Teri Hatcher on Why "Mid-Love Crisis," Her Second Project for Hallmark Media, Was the Perfect Choice for Her

"I believe timing also plays a big part," she continued. "I love Christmas movies and enjoy having them rolling along in the background, as I do a lot of decorating and cooking at Christmas, but I'm sort of glad this one wasn't (centered) around it. Recently I've been doing some stand-up comedy and sticking my toe into writing comedy. Last year I did a special for Showtime called Even More Funny Women of a Certain Age with some other female comedians that comedically centered around looking at women aging. So that's been at the front of my mind. This script kind of fell into the lane of another way to tell a story about women aging. It was the right script at the right time."

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In the film, Hatcher portrays Mindy Quinn, a recently divorced woman about to hit the big 5-0. While she's content to let the day pass without fanfare, her daughter Rita (June Laporte) and Rita's girlfriend Emily (Matreya Scarrwener) are hell-bent on celebrating the milestone. But life throws Mindy a curveball when Emily invites her uncle Sam, who unbeknownst to her happens to be Mindy's first love, to share in their long weekend. Throw into the mix the fact that Rita is planning to propose to Emily (and wants her dad to be there for the engagement), and pretty soon Mindy has more exes in her life than she needs. Especially as she feels her life is imploding with age.

"I think when passing 50, part of the aging process allows both women and men to look at what kind of shifts you may be making," she said of the film's theme. "Be it your personal, professional, or love life. Then there's just dealing with your body, and what's happening there. This script gives a nice opportunity to look at that and inspire the ability to shift, change, grow and have hope combined with acceptance. It's all wrapped up in this movie in an amusing, yet weighted, emotional way."

Another thing that impressed Hatcher about the script was the matter-of-fact way it dealt with same-sex marriage. "It's about time," she shared. "One of my favorite things about [this movie] is that while yes, my daughter is a woman in love with another woman and wants to propose, no one ever talks about anyone being gay. People just talk about being in love. Mindy struggles with Rita proposing, only because, at 23, she feels they are too young, and she doesn't want Rita to lose sight of her independence. Mindy did that, and she wonders if her daughter is making the same mistake. Her struggle has nothing to do with Rita's preference of partner. I just love that Hallmark did that."

According to Hatcher, the entire filming of Mid-Love Crisis felt like a sleep-away camp. With the cast shooting in a small lake-side town outside of Vancouver, they spent much time together. "Forget that picture of everyone hanging in their own trailer," she said. "We had them, but they were far from the set. So, going to the set, you were kind of invested in being there for 10 hours. It felt like being at camp because we were together for the whole day. Everyone was lovely and supportive of each other, and Hallmark was very open to hearing our thoughts on the dialogue or whatever. All of that made for grounded honesty and emotions, while still being funny."

Both of her Hallmark Media projects have been with co-stars named James, but Hatcher assures that nowhere in her contract does it state she only works with men of that name. "I was actually thinking about that yesterday because James (Tupper, pictured above with Hatcher) and I did an interview together," she laughed. "No one else picked up on that, but it did make me think, 'Wow, do I only work with guys named James now?' Last year James Denton and I reunited for an episode of Fox's Fantasy Island, which hasn't aired yet, so we did have an opportunity to work together again after we did the Christmas movie.

"James Tupper certainly held up the stereotype that Canadian men are lovely," she added.

The film also sees Hatcher break out some dance moves as she recaptures her youth, and just like the film, she's enjoying being reunited with her first love. "Dance has come up a little bit more in my life," she shared. "Not just in this; I'm rehearsing to play Morticia Addams in the musical The Addams Family and have been doing the tango and all sorts of dances I haven't done in years. That musical theatre person [in me] kind of died in 1999 when I played Sally Bowles in Cabaret, and it's time for her to wake up.

"I think that [also] translates to Mindy," she offered in closing. "The dancing in the movie is kind of a metaphor for those of us who have quieted a creative outlet that [once] gave us joy but didn't seem to belong in our adult lives. It's heartwarming to see that physicalized in the movie as it helps Mindy find her way back to the spirit she's meant to be. I can absolutely relate."

Mid-Love Crisis will be telecast Sunday, October 9 at 9 p.m. on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.

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