Chyler Leigh and Evan Williams Talk ‘The Way Home’ Season 2 [Interview]

The much-anticipated return of Hallmark Channel’s hit series The Way Home is upon us, and it looks like we have plenty to look forward to. The Way Home Season 2 has even more mystery than the first as Kat continues to look for answers about her brother’s disappearance.  

I recently spoke with stars Chyler Leigh and Evan Williams, who play Kat and Elliot on the series, respectively, about what viewers can expect from The Way Home Season 2. (You can watch the full interview below.)

The Way Home Season 1 ended with the reveal that the “white witch” we saw at the beginning of the series was, in fact, Kat, who had managed to time-travel to the 1800s. Leigh shared what that new journey would look like for her character this season.

The Way Home Season 2 Episode 1 – Chyler Leigh as Kat Landry – Credit: ©2023 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Peter Stranks

“It’s very eye-opening, I will say. It’s an incredible journey for her in the 1800s to really come to understand the Landry origins,” Leigh began. “And [by default] she kind of learns the Augustine origins as well.”

“She gets to see Port Haven being built, really genuinely built from the ground up. And she sees the very first version of their house — what it looked like all those years ago [in] 1814.”

In fact, what it looked like in that time period is different than what Kat would have expected. 

“It depended on what part of the world that you lived in, just as far as not walking around in like the little pretty canes and the beautiful hats — it was not that. It was like a pitchfork and potatoes,” Leigh laughed. She added, “It was just a much grittier version of what Kat ever thought that it would be.” 

Watch the full interview with Chyler Leigh and Evan Williams:

Leigh added that while Kat is there, she discovers new mysteries as she meets some of her ancestors. She also sees how choices that were made back then affect how everything “presents itself in the present.” 

“And where is the Jacob of it all?” Leigh continued. “Because that’s gotta be in there, right? Because she says that when we see her as the white witch. She says, ‘Jacob, I’ll be back for you.'”

“So whatever that looks like, she has a heck of a time trying to figure that out.”

Leigh also gushed about what it was like filming in that setting, from the set designers to the new cast members who joined the series. 

“It was wonderful. Even down to the lighting — we made it different. We wanted there to be a bit of an unknown feeling where you weren’t quite comfortable,” she said. “And so, we didn’t want to make it where it’s scary or anything like that. We just wanted to make it as real and raw as possible.”

Meanwhile, Elliot is on his own journey this season.  After having declared at the end of Season 1 that he needed to figure out who he was now that he no longer knew everything the future held for him, he’s faced with what that choice actually means.

The Way Home Season 2 Episode 1 – Evan Williams as Eliot Augustine – Credit: ©2023 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Peter Stranks

That decision also meant a break from his relationship with Kat. However, Williams hinted that there was still plenty of hope for them.

“It was a big choice for him to make, and it wasn’t a choice that wasn’t necessarily popular with Kat or with some audience members,” Williams said. 

“In Season 2, we see Elliot wrestling with what the true ramifications of that choice were, and maybe realize that that’s not a choice that one can make in one point in time and be done with it. That this actually requires a journey that might be uncomfortable and might require some real introspection.”

“Through that introspection, we learn more about Elliot both as a 16-year-old and as an adult, and I’m hoping that with Elliot’s trajectory towards truly learning how to love and accept himself, he will be able to present a truer of version for Kat. And that maybe their love will have a chance.”

“And I think audiences will be there for it, because they wanna see the nuance of a relationship that doesn’t have just an easy answer,” Williams continued.

“Because in real life, relationships don’t have easy answers. They’re ongoing. And that’s the kind of storytelling we want to do in the show — storytelling that has narrative heft, and has stakes, and has the equivalent rewards.”

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The Way Home Season 2 premieres Sunday, January 21st at  9/8c on Hallmark Channel.

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