[Warning: General spoilers ahead.]
Last week, Platonic began its second-season run on Apple TV+, and as I mentioned in my preview, Charlie’s a bigger presence this year, with his own full storyline. We’re here for that, of course, because Charlie is played by Luke Macfarlane. It’s a welcome return, as the last year found Macfarlane fully immersed in his Hallmark+ home restoration series, Home Is Where the Heart Is, which had him sitting out the 2024 Countdown to Christmas/Miracles of Christmas holiday season for the first time since 2015. Earlier this week, I caught up with him to talk about both series, and his first foray into the world of San Diego Comic-Con.
Reality shows run the gamut in tone, and Macfarlane says that with Home Is Where the Heart Is, he and Hallmark worked hard to craft a series that was respectful to and in alignment with the brand, down to how the families and homes were selected. “It was a very long process. A big part of our show is [personal] stories that were just as important as the homes,” he explains.
“And I think the individual is more important than what the house actually looks like, because the home is the people who live there. I’m very pleased with all the stories we got to put out. The show was exactly what we set out to create. We were very, very committed to making sure that everybody is comfortable.We would never want anybody to say something [they didn’t want to be broadcast].”
Macfarlane loved the mother-daughter episode, “Empty Nesting.” “There was something about the way their family functioned and the care that they had for each other, and how much they looked out for each other,” he recalls. “Although it was very briefly included in our final reveal, all her kids came home at the end. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed chatting with them. They were all just so different.”
Returning to Platonic after such a long break driven by two separate/concurrent labor strikes and a very busy cast, Macfarlane marveled at how significant the hiatus was for him personally. “The biggest indicator to me the time had passed is I have a two-year-old now, and when we filmed the first time, I was childless,” he shares.
He loved diving back into the world of an adult, platonic friendship, something that was also a hallmark (#SorryNotSorry) of Killjoys. “I think the second season is stronger than the first. It’s a show with a complicated premise, just in the sense that it’s not a story we tell often,” he points out. “Friendship is more complicated to define, but I think in the second season, everybody is a little less self-conscious about being understanding.”
The second season expands Charlie’s arc, and Macfarlane was excited to explore more of his world, while not detracting from or creating a loophole for the central plot. “In a lot of ways, I think Charlie has one of the clearest arcs of the season. I was delighted that I got that opportunity to do more, and handle more material that would serve the whole story and the whole show in a way and not alienate Charlie. I think [there was a worry] that if Charlie wasn’t perfect, we’d be concerned about the marriage,” he explains.
“In order for this show to work, I think really at its core, and what it’s about, their marriage has to be solid. It has to be working, or else it puts a whole different kind of jeopardy on what is going on with her friendship with Will. So I was grateful that they felt, and they trusted, that even if Charlie got a little bit waffly, you could still be okay with the fact that the marriage is gonna be okay. That we’re never too concerned about that as the audience.”
Mid-season, Charlie gets to compete on Jeopardy, the aftermath of which begets an After Hours-esque bro-hang with Will. Macfarlane had a ball, both as a minted fan of the game show visiting the hallowed home of fellow Canadian Alex Trebek and getting to riff with Seth Rogen.
“Legitimately, I’m a Jeopardy nerd. To this day, it’s one of the things that’s set up to record. I watch it every night. I’m Canadian, and Alex Trebek was our national hero. They made a stamp for him. Being on the Jeopardy set, I realized the materials that sets are built out of [aren’t that resilient]. I didn’t actually break it, but Charlie has a little bit of nerves being on the show. So they were very concerned that I was fumbling the buzzer,” he laughs.
“What makes Platonic special is that it’s got some old school physical comedy bits, and it was really nice that they gave me the opportunity to do some of that, filming all that on the last day of filming at three am in the morning somewhere in the valley of Los Angeles running around and having a pretty crazy time. To contextualize, it was the day after the presidential election, so there was a lot going on, but it was wonderful. [Seth] is so talented, very, very sharp and very different from me. So I think that contrast is always interesting.”
Last month, Macfarlane participated in a Hallmark favorites cast panel at SDCC in front of 2,000 fans. It was his first experience at the con, and he was excited to meet other Hallmarkies and was blown away by the fan attendance. “It was so delightful. Heather Hemmens is the only actor I’ve worked with. Everybody else I was meeting for the first time,” he shares.
“It’s always particularly delightful to get to meet the other guys because we truly don’t really have any opportunities to work together unless you’re part of The Groomsmen or Three Wisemen. I got to meet Tyler Hynes, who I liked very much [see their chat with Rob Reiner here] and Will [Kemp] and I actually found out we go way back with mutual friends.”
“[The crowd] was disorienting, I have to admit. I stepped onto the stage and I just didn’t quite realize the scale of it. I was thinking there were gonna be like a hundred people in the ballroom, so I was shocked when I saw that [it was 2,000]. I was incredibly honored that they picked me to be part of talking about how we’re gonna tell the Hallmark story.”
“It was an absolute joy and a beautiful presentation. They actually opened with this brilliant package of famous clips of people from all of pop culture saying [variations on], ‘Well, it’s like a Hallmark movie.’ They showed clips of our stuff and I was relieved when one of the four questions was directed to me from a nice woman in the audience. And she was a fan. because she’s asking me about playing the cello and I thought, ‘Oh, she did her research.'”
While Macfarlane isn’t yet slated for any additional fan appearances this year, never say never. “I always wanna be part of Hallmark, I’m most judicious about [the commitment], but I would totally do if they asked me to,” he says.
Back in June, our beloved Killjoys celebrated the 10th anniversary of its premiere, a milestone that caught Macfarlane off guard. “You just surprised me by saying it’s 10 years. So that does shock me. Hannah [John-Kamen] and Aaron [Ashmore] and I all keep in contact. I got to go to her premiere of Thunderbolts* here in Los Angeles, which was delightful to see her,” he shares.
“But in particular, sitting there in the row with her and watching this movie, there’s that really intimate thing where you know an actor so well and can really see them. And it’s so moving because what Hannah was bringing to her character was very different than Dutch. But she’s still my friend. It’s so incredible to see her in such a big, amazing movie.”
“And someone I’ve acted with so much, and recognizing the lifts of the head and the giggles and the looks, and that’s just so delightful. It makes me feel [grateful for] a long career. You see friends go from these starting places to these magnificent heights.”
The second season of Platonic is streaming on Apple TV+ now, with new episodes available every Wednesday at 12:01 am ET. You can also catch Macfarlane alongside his Platonic castmates on this week’s Watch What Happens Live, now streaming on Peacock. Home Is Where the Heart Is is currently streaming on Hallmark+. While no Hallmark Channel rebroadcast has been announced, it wouldn’t surprise me to see the series get a linear run, given the network’s success with airing its streaming content.
Photos courtesy of Apple TV+, Hallmark Media, and Syfy.
