There’s somebody new in town and she’s got a secret. That’s the case at the start of Season 6 of the Hallmark Channel series Good Witch, premiering Sunday, May 3 at 9pm/8c. Joy Harper (Katherine Barrell) is that new person and Cassie (Catherine Bell) certainly seems to suspect something is up with the newest resident of Grey House. Joy is in town though for work and eager to get started renovating one of the Middelton’s oldest homes. Viewers will have to watch and see for anything else that she may be up to in town.
For Barrell, joining the successful series in Season 6 was a pleasant surprise. With the fate of Season 4 of Wynonna Earp, where Barrell is a regular and plays the popular Sheriff Nicole Haught, up in the air last year after a stall in production, Barrell found herself looking into other roles and landed the part of Joy. Filming on Wynonna Earp did resume early this year, after she was done filming Season 6 of Good Witch, unfortunately only to be interrupted by the pandemic.
Barrell recently spoke to The TV Junkies about her role on Good Witch and why it was such a great experience for her. She also shares her disappointment in another break of filming for Season 4 of Wynonna. Also, despite the postponement of the official ceremony, Barrell was the recent recipient of The Canadian Academy’s Audience Choice award that was voted on by fans.
The TV Junkies: So you’re on hiatus from Wynonna Earp last year, not knowing what was really happening there, and you get this role on Good Witch. How did that opportunity come about?
Katherine Barrell: It came about really quickly. I had been living in L.A. last year and just got back to Toronto. There was so much on hold because Wynonna didn’t go and I hadn’t auditioned for anything else. So I thought I’d get my demo reel together and get back in the audition pool, and Good Witch was right away when I got back to Toronto. I was in a session editing my new demo reel, hoping to book future jobs, and I booked Good Witch. It was a very funny moment.
It was a wonderful opportunity because I had just came back to the city, and I had that anxiety over not knowing what was happening with Wynonna, and so it was nice to get this. I had auditioned for Hallmark a few times for some movies, and knew they were interested in working with me, so it’s been a matter of finding the right fit. When this came up it was the perfect opportunity, especially given the fact that it’s shot in Toronto.
TTVJ: I never realized that and always figured it was shot out in Vancouver.
KB: Yep! It is also shot in Hamilton right outside of Toronto and nearby where I grew up. The fun part is — Hamilton is about an hour and a half outside of Toronto — that my parents live close by. So if we were shooting nights and multiple days, I would just go back to their place and spend the night there. That was really fun and sweet and a whole other element of working from home. Not only did I get to go back to my house, but I got to hang out with my parents when I was shooting in Hamilton and that was really cool.
TTVJ: What can you share with us about Joy Harper and why she’s in Middleton?
KB: When Joy first comes to Middleton she stays at Grey House, Cassie’s bed and breakfast. She tells Cassie there’s a job that she has her eye on in town and there’s this mystery around her. She’s a historic home renovator, which means that Joy basically has my other dream job of restoring old homes. It’s so funny when I got the part because I thought I could get to live this alter ego of the other job I’d love to do.
TTVJ: I actually was curious if that was something you picked up from her or if that has been a passion of yours that existed before playing her.
KB: It existed! I was 13 or 14 and watching HGTV and all the renovation shows. I’ve always been obsessed with old homes and my dream is to restore a beautiful old Victorian one day. So yes, it’s actually a huge passion of mine, for real, and just a coincidence that Joy does it as well.
Continue reading “Katherine Barrell’s Joy at Joining Good Witch for Season 6”
