[Warning: Spoilers in images, article, and preview.]
Lifetime’s newest original movie, Expecting Amish, is a thoughtful drama with a title that makes it sound sort of salacious when it really isn’t. The film follows 18-year old Hannah (AJ Michalka), an engaged young Amish woman whose Rumspringa trip to Los Angeles has her returning home ready to break from her fiance, faith, and family, and pregnant from a last-night goodbye tryst with a DJ, Josh (Jesse McCartney), who she meets and bonds with very quickly.
The film does a good job showing the disparity between Hannah’s restricted life at home as the matriarch of the family and her awakening in LA, which leaves her to make decisions that will have permanent ramifications for herself, her child, and her family and friends. I’m not sold that she isn’t trading one sort of indentured life for another, but you have to just go with it.
Michalka is solid as Hannah, and she and McCartney have a nice chemistry with each other. Brian Krause plays Hannah’s dad, and it’s funny to see both him and Sleepwalkers co-star Madchen Amick on Lifetime all these years later.
Hannah’s fiance, Samuel, is played by Jean-Luc Bilodeau, who I will forever adore for Kyle XY (and how he’s not landed in Mystic Falls yet via Julie Plec is beyond me). He’s very good as a young man who’s angry and betrayed and can’t understand why Hannah is ready to leave all they’ve known.
Expecting Amish airs Saturday night on Lifetime at 8/7c and repeats at midnight/11c. Here are some sneak peeks:
Hannah Meets Josh:
Josh Drives to Amish Country:
Samuel Offers to be the Father:
3 Comments
Leave a Reply
Thank Me Later: Will Trent
[Warning: spoilers ahead.] I’m on record as loving and losing shows over at ABC so I’m usually very reticent to pick something up on the network until it’s been renewed, and I seriously hope I’m not jinxing it, but I took a chance on the deeply odd and very sweet…
Dennis Heaton Talks The Imperfects
Longtime readers at TV Goodness will know that Motive is one of my ride-or-die series, and as such, I am fiercely loyal to its creator, Dennis Heaton. He followed up that fantastic reverse procedural with Netflix’s The Order and is back on our streaming screens with The Imperfects, which dropped…
Kelly McCormack Talks Favorite Moments in A League of Their Own
[Warning: Mild spoilers for season 1.] Now that you’ve had a chance to watch A League of Their Own, here’s the rest of my chat with Kelly McCormack about her favorite moments of the season. Seeing the iconic Peaches uniforms for the first time wasn’t just a goosebump moment for…
John Griffin and Harold Perrineau Talk From on EPIX Season 1 Finale
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] How are we doing, #FROMily? In case you missed it this morning, the very good news is that that cliffhanger will be followed by a second season, which was gifted this morning ahead of the linear broadcast of the finale. I always legitimately appreciate when we…
Elizabeth Saunders Talks EPIX’s From
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] One of the things that makes EPIX’s From such a fun ride is the abundance of Canadian cast members. Elizabeth Saunders, who plays Donna, is a favorite from her turn on the third season of Mary Kills People [streaming on Global TV in Canada and Roku…
Corteon Moore Talks From “Broken Windows, Open Doors”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight’s episode of From had us all in our feels as we learned through flashbacks about the Sophie’s Choice Boyd had to make to save his son, and back in the present as Boyd said his piece with Ellis before heading into the woods with…
Pegah Ghafoori Talks From “All Good Things…”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode] Tonight on From, Fatima’s anniversary celebration turned into a Colony House of horrors when a misguided Kevin let his monster bae in and she promptly killed him and left the window open for her crew. While the party devolved into terror and sent everyone running,…
Shaun Majumder Talks From “Book 74”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight on EPIX’s From, Father Khatri made a bold move, kidnapping Sara instead of turning her in, and then recognizing her as a vessel for some big messages. That startling realization speaks to him on multiple levels–as a man of faith, a man trapped in…
Avery Konrad Talks About Sara’s Struggle in From “Silhouettes”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Over the course of the season so far on From, we’ve witnessed Sara’s battle against the voices telling her to to do terrible things, and tonight we saw her unravel further, threatening the Matthews and lashing out in a moment of terror with horrifying results….
