and Trump differ on artificial intelligence policy
- Coco Gauff ousted at Paris Olympics in third round match marred by controversial call
- Red Sox beef up bullpen by adding RHP Lucas Sims from the Reds as trade deadline approaches
Recommendation
-
Jason Kelce collaborates with Stevie Nicks for Christmas duet: Hear the song
-
American consumers feeling more confident in July as expectations of future improve
-
How watching film helped Sanya Richards-Ross win Olympic medals and Olympic broadcast
-
Heavy rain in northern Vermont leads to washed out roads and rescues
-
Wisconsin agency issues first round of permits for Enbridge Line 5 reroute around reservation
-
Lilly King barely misses podium in 100 breaststroke, but she's not done at these Olympics
-
Did the Olympics mock the Last Supper? Explaining Dionysus and why Christians are angry
-
US Soccer Stars Tobin Heath and Christen Press Confirm They've Been Dating for 8 Years