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Hallmark's upcoming film titled Groundswell will feature the iconic Mean Girls star Lacey Chabert alongside Sugar Plum Twist's Ektor Rivera and other renowned faces. The movie is based on Katie Lee Biegel's 2011 debut best-seller of the same name. The author also serves as the executive director of the film and will likely make a cameo.
Groundswell, scheduled to drop this Sunday, August 21, 2022, at 9 pm ET, will chronicle the struggles of an Atlanta cook named Emma, who faces both personal and professional challenges while on her journey as a chef.
Emma decides to travel to Hawaii in the hopes of regaining her perspective on life. While in Hawaii, she meets Rivera's Ben, an attractive and solitary surf instructor whose lessons help her get back on her feet.
The official synopsis of Groundswell reads:
"On the heels of a personal and professional setback, Chef Emma travels to Hawaii where she meets Ben, a handsome, reclusive surf instructor whose lessons help her to regain her footing."
Meet the cast of Hallmark's upcoming rom-com ahead of its premiere this Sunday.
Meet the cast of HMM's Groundswell
1) Lacey Chabert as Emma
Known best for her role in Mean Girls (2004) as Gretchen Wieners, starring alongside Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert is one of Hollywood's most renowned actresses and the most recent Hallmark Channel face, thanks to her roles in films such as A Royal Christmas and Christmas at Castle Heart, among others.
Chabert began participating in musical and theatrical activities in and around her Mississippi community at a young age. She reached the finals of Star Search (1983) in 1991 and even starred in a cough syrup commercial before being cast as a young Cosette in the Broadway production of Les Miserables for two years.
Since then, she has appeared in a few television shows, most notably Party of Five (1994), as well as several telemovies, including Gypsy (1993), and her feature film debut, Lost in Space (1998). Chabert has appeared in several feature films, including Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Daddy Day Care, and A&E's The Brooke Ellison Story, in which she co-starred with Jennifer Garner and Matthew McConaughey.
Chabert, who is well-known for her endearing demeanor and natural acting abilities, has also voiced a number of animated characters in movies and TV episodes, like Nickelodeon's The Wild Thornberrys, Sony's The Spectacular Spider-Man, FOX's Allen Gregory, Hasbro's Transformers: Rescue Bots, and most recently, Warner Bros.' Young Justice.
2) Ektor Rivera as Ben
Ektor Rivera is best known for his recent role in La Ultima Gira (The Last Tour) as the iconic Latin singer Daniel Santos, which won the Best International Feature award at the 2021 New York Latino Film Festival. Rivera also performed before sold-out crowds in the lead role of Usnavi in Lin Manuel Miranda's award-winning musical In The Heights.
The actor made his broadway debut in On Your Feet! at the Marquis Theater. He has also appeared in the Hallmark Movie Now original Sugar Plum Twist in 2021. His other television credits include Fantasy Island, NCIS, and StarUp. Other notable titular roles in his plays and musical credits include Rent, Hairspray, Godspell, High School Musical, Piaf, The Outsiders, and The Mousetrap, among others.
In addition to being a gifted painter, Rivera was also chosen by Latina superstar Jennifer Lopez, to be one of the lead singers in the USA TV & Live Show Q'Viva! The Chosen.
The full cast list of Hallmark's upcoming film, Groundswell
Groundswell is directed by Lee Friedlander, executive produced by Cameron Johann alongside Biegel, with Ric Galindez and Roy Tjioe serving as producers and a script written by Carlie Mantilla & John Eliot Jordan.
While not much about the plot has been revealed, leaving the main drama a mystery for viewers, here are the remaining cast members of the film:
- Darren Darnborough as Garrett Weston
- Napoleon Tavale as Sebastian
- Omar Bustamante as Franky
- Bernard Aderhold-Lindsey as Chef #1
- Lundon Knighten as Chef Tracy
- Andrea Elizabeth Sikkink as Sous Chef
- Chris Costanz as Line Cook Luke
- Anuhea Jenkins as Celebrity Host, Anuhea
Lacey Chabert-starrer Groundswell is all set to premiere on Hallmark this Sunday, August 21, 2022, at 9pm ET.
