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A new, original movie is coming to Hallmark Movies & Mysteries with Grey’s Anatomy star Sarah Drew. She stars alongside a beautiful dog named Owen, who plays Garth, a potential guide dog. Meanwhile, Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) voices Garth. Read on to find out what we know so far about this upcoming movie, set to air during National Service Dog Month.
Sarah Drew stars in Guiding Emily on Hallmark
Grey’s Anatomy star Sarah Drew is starring in the new original movie, Guiding Emily on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. Meanwhile, she leads the movie with Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) as the voice of her character’s guide dog. Moreover, the movie is set to premiere on Friday, September 8, on Hallmark in a nod to National Service Dog Month.
According to TVLine, Drew plays Emily, whose “life veers off course when she becomes permanently blind after an unfortunate rock-climbing accident and struggles to cope with her new reality.”
Meanwhile, a dog named Garth, whose thoughts are voiced by McCormack, is struggling with his rigorous training as a guide dog. However, with the help of Emily’s friend Matthew (Antonio Cupo, Blood & Treasure) and Garth’s trainer Katie (Sharon Taylor, Altered Carbon), both start to overcome their obstacles.
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Meanwhile, through a series of missed encounters, Garth ends up being paired with Emily. Moreover, with Garth guiding her, Emily takes on her biggest challenge yet, opening her heart.
The movie is based on the book of the same name by writer Barbara Hinske. As the book was the first of a series, we now wonder if Hallmark will make this into a movie series too.
Sarah Drew on her new Hallmark movie
Speaking of her role in Guiding Emily, Drew said that shooting the film was a “deeply moving experience” that allowed her to enter into the blind and partially sighted community “in a very powerful way.” She added that they were honored to have two actresses from the community playing roles in the movie. Sarah said that sitting with the two and hearing their stories was “transformative” for her and the film crew.
Drew added how honored she was to visit the Guide Dogs of America open house shortly before they began shooting. The visit allowed her to tour the facility and learn all about the process of raising service dogs.
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Meanwhile, the Grey’s Anatomy star also learned of the sacrifice puppy raisers make to train the dogs for two years. Moreover, after all that time together, trainers send the dogs off to a member of the blind or partially sighted community to partner with them.
Guiding Emily walks the audience into this world in a moving, tender, educational and compassionate way. I hope the audience will be as affected by this film as we all were making it.
Drew also shared a video where she talks about the movie on Instagram here.
This isn’t Sarah Drew’s first time in a Hallmark movie, as she starred in One Summer and Christmas in Vienna. As for McCormack, he previously starred in A Heavenly Christmas on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
When does Guiding Emily premiere?
Guiding Emily premieres on Friday, September 8, 2023, at 9 pm ET on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. Listen to Drew speaking of her new movie on TVLine’s website here.