Lori Loughlin on Her Countdown to Christmas Return in Hallmark’s ‘What If Christmas’

After eight years, Lori Loughlin is back in the Countdown to Christmas fold once again. The beloved actress makes her return to the annual programming event in What If Christmas, which premieres on October 25.

The When Calls the Heart star plays Erin, a devoted wife to her heart surgeon husband, Adam (Tom Cavanagh). When he moves to a new hospital, Erin feels adrift and begins to reflect on not pursuing her dream of fashion design. Erin’s life is turned upside down after she’s given a heart-shaped Christmas ornament, and she wakes up in an alternate reality where she’s a world-famous fashion designer.

For Loughlin, What If Christmas was her chance to explore a story she was first intrigued by years ago. “I read the initial draft of this script probably 3-4 years ago, and I was trying to get it made somewhere else before I went back to Hallmark, and it just didn’t come to fruition,” Loughlin told TV Insider.

Hallmark Media / Gerry Kingsley

Related

Lori Loughlin Talks Hallmark Return & Reviving 'Garage Sale Mysteries'

“And then when I went back to Hallmark, they wanted to do a Christmas movie, and I remembered the script. So I had Brad Krevoy, a friend of mine and producer that I work with all the time. He had purchased the script when I initially read it and found it, and he still had the rights to it. So I called him up and I said, ‘Hey, let’s send that script to Hallmark and see what they think.’ So they did, and Hallmark liked it. And then they brought in another writer to do another pass, Julie, and she did a great job. They liked the concept and the idea, and so did I. And that’s how it all came about.”

The Full House alum stars alongside Cavanagh in the latest Hallmark flick. Their paths had never crossed until What If Christmas. “I’d always been a fan of his,” Loughlin said. “I remember when he was on that TV show Ed. I loved that. But I never worked with him. He was such a gift. What a great guy and really good actor. We got along right out of the gate. We had really good chemistry, and it’s just always fun when you’re working on a project to have that kind of connection with the other actor. It really takes all the work to the next level.”

Loughlin appreciated that the script allowed Erin and Adam’s connection to be ever-present — no matter what universe they found themselves in. “I think that’s what was special at the core. I think you could see that these two characters in both lives loved each other, cared about each other, had feelings for each other,” she said.

What If Christmas, Movie Premiere, October 25, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel