The actress recently sat down with ET to talk about her new show, 'The Baxters.'
Roma Downey is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Touched By an Angel by not ruling out the possibility of a reboot.
In a new sit-down interview with ET’s Kevin Frazier, the 63-year-old actress said her mantra on the potential for more seasons (or even possibly a follow-up film) is "never say never."
Downey, who played the lovable celestial body named Monica for nine seasons, said that while she is not completely averse to returning to the role, she does have serious hesitations given that the show's two other main cast members, John Dye and Della Reese, have both died.
"That's not a bad idea, unfortunately, we see all these reboots and a lot of the original cast, Della unfortunately has passed and John Dye, our wonderful angel of death, also passed over," she said. "I always was hoping that wonderful angel of death came for both of them and lead them home."
Reese, who played Monica's angelic supervisor Tess, died in 2017 at the age of 86. Dye, known in the show as Andrew, died in 2011 at age 47 from acute methamphetamine intoxication.
On the enduring legacy of the series -- which welcomed notable guest stars like Maya Angelou, Muhammad Ali, Celine Dion, Sally Ride, Rosa Parks and more throughout its nearly 10-year run -- Downey says she isn't surprised that audiences are still discovering and returning to it decades later.
"I think it still is inspirational for folks," she said. "It took a very simple premise that there was and is a god that you are loved [by], that god wants to be part of your life and I think that people tuned in for that message."
As for her return to television, Downey said her new show, The Baxters, was the perfect project to throw herself back onto the small screen. The series, an adaptation of the Karen Kingsbury novels, also stars Ted McGinley, Ali Cobrin, Cassidy Gifford and Kathie Lee Gifford.
The actress, who plays matriarch Elizabeth Baxter and also serves as executive producer, told ET that she acquired the rights to the books years ago after discovering the series and immediately recognizing the potential it had to be a hit.
"Somebody gave me the book and I was reading them on the plane and I could not put them down. I was like firing through it. I thought, 'This is great story, great characters, this has to be a TV show,'" she said. "I called Karen up and I asked her if she would entrust me… we started over our conversation by saying, 'I believe this is the time, I think we need a show like this on television. I think it will bring families together.'"
According to Prime Video, the series follows picture-perfect parents Elizabeth (Downey) and John Baxter (McGinley) who come together with their five children to support one of their own. Elizabeth and John rally their children to step up, as their daughter, Kari (Cobrin), reveals that her husband is having an affair with one of his students.
Downey says it's the perfect Easter weekend binge for families who are coming together and want to enjoy a drama filled with heart, laughs and tender moments that also feel deeply relatable.
"[It's] a bit like a soap opera, but we think it's best to call it a hope opera," she shared. "It models family well. They're not perfect people, there's some dysfunction, they have issues like everybody else, but I think that makes them very relatable."
Watch a trailer for the new series in the player below:
The show's release is a long time coming for the cast and crew, who shot the entire first season more than half a decade ago, back in 2018. Downey says they encountered numerous roadblocks on the way to air, including a major studio buyout and a global pandemic that slowed things down.
"Well, you know, there was a pandemic in there and there was a huge acquisition at MGM when Amazon bought the company," she said.
The actress is referencing Amazon’s purchase of MGM Studios in 2022. The e-commerce giant bought the legendary film studio for a whopping $8.5 billion in a deal that was completed in March of that year.
"Everything just got slowed down," she said. "But I'm a big believer of things happening when they're supposed to happen and for such a time as this, The Baxters will be on Prime Video Easter weekend."
The Baxters premieres on Prime Video on March 28.
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