Sugarcreek Amish Mysteries Cast Shares Secrets About Filming Season 1

Already missing Cheryl and the Sugarcreek crew? Well you are in luck! Last week, our main cast returned to the Swiss Miss to sit down for the UP Faith & Family After Show and reflect about their experience shooting Season 1 of UP’s newest cozy mystery series. Galadriel Stineman (Cheryl), Kevin Joy (Levi), Denise Gosset (Naomi) and Riley Beeson (Esther) share their personal reflections filming in a real Amish community. From authentic locations in Sugarcreek, Ohio to meaningful real-life relationships on set, and irresