Current:Home > reviews'Really old friends' Kathie Lee Gifford, Roma Downey reunite on new show 'The Baxters' -Wealth Evolution Experts
'Really old friends' Kathie Lee Gifford, Roma Downey reunite on new show 'The Baxters'
View
Date:2025-04-12 19:32:03
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! (13)
Related
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Exxon’s Big Bet on Oil Sands a Heavy Weight To Carry
- Exxon’s Big Bet on Oil Sands a Heavy Weight To Carry
- Over half of car crash victims had drugs or alcohol in their systems, a study says
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Kathy Hilton Shares Hunky Dory Mother’s Day Gifts Starting at $5
- Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Kathy Hilton Shares Hunky Dory Mother’s Day Gifts Starting at $5
- In Florida, 'health freedom' activists exert influence over a major hospital
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- The Bear's Jeremy Allen White and Wife Addison Timlin Break Up After 3 Years of Marriage
Ranking
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- In Baidoa, Somalis live at the epicenter of drought, hunger and conflict
- Judge Delays Injunction Ruling as Native American Pipeline Protest Grows
- 3,000+ young children accidentally ate weed edibles in 2021, study finds
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- Brothers Forever: The Making of Paul Walker and Vin Diesel's Fast Friendship
- Transcript: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum on Face the Nation, June 11, 2023
- Woman Arrested in Connection to Kim Kardashian Look-Alike Christina Ashten Gourkani's Death
Recommendation
Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
South Africa Unveils Plans for “World’s Biggest” Solar Power Plant
Over half of car crash victims had drugs or alcohol in their systems, a study says
Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny Were Twinning During Night Out at Lakers Game
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
National Teachers Group Confronts Climate Denial: Keep the Politics Out of Science Class
Factory workers across the U.S. say they were exposed to asbestos on the job
All the TV Moms We Wish Would Adopt Us