Lacey Chabert Says She Would Love To Take Her Hallmark ‘Celebrations’ Series “On The Road”: “A Big Dream of Mine Would Be To Go Back To Mississippi, Where I Was Born”

Lacey Chabert admits that she “had no idea” of the Hallmark-headed path her career would take after filming the 2010 rom-com Elevator Girl.

“It was a fun job. I loved the script. I had a great time shooting it, and I never knew if I’d hear from Hallmark again. And lo and behold, I’m about to start my 44th movie for the network next week, actually,” she told DECIDER via Zoom last month. “It just feels so right. And it’s an opportunity that I’m so grateful for.”

Outside of her extensive film catalogue for the network, Chabert is also at the helm of the Hallmark Channel’s Celebrations with Lacey Chabert, which returns for a second season on September 15. In the series, Chabert spotlights local Los Angeles heroes who are making a difference, and with the help of party planners Lisa Friedman and Marissa Lainer, plans a surprise celebration in their honor.

“I walk away from the experience of filming this show and creating the show feeling so inspired, and it re-instills the hope in my heart that it matters to make a difference in even the life of just one person, and the ripple effect of that is just incredible to watch,” she shares.

For more on Chabert’s party-planning prowess, her upcoming Hallmark holiday projects, and the touch of Party of Five in Celebrations with Lacey Chabert Season 2, continue reading our full interview.

DECIDER: In this series, something that I loved was getting to see these heroes’ stories spotlighted. Was there a particular story that resonated with you this season out of all of them?

LACEY CHABERT: It’s so hard to pinpoint only one because they all really hit my heart in different ways that were so meaningful. I have to say I was really particularly touched by Kayli-Joy’s story. She founded Girl Well, and just hearing her own personal story as I got to know her more, talking to her mom before the celebration, in the three days leading up to the celebration. She went through a house fire, and in the middle of all that and such loss—her own personal loss—she still managed to create Girl Well and to be able to help and support the lives of so many young women. It was a recurring theme I noticed with all of our heroes. A lot of their initiative that they took and a lot of reasoning behind forming their organizations was out of their own personal challenges and own challenges that they had overcome in life. I just think that’s so inspiring, when you can take something that could be viewed as only a hardship and actually turn that into the engine behind your desire to help other people. It really inspires me.

I know there’s a checklist that you kind of abide by in every episode as you plan each celebration: the theme, the location, decor, the food, and the hero moment. Do you have a favorite item on that checklist to work through and why?

I just love the theme. It’s so fun to work alongside Lisa [Friedman] and Marissa [Lainer], who are the most incredible planners, and to come up with these fun themes because it’s good to use your imagination. You feel like a kid again, and they do it in such a way that I really hope our audience will try to create their own version of these parties at home. We do a lot of DIY. I think a lot of it’s things that could be recreated very easily and also just so creative. And I love the wow moment of when our hero walks in. Not only do they see this incredible party and they’re kind of overwhelmed by that, but then when they stop and realize and look around the room and they see the faces of their loved ones and friends and they realize that this is all about them, every time, that makes me cry. It’s pretty much a guaranteed cry. And like, can we cut around some of my ugly crying in this show? [Laughs]. Because there were so many moments. I mean, especially one that was really meaningful to me was when we got to surprise one of our heroes with a loved one, and we got to fly in her dad and to see their reunion, it was just beautiful.

No, definitely. I found myself tearing up while watching.

Oh, did you?

Yes.

Aww, yay.

With this show, these heroes are nominated by either like a loved one or someone that they work with closely through these organizations. I wanted to ask a little bit about what that nomination process is like. How many nominations come in? Are you at all involved in reviewing these nominations? How does it work? 

Well, there are a lot of us on the team behind the scenes of the show who all weigh in. And there were a lot of heroes. There’s a lot of incredible people out there who deserve to be celebrated. You know, there is a casting agency who helps facilitate all of it. But we watch a lot of tapes and it’s very hard to narrow down because you’re like, oh my gosh, yes, they’re all kind of yeses. And it’s a process of elimination. And we do eight episodes, so we had to narrow it down to eight. But the people that we had the chance to celebrate, I think it was all just perfect and very meaningful. And I walk away from the experience of filming this show and creating the show feeling so inspired, and it re-instills the hope in my heart that it matters to make a difference in even the life of just one person, and the ripple effect of that is just incredible to watch.

