Family drama, fried chicken, and reality TV collide in Hallmark Channel’s latest series The Chicken Sisters, based on the bestselling 2020 book by KJ Dell’Antonia. On May 13, the network announced the new series will drop later this year starring several familiar faces, including the one and only Lea Thompson! It joins Hallmark’s growing lineup of women-led series including runaway hit The Way Home and the long-running series When Calls the Heart (which was just renewed for a 12th season).

Annie Mebane, who previously worked on The Goldbergs and Shrinking, is set to helm the series. “When I read The Chicken Sisters by KJ Dell’Antonia, I fell in love with these characters. On the surface, the show is about two restaurants competing on a reality show, but it’s about the baggage we pass down through the generations and learning to unpack it,” she said in a statement, per TVLine. “I love telling this multigenerational story focused on women: their frustrations, their desires, and ultimately, their healing. We’ve assembled an incredible cast, and we can’t wait to welcome audiences to Merinac.”

In addition to becoming a bestseller, The Chicken Sisters also won over Reese Witherspoon, who made it one of her Reese’s Book Club picks when it was released. Now the Southern-fried story is heading to the small screen with a star-studded cast attached.

When will The Chicken Sisters premiere?

Filming of the eight-episode first season is currently underway with a mid-September premiere date. It will premiere exclusively on Hallmark+, the company’s ad-free subscription service and membership program launching in tandem with The Chicken Sisters’ debut.

Who is starring in The Chicken Sisters TV Show?

Hallmark dropped a few big casting developments during the Summer 2024 Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena, California, starting with who’ll voice the nearly omniscient narrator: Margo Martindale. The Emmy Award-winning star has over 100 acting credits to her name, although many of us will always fondly think of her as the Owens sisters’ supportive friend Linda in Practical Magic.

According to the network, “At the start of each episode, the narrator sets up the story as she serves up history and offers country-fried context for the characters in the way only the best town gossip can.”

Hallmark also announced a few more additions to the cast: James Kot (Brie’s villainous ex, Don, in Virgin River), Rukiya Bernard (Taissa’s wife, Simone, on Yellowjackets), Jake Roy (the youngest McMurray brother, Tuff, in Hallmark’s own Ride), and Ektor Rivera (Ben in Groundswell).

As previously reported, The Chicken Sisters’ cast includes TV icon Wendie Malick, Schuyler Fisk, and Genevieve Angelson. At its heart, the series is about mothers and daughters, and the quartet of stars assembled by Hallmark seem well-equipped to bring the humor and emotion in Dell’Antonia’s book to life for the small screen.

“Annie Mebane blew us away with her vision for The Chicken Sisters — her unique spin and enthusiasm for this fried chicken feud had us excited from Day 1,” Lisa Hamilton Daly, EVP of programming, Hallmark Media, said in a press release. “And talk about a dream cast! Schuyler, Genevieve, Lea, and Wendie are the perfect actors to lead this witty and heartfelt story. We are confident that each episode is going leave our viewers craving more and more.”

What’s the fried-chicken-fueled drama about?

Set in the small town of Merinac, The Chicken Sisters follows dueling fried chicken restaurants Mimi’s and Frannie’s, which have been locked in a feud for generations. As a result, both the families and the town are divided into team Mimi’s and team Frannie’s. However, the arrival of the popular reality TV show Kitchen Clash in Merinac could finally heal the rift and bring the town together once more.

Will the show follow the book?

It’s unclear how closely the show will adhere to the book, but the basic plot appears to be the same. In Dell’Antonia’s story, the Moore and the Pogociello families have been in a bitter feud for decades, and Amanda Moore is trapped in the middle of it thanks to her scandalous marriage to Frank Pogociello. Frank’s death leaves Amanda a widow who is determined to close the divide between the two families and their restaurants once and for all.

Amanda’s goal to end the feud is thwarted by her sister Mae Moore, who sees the arrival of the reality TV show Kitchen Clash in town as her opportunity to step into the limelight, while also reviving the struggling Mimi’s. With sister pitted against sister, the drama surrounding the two families threatens to turn into a proverbial grease fire that’s only stoked by the producers of the reality show.

This article was originally published on May 16, 2024