Hannah Cheramy Talks From “Choosing Day”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight, on EPIX’s From, the Matthews participate in the show’s version of the sorting hat, choosing where to call home–the town or Colony House. At the end of the episode, Julie makes the decision to split from her family and instead settle in with Fatima…
What They Said: Three Revealing Conversations from Survivor’s Remorse “Closure”
WARNING: Spoilers for Survivor’s Remorse “Closure” The latest episode of Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse featured conversations that showed characters really digging deep into their thoughts, emotions and motivations.
Two Takes: The Catch “The Knock-Off”
Who can you trust? If this episode of The Catch was any indication, the answer is just about nobody. Betrayal was running rampant as Felicity (Shivani Ghai) arose from the dead to seduce-con Margot, Gretchen (Maria Thayer, Gotham, The Mindy Project) played gold-hearted Alice 2.0 before swindling Ethan, Tessa jumped…
What They Said: Top 3 Quotable Moments from Preacher “El Valero”
Both Quincannon and Jesse refuse to give up on what they each think is rightfully theirs. While Jesse is struggling to face the consequences of his actions, Quincannon has laid his past demons to rest and is hellbent on moving forward and putting Annville on the map again. Despite a…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Supergirl “Worlds Finest”
Oh, Supergirl. That ending was cold. But I can’t hate on you because the latest episode has quickly become one of my favorites.
What They Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Black Sails “XXIII”
The dialogue in “XXIII” is phenomenal. It’s always a fun ride when Black Sails carries its viewers along without giving them the chance to catch their breath. When an episode moves at this unforgiving pace, there is no chance for a breather nor is there a respite from the information…
What Lucifer Said: Favorite quotes from Supernatural “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
Supernatural episodes are almost always funny but thanks to the dialogue and a certain man speaking said dialogue, I laughed a lot during “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” You know, when I wasn’t busy fearing for Sam’s life or wondering what in the world was going on with Dean and…
What They Said: The Flash, “Legends Of Today” and Arrow, “Legends Of Yesterday”
Two nights of Arrow + The Flash = what more could we ask for?! I don’t know what it is about blending these shows, but I can’t help but feel that every time they come together, they somehow become greater than the sum of their parts. And that’s saying a lot…
What they Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Graceland “Little Bo Bleep”
Shoot outs. Fake outs. And long-awaited revelations. “Little Bo Bleep” was a jam-packed episode that wrapped up some loose ends and totally frayed others. Â It finally gave us one Sarkissian in jail and pulled back the curtain on Briggs’ master plan, but it also set up Jakes for a world…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Poldark “Part 4”
“What have I told you, I don’t require my wife to crochet and sip tea, but I do require her to remember she’s not a beast of burden.†No, I’m not talking about The Rolling Stones! I have to admit though, just for a second, the lyrics popped into my…
This is the worse depiction of Amish life I have ever seen. I am a tour guide in Lancaster County and can’t believe the lack of reserch that went into this movie. It seems like it is open season on the Amish and their culture. Everything in the movie was completly false. They worship in homes not in a church. They do ride in cars,the girls do not wear white everyday,they are not baptized in rivers they are baptized by pouring on water,they do not sing hymms as depicted,they are only shunned after they are baptized.They use grey buggies here not black.Many of the youth have cell phones and even have facebook accounts. They are to be repected and admired for the way they live not exploited.
Thanks for writing, JoAnn. Lifetime isn’t exactly the bar for real-life accuracy. I appreciate your insight.
Although I can not in any way vouch for the depiction of the Amish and their accuracy in that department I don’t think that was the point of the film. The story was about two people from very different worlds finding a common ground and falling in love despite their cultural differences. It was a coming of age film where the protagonist has to look at her life and choose what she wants for herself. I thought it was a beautiful story and the main characters played well off each other. Jesse McCartney’s speech by the car is heartbreaking. This film tugged at your heart strings and made you feel young again. She could have been from anywhere, it didn’t have to be Amish she could have just as easily been from any culture which has arranged marriage. I loved the film and would love to own it if Lifetime ever sells it on DVD.