Grab your margaritas and get ready to travel back to Serenity, South Carolina.
"Sweet Magnolias" is coming back to Netflix this summer for its third season. You won't have to wait long to find out what Maddie, Helen and Dana Sue have been up to since Season Two aired in February 2022.
On June 30, Netflix released the official trailer previewing the third season, which promises a mix of dramatic reveals and heartwarming moments of friendship.
Maddie Townsend, played by JoAnna Garcia Swisher, narrates the trailer and kicks off the two-minute clip by saying, “New relationships and new challenges are good for the soul.”
Already counting the days until the show premieres? Bless your heart! We're breaking down everything you need to know about the show's long-awaited return.
When does Season 3 of 'Sweet Magnolias' premiere?
All 10 hour-long episodes of Season Three will be available to stream on Thursday, July 20.
Swisher shared the release date on Instagram, posting a selfie with co-stars Heather Headley (Helen Decatur) and Brooke Elliott (Dana Sue Sullivan) to celebrate the news.
"I’m so excited to welcome you all back to Serenity, July 20th, 2023 on @netflix for #SweetMagnoliasSeason3. Hope to see you all there!" she captioned the post.
Elliott shared the same photo on her page. Headley, on her end, posted a video clip her Instagram page.
"I have news. You know how many of you have been asking me over and over again, 'When is it coming back?' Well, it's time for you to dust off your margarita glasses — that's for you who maybe put them away — get your favorite salsa recipe, call up your magnolia or oak, and tell them to meet you and me on July the 20th on Netflix," she says in the clip. "We’re really excited to share it with you. Cannot wait what you have to say."
Who's returning for Season 3?
According to a Netflix press release, all your hometown favorites are returning for the third season of "Sweet Magnolias."
Swisher, Elliott and Headley will reprise their roles as the show's central friend trio. The actors playing their onscreen children - Carson Rowland (in the role of Tyler Townsend), Logan Allen (as Kyle Townsend) and Anneliese Judge (as Annie Sullivan) - will also appear once again this season.
Odds are, there will be plenty of romance this season because the actors playing the sweet magnolias' love interests — Justin Bruening (as Cal Maddox), Brandon Quinn (as Ronnie Sullivan) and Dion Johnstone (as Erik Whitley) – are also making a comeback.
Chris Klein (as Bill Townsend), Jamie Lynn Spears (as Noreen Fitzgibbons) and Chris Medlin (as Isaac Downey) will also appear.
What can we expect from Season 3 of 'Sweet Magnolias'?
On June 30, Netflix released an action-packed trailer for the upcoming season, which will feature plenty of heartwarming moments with everyone’s favorite trio of friends (Maddie, Dana Sue and Helen).
Season Two ended on a tense note as Cal got into a brawl at Sullivan’s. Season Three will follow Maddie as she “wrestles with the best way to help Cal and works to clear her own emotional path,” according to a press release.
We’ll see more of Maddie and Cal’s relationship this season, but her close friends have lots of romance in their lives too.
After a surprise proposal from her former flame Ryan (Michael Shenefelt) in the Season Two finale, Helen has to choose between him and Erik, who she just started dating last season.
“I care so deeply for Erik, but Ryan’s been in my heart my whole life," she says.
A press release hints that Helen will confront “difficult decisions about the men in her life," and the trailer backs that claim up as she has a tense conversation with Ryan.
"I make a difference here. This is a side trip for you, but this is my home. I need you to commit, too," she says.
Meanwhile, Dana Sue and Ronnie are giving marriage a second try and it comes with its fair share of ups and downs.
"We’re still finding our footing but we are back in the groove in all the important ways," she tells her friends at one point during the trailer.
After welcoming a baby last season, Noreen struggles to move forward with her life but her ex, Bill, appears to keep popping up. Bill is also making things difficult for Maddie, who he visits and says, “I just wanna be there for our children.”
Maddie's son Tyler seems to be doing a bit of soul searching this season and he doesn't appear to be as passionate about baseball as he once was.
“There are other things I wanna do, other choices I want to explore,” he says.
Maddie then asks him the following question: “Are you holding on to an old dream because you haven’t found a new one yet?”
Last season, Dana Sue inherited a significant amount of money after a dear friend died. This season, she will brainstorm ways “to use Miss Frances’ check to help the community, without upending her family" this season, per Netflix.
At the end of Season Two, someone also slashed Dana Sue's van. When their identity is revealed this season, it will send "shockwaves through Serenity," causing "unexpected consequences," according to Netflix.
In the Season Three trailer, Dana Sue confronts an unwelcome face at a party and says, "What are you doing here?" The woman replies, "All I ever wanted was to be your friend."
Frustrated after seeing her restaurant kitchen trashed, Dana Sue asks, "After all this time, what does she still think she can get from us?”
Above all, the show's heartfelt love story to female friendship will be evident in each episode once again.
"Throughout the season, the ladies tackle these problems — and all the complications they cause — with their trademark warmth, humor, and devotion to each other and those they love. And margaritas," a press release reads.