Morgan Kohan Lights Fires in SULLIVAN’S CROSSING and Dishes on Castmates Chad Michael Murray and Scott Patterson

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Everyone knows the feeling of returning to an old home town, or visiting a grandparent, or attending a high school reunion, and suddenly reverting to an earlier version of yourself, for better or worse. “Sometimes we love that nothing changes, but also the worst part is that nothing changes,” agreed Morgan Kohan, the star of the new CTV Original drama SULLIVAN’S CROSSING. “It reminds you of whatever you were going through during that time. You get these little flashbacks of moments in your life, even if it’s the smell of something, or if a certain song comes on the radio, and it puts you right back into that space. It’s just a flood of emotions, and memories, all of it. And that definitely happens with Maggie.” Debuting Sunday, March 19 at 7 p.m. ET on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app, SULLIVAN’S CROSSING commences as a homecoming for Kohan’s character, Maggie Sullivan, although not a happy one. Maggie is a successful neurosurgeon in Boston whose life is knocked askew. She seeks temporary refuge in her childhood home, which is a campground in Nova Scotia run by her estranged father Sully, played by Scott Patterson. Once back in her old stomping grounds – which she departed under strenuous circumstances – Maggie’s life is complicated even further by the presence of Cal Jones, a mysterious stranger played by Chad Michael Murray. Initial and mutual irritation notwithstanding, it doesn’t take long for their relationship to transform. Kohan, who is originally from Summerland, B.C., has plenty of romantic drama on her acting resume, so tonally SULLIVAN’S CROSSING fits right into her considerable skill-set. She said that while she has never been in Maggie’s shoes per se, in terms of being forced to return home, she does understand some of the pressure points. “Even when I’m visiting back home, I’ll go to certain parts of town, and all of a sudden, you get this weird anxiety that sits in your chest, where it was the last time you were there – even though you’re a completely different person at this point,” Kohan observed. “It’s still so connected. Those are the building blocks of who you are in those years. So no matter what, that’s at your core, it’s at your foundation. I’m sure we all try to build on top of it, and hide it, and pretend that it’s not there, but it’s still always you. I think that’s what goes on with Maggie for sure. She has built this beautiful life for herself, but as the season goes on, we kind of see that it’s maybe not the full picture. It’s not being true to the fullness of who she is, if that makes sense.” Kohan made an amusing observation about her upbringing, and how it relates to her SULLIVAN’S CROSSING co-stars, Murray (ONE TREE HILL) and Patterson (GILMORE GIRLS), both of whom have intensely passionate fan bases from their previous TV work. “They’re both such wonderful people,” Kohan said. “I think Chad is the loveliest person I’ve ever met. It’s just the epitome of who he is. He comes from such a good place with everything he does, and everyone he interacts with. And Scott is such a charmer. He is just hilarious. Honestly, I was kind of glad that I didn’t watch a ton of TV growing up. So I never really had a chance to get into ONE TREE HILL or GILMORE GIRLS, because if I had, I think it would have been a different experience walking into this. I’m sure it could have been a little like, ‘oh dear, what am I going to do? This is going to be okay, calm down, be cool!’ ” While Kohan clearly was calm and cool in Season 1 of SULLIVAN’S CROSSING, her character isn’t quite so fortunate. “Maggie does not have it easy throughout the season,” agreed Kohan, with a chuckle. “It’s just kind of one thing after the other, to the point where I was going, ‘aww, give her a break!’ I’m not a neurosurgeon, and I don’t have multiple men fighting over me, but there are things with Maggie that I can connect to – like the decisions she has to make, or the fact that she’s questioning herself – and it’s going to be the same for a lot of people. I think it will hit home.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv