Alison Sweeney has been making Hannah Swensen movies for over a decade now, and for at least nine of those delicious little mysteries, Gabriel Hogan has been by her side as Hannah’s bestie Norman Rhodes. We won't have to wait long before another hits the Hallmark movie calendar, but even before that, the longtime friends will star in a new project that changes their dynamic. In Romance at Hope Ranch, they'll play romantic leads, and I just had to know what that friends-to-lovers transition was like.
The Hallmark stalwart sat down with CinemaBlend to talk about her next movie to hit the 2026 TV schedule, Romance at Hope Ranch, in which she plays Hope, an empty-nester fulfilling her lifelong dream of running a ranch in New Mexico. Much to her surprise, her ex-boyfriend Jack (Gabriel Hogan) is also looking to make a big change — and get back together with Hope! So how did Alison Sweeney feel about adding some romance between her and Hogan’s characters? I barely got the question out before she confirmed:
It was weird! It was different! It was funny! I didn't really think about it until we got there on set. He's such a funny guy in real life. He makes jokes, and as everyone who watches Hannah Swensen knows, like, we've worked together since 2015. So it felt so familiar, and I felt so… I know how he memorizes, I know how we run lines together, like, we have really good communication for being actors in scenes together.
The rapport that Alison Sweeney and Gabriel Hogan have developed sounds like a dream. We’ve seen that they’re comfortable enough to throw Monty Python jokes and other ad-libs into scenes with each other, while Hannah’s slow-burn romance with Chad (Victor Webster) continues to develop.
However, it wasn’t Victor Webster wooing Alison Sweeney's character this time around, as the Days of Our Lives veteran got to see a different side of Gabriel Hogan when their characters became love interests with a complicated past. She said:
But then when the dynamic shifted, and it's a more romantic scene, it just really took me by surprise how, you know, he can really turn on the charm and be that hero, the leading guy. He's just a very talented actor, so it's just a totally different thing from how he does Norman.
The fact that the same two actors can share scenes together playing characters in Romance at Hope Ranch who have a completely different relationship from their characters in the Hannah Swensen Mysteries really speaks to their talent and professionalism. I can’t help but think of Allison Janney and Bradley Whitford playing spouses on The Diplomat after spending years portraying White House colleagues on The West Wing.
Luckily, it worked out just as well for Hallmark’s Alison Sweeney, as she seemingly couldn’t have asked for more out of the experience with Gabriel Hogan, saying:
We work together a lot. Known each other for 10 years, and this was just a different role, for both of us, and so it was really fun to know someone so well and then play a kind of different storyline. He was great in this movie and he's so charming and dashing and a wonderful lead co-star, so I really enjoyed working with him on this movie.
If there was awkwardness in transitioning from besties on Hannah Swensen to lovers in their new romance flick, it must have been short-lived, because Alison Sweeney certainly walked away with only glowing things to say.
Be sure to catch Alison Sweeney and Gabriel Hogan in Romance at Hope Ranch when it premieres at 8 p.m. ET Saturday, February 28, on Hallmark, and keep your eye out for news of a new Hannah Swensen Mystery coming soon.
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