Julia Tomasone, Jordan Doww, and Devin Cecchetto Reveal All About The Way Home Season 3!
The Way Home season 3 finds viewers uncovering new mysteries and secrets as the Landrys time travel to the 70s to witness teen Del and Colton's love story. Pop Culture Planet’s Kristen Maldonado spoke with Julia Tomasone, Jordan Doww, and Devin Cecchetto to learn more about portraying the teenage versions of our iconic Porthaven characters, secrets behind this season, and so much more.
This season of The Way Home we dive into teenage versions of some of our most pivotal characters including Del, Colton, and Evelyn. “Something that I noticed right away is that family was at the heart of the show. I was so excited for the audition of young Del because she's such a well-rounded female character and that's just exciting to see as an actress,” Julia Tomasone shared with me. “I had the chance to talk to Andie MacDowell. Her portrayal of Del is so beautiful. She brings so much experience and depth and luckily we agreed on a lot of the core of who Del is. She's just a really warm person that has a fierce love for her family. It's something that she passes down to Kat and Alice. That was at the core of my preparation, for sure, in terms of the character and then, of course, there was the accent and the mannerisms, which were a big part of getting Del right.”
When it came to bringing teen Colton to life, Jordan Doww recalled “there was a little intimidation there.” During his audition he brought more of a goofy humor to the role that was more like his real life self and during chemistry reads with Julia was able to find “a much more grounded, cool guy in him.” He revealed that he did a lot of studying of the ninth episode of season one with the grief counseling sessions. “There's a part in the script where adult Del says that this summer of ‘74 was Colton's worst and best summer of his life. So I knew he was going to be navigating meeting the love of his life, but also mourning the loss of his best friend and then also navigating like how to do music with staying home,” shared Doww. “My main intention was to fall in love and to keep it really grounded. He's a rock to the community and people around him, so I had to bring that in.”
During their chemistry reads, the duo has an instant connection. “I didn't know whether I was going to get the role, but I was like [Julia’s] gonna get it,” explained Doww, while Tomasone shared: “The directors and writers, showrunners, creators of the show, they just really wanted to get that connection right because it's such an iconic love story. I was really glad that they trusted us to portray them.”
Meanwhile Devin Cecchetto plays a younger version of the matriarch of the powerful Goodwin family. “When you first get introduced to Evelyn, she's dancing [and] that was the audition scene. That openness at the beginning is why I wanted her to be such a free-loving spirit,” shared Cecchetto, who didn’t have to do as much extensive research as Tomasone and Doww when it came to bringing Evelyn Goodwin to life. “I'm able to play, but also the Goodwin name is such a huge name in the show. Sometimes it's looked down upon. The Landrys don't really love the Goodwins. I just had to play the perspective of not knowing any of that.”
“Evelyn's curiosity about her history is what's so interesting. She doesn't know anything. She's very blind to the past from what we know. She just exists in her own world,” continued Cecchetto. “She is a little bit delusional. She's in her own magical land full of all these poems and all of the stuff that she loves to surround herself with.”
Like her character, Cecchetto also believes in the unknown. “I believe in manifestation,” she shared. “I have always really enjoyed tarot and crystals and I think it's just about good energy and vibes. […] Evelyn really is a part of me. She wasn't that far to reach because I'm a lot like that.”
And she wasn’t the only one on set! In fact, Doww revealed he spoke to a psychic before landing the role of teen Colton. “It's so funny because I watch all these TikToks about manifesting and I'm always like, ‘Okay, whatever,’” he laughed. “It's real. It is real. I've manifested the past three projects I've done. It's actually scary. When I was waiting to book another role and it happened to be this one, I kept saying I'm gonna film something in Toronto and I'm gonna get to sing. That's all I know.”
“I even saw a psychic just for fun,” Doww continued. “She was like, ‘Yeah, you're going to book something. You're going to be playing the younger version of somebody.’”
While Doww has always had an interest in music, that was on the back burner. He didn’t realize the role of teen Colton would be so music heavy and called it a literal “dream.” “[The] first day I get to Toronto, I'm straight into the recording studio recording three songs. I'm like, ‘Oh my God, this is a dream come true,” he shared. “To get into a recording studio while filming a network television show was such a dream. It was a little nerve wracking because now I realized I'm going to be singing in front of millions of people, but, at the same time too, I was so in my element and it's so fun. Honestly I'll just say this: the best music that we have recorded is yet to come.”
Tomasone shared that one of her favorite scenes to bring to life was the truck dancing scene in episode six. “We got chills when we shot that scene,” she revealed. “The night before shooting Jordan and I had actually gotten together for hiking and dinner and we decided to just like choreograph a little something. What you see on screen is actually what we had prepared together, which was super fun. We just did it as a joke initially and then they're like no we we really love this. I really love that scene because you start to see a real warmth in Del that you hadn't got to see prior.”
Meanwhile, Cecchetto expressed how fun it was filming the seance scene in Evelyn’s attic. With her interest in the world of mysticism, she shared that she feels “Evelyn’s mind is so expansive that she definitely would” be open to being in the know when it comes to time travel.
Speaking of time travel, much is still in the air about teen Colton and his experience with the phenomenon, but we do know that he has jumped in the pond before. “What you see [at the] end of [episode] two, beginning of three, that was my first day at the pond,” revealed Doww. “I had to sit in the water for quite a little bit of time. Then the scene after where Alice and Colton are chatting about what just happened […] I had to stay wet from the pond for a few hours. That water is so, so cold.” He shared that he didn’t put his wet suit on after because it was pretty warm out and that it was a huge mistake. He held up filming for 30-45 minutes to sit in the warming tend to get his chills under control. “It was a bit stressful, but all in all I think it played into the scene very well because I was very distressed. It prepared for me for the next time and I wore that wet suit next time.”
“It's a literal shock to the body, but I feel very honored to now be a part of the pond jumping club. I even have an award. [The] Pond Plunger Award and it's got a little frog,” he shared, revealing a little know fact that everyone who has jumped into the pond gets a custom trophy. He was welcomed into the club with a small ceremony at the wrap party. “This is like a badge of honor and also trauma.”
While viewers can’t stop theorizing about what everything means each season, the cast feels very lucky to be a part of a show with such a dedicated audience. “It's become a very unhealthy addiction for me. I'm always in the group chat. We call it the ‘70s Freaks.’ Me, Julia, Devin, and Sadie [LaFlamme-Snow]. I probably message that chat at least five times a week about some theory I read,” laughed Doww. “It's so cool to be a part of something that has so much interaction of a fan base. That just shows that people care and that they're invested. I've never been a part of something as rich as that. It's just so cool. I'm gonna pinch myself real quick.”
Not only do the viewers love the show, but the cast truly does to, which is something Cecchetto didn’t take for granted. “Being an actor or an artist, it's about the heart, right? It's about making sure that there is love in everything that you do. The set of The Way Home from the very first day that I stepped on — from the AD bringing me to my trailer to hair and makeup to being with the crew and the cast members and the directors and the showrunners and the writers — everybody is so in love with their work. That's something that's so important to bring into every aspect of every project,” she explained. “Sometimes you're not so lucky. Sometimes people are on set and they don't appreciate it as much, but I think that it's about love. That is the thing that you need to take everywhere with you. Everybody on the show has such a big heart and is so in love with what they've created, so that's what I would take with me everywhere.”
With only three more episodes of the season left, the trio teased what we can expect. “Colton and Del's love story thus far, and as we keep going along, it's just not what you expect. There is this Notebook-esque element, especially in episode seven, that I think is really going to captivate fans hearts,” revealed Tomasone. “It continues to get more magical both in the sense of time travel and the love on screen. That's the real magic of this show.”
“These characters only become more grounded and bigger truths come out. There's some really beautiful scenes that are going to happen near the end of the season,” said Cecchetto, while Doww added: “The next few episodes are crazy and emotional and wild. I think we need a season 4.”
We at Pop Culture Planet wholeheartedly agree — bring on season 4! In the meantime, catch new episodes of The Way Home season 3 every Friday on Hallmark Channel.