I actually got the chance to speak with some Hallmark stars who are a part of the docuseries Christmas at Sea—and I feel like recently, like that series and with this project as well, Hallmark has been making more of an effort to spotlight fans stories or spotlighting the community at large. And I was curious, while you’re the host of the series and obviously a star of it, the show is really shedding a light on these hometown heroes, many of whom are Hallmark fans. What has that experience been like? Kind of stepping back and allowing for other stories to take centerstage in these projects? 

It really means everything to me because when you take it back to the movies that we make, we want our audience to see themselves in the movies, and the storylines are so relatable and we try to make characters—I try to make characters that people can go, oh, I’ve been at that point in my life, or I see myself in that because we all really do have more in common than not, I think. To be able to take that same sentiment and bring it to life in a real way, and share real stories and to hear from our audience and to have our fans who are just the most incredibly loyal group of people I’ve ever met and so kind and so loving. When I have the chance to meet them—I’ll be at the Christmas experience again in Kansas City this year. I was there last year. It was so special to hear the stories firsthand of not only what the movies mean to our fans, but their own personal stories of things that they were going through in their lives. And it makes us all feel connected. So to have a bigger platform to tell some of their stories, I really think it’s an honor.

That’s amazing. And would you be interested in a third season for this series or continuing it down the line? 

I would do a hundred seasons of this show if I had the chance. There’s so many good people in the world, and my dream would be to take the show on the road, too. We’ve been here in Los Angeles, which has been wonderful. It’s my hometown and we found the most wonderful people to celebrate here. But, you know, a big dream of mine would be to go back to Mississippi, where I was born, and tell some stories there and all over the country. And like you said, to maybe be able to tell some of our fan stories, as well. It makes me feel good. It’s such a feel-good show. And don’t get me wrong, making a show is a lot of work and has its stressful moments, but the team behind it, it’s nice when you know you’re all in it for the right reasons. Everyone’s inspired and it’s like everyone does whatever it takes to get the show done and I just love it. I’m so excited to share it with our audience.

This season, there were some celebrity appearances with Garrett Morris, Jason Mraz, and Kimberly J. Brown, as well. What was it like bringing in these stars and also seeing their involvement in the organizations being spotlighted in the series? 

Well, it’s just so nice when we get to know our heroes and then, in doing our little investigation on our heroes and trying to find people that we can talk to that can help us and help us not only design the party, but also give us further insight into our heroes and who they are as individuals. We found these wonderful friendships and people that were so excited to come on board and help us out. And it was wonderful. You know, everyone from, like you said, Jason Mraz, Garrett Morris, Kimberly J. Brown, my good friend. You know, she’s one of my dearest friends in life. She was excited to jump in and help. And then she and I should mention, also had the chance to film Haul Out the Halloween, which will be airing October 11th. And so that was such a really fun, full-circle moment.

I got to watch a couple of the episodes this season and one of the episodes I references Party of Five with you explaining that you took the violin stool that [your character used] from set.

Oh yeah.

And I was curious, was it special to kind of infuse this Hallmark project with such a staple of your career, as well? 

A lot of these things that you’ll see on the show weren’t really planned. They sort of just unfolded. And I call them happy accidents. We also had to be very flexible with the show because we’re shooting it in Los Angeles. We got rained out of a couple venues, like you just have to go with the flow and figure it out. And our planners, Lisa and Marissa, are amazing at making it all happen. But it’s taking it back to the Party of Five thing, and I think it’s fun for me to share a part of who I really am on the show. It was a little scary at first, especially in the first season, like just to be myself, because I’m used to being a character. I’m used to having a script, and to go out there and all of a sudden you connect with someone and you end up having sometimes a really deep and emotional conversation, and to feel that vulnerable is kind of hard. But it always ends up being so fulfilling, you know, just to connect with someone else. And there were a lot of things that were very funny, that were unplanned, and there were, you know, a lot of tears because I was just overwhelmed by so many heartfelt moments. So I hope the show makes people laugh and cry and all the things.

I know that you mentioned Haul Out the Halloween, and I was curious in terms of future projects for Hallmark that you’re involved in, what else can you tease about what’s to come?

Well, I just finished a Christmas movie with Andrew Walker called She’s Making a List, and it was incredibly fun. It’s super magical, funny, and also poignant. And I play an auditor for Santa’s naughty or nice list. So it’s a very different world than we’re used to. 

This was a reunion for you two, right?

Yeah. He and I did a Valentine’s Day movie, [My Secret Valentine], I think, about seven years ago, and it was so nice to be with him again. He’s so kind. He’s funny. He’s a great scene partner. It was very joyful. 

You’ve become such a Hallmark staple, and that you’ve been in tons and tons of movies for the network and projects like this series. Can you speak to what drew you to the network in the first place? 

Well, when I did my first movie, which was called Elevator Girl, I had no idea that it would turn into this. It was a fun job. I loved the script. I had a great time shooting it, and I never knew if I’d hear from Hallmark again. And lo and behold, I’m about to start my 44th movie for the network next week, actually. It just feels so right. And it’s an opportunity that I’m so grateful for. You know, I’ve been allowed to expand and grow with the network and to, you know, put on my producer hat and they’re very collaborative. We have an idea, they listen and, you know, we work on it. The movie that I’m about to go film is something we’ve been developing for the past year and a half, and I appreciate the opportunity that they let us be so hands-on. I’m also really excited because I have a product line coming out with Hallmark this holiday season. It’s beautiful wrapping paper, and cards, and glasses, and this gorgeous tray. It’s fun for me because I feel like with these items, I’ll get to be a part of other people’s celebrations. 

In planning these celebrations in the series, I guess what was the most important thing for you? Whether it be spotlighting the guest of honor, settling on a theme that most accurately represented them? Like what was the thing that you’re like, if nothing else gets accomplished, this is the most important thing that needs to be checked off?

A really big part of it is the surprise, because the surprise is real. So we do our best, and everyone that’s involved does their best to keep it a surprise, because it’s such a special moment when our hero walks in. They’re often a little confused at first, but then they see the faces of their loved ones or people they work with, and they realize all this love is coming back at them. It’s special to watch someone take that in because it’s like, you know, our heroes have offered such parts of their heart and have been in service to so many people, and to see them receive a little bit of that love reflected back to them is pretty powerful. In as far as the party itself, physically, I think it’s the theme. We always have to have the perfect theme. Every detail can be worked out along the way, but finding the theme that we think is going to resonate with our hero is really important.

And another thing, kind of going into some other examples of your past work, you and your fellow Mean Girls costar Jonathan Bennett have become such Hallmark staples and icons. Would you consider, or are you open to welcoming other past cast mates of yours into the fold, bringing them into the network?

Of course! The more the merrier. Absolutely. I’m so happy that Jonathan and I get to share this space here together. I love him so much and I’m so proud of him. And yeah, I think Hallmark appeals to so many people because at its core, it’s just goodness and hope and laughter and bringing people together. And who doesn’t want to feel good in that way and be left with an uplifting feeling? 

As summer’s kind of dying down, we’re going into the fall, but for the holiday season, which is like Hallmark’s bread and butter, what do you think distinguishes Hallmark as a network when it comes to holiday content?

I just think, gosh… Hallmark just does it so well. You know, I think it goes all the way back to the card company. It makes sense that Hallmark cards have always been a part of people’s milestones and celebrations and life events. And I think that same feeling rolls over into the movies. Again, it’s about being relatable and telling stories that people relate to and shining a light on things that are good and hopeful.

Celebrations with Lacey Chabert Season 2 premieres Monday, Sept. 15 on Hallmark Channel, with next-day streaming on Hallmark+.