"Paris Is Always a Good Idea": What the Cast Really Got Up to in Europe

Hallmark+'s new limited series Paris Is Always a Good Idea sends nonprofit executive Chelsea Martin across Europe to reconnect with the loves she left behind. During a recent TCA press conference, stars Lacey Chabert, Scott Michael Foster, Barbara Niven, and Rebecca Hanssen shared stories from their time filming the six-part series in France, Ireland, and Spain.

For Chabert, the series marks a full-circle moment nearly fifteen years in the making. "The first movie I did with Hallmark Channel was called Elevator Girl about 15 years ago," she shared, "and it was such a joyful project." A limited series, she explained, finally gave her room to breathe inside a story: it "gave us six episodes where we had the time to really delve into the story." That extra space is what she keeps coming back to when asked what she loves most about the project. "The three different timelines that we follow in the story is probably my favorite part of the series," she said, "because we get to have that ultimate what-if story by looking back ten years prior. And she revisits not only the relationships, but the version of herself she was in that chapter of her life." 

A karaoke sequence also reunited Lacey Chabert with one of her old loves: singing. "I was so nervous for that scene," she admitted, "because I had to sing and it was like two o'clock in the morning, and we were pressed for time." What got her through it was her castmates. "I do remember looking out at [Scott] and Rebecca's face and everyone, but especially the two of you, and you were sending me such love and support." The scene ended up changing her outside of work, too: "After doing that scene, I realized I want to get back into vocal lessons, and I want to start singing."

Playing Chelsea's confident rival-turned-ally Jason Knightley gave Foster more runway than a typical Hallmark movie allows, he said, because "we're used to doing 90-minute, two-hour movies and we don't have a lot of time to live with these characters and sit with the story. But we did with this one." A newlywed, Foster was not yet married when the series was filmed, and he took the opportunity to explore Europe with his sweetheart. "I saved my flight so my fiancé could come out to Europe," he revealed, before rattling off the rest of his time off the clock: "I had a bunch of time, and I went to the south of France, rented a car, drove around the Riviera. I went to Barcelona. I went to Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Venice." 

Niven, reuniting with Chabert after previous projects together, copped to packing as if she were moving countries rather than visiting them. "I had six," she said of her suitcase count. "Came home with seven." The logic behind it, she explained, is about survival on long shoots: "We do bring our home with us when we're away because otherwise it's very hard to work." She was similarly effusive about working alongside Henry Czerny for the first time. "I've been such a fan of his," she said, "and can I just say his blue eyes are incredible?" Beyond the compliments, she praised his professionalism under pressure: "He's so prepared as an actor, but such a joy, such a giving human being... he's always right there, just giving. And I loved working with him. I hope Hallmark uses him a lot more with me." 

Hanssen, who plays Chelsea's sister Annabelle, spoke warmly about a role that pulled from her own family. "I loved every second of playing Annabelle," she said. "I channeled my own sister a lot to play her." Based in the U.K., Hanssen was the one cast member who hadn't been able to watch the finished show yet. "I want to watch this, but we can't in the U.K.," she said. "I'm just taking everybody's word for it that they're loving it, which is great." Playing an American also meant putting a well-practiced accent to work. "I think it's all over my CV that I am not from the States," she said, "but mercifully, I have to use the accent quite a lot for other work, so I felt like I had it down."

"I learned so much over these three months from each and every one of you all," Chabert told her castmates, to which Niven replied, "We feel the same way, Lacey." That bond says as much about why this cast wants viewers along for the ride as anything scripted in the show itself. New episodes of Paris Is Always a Good Idea stream every Thursday on Hallmark+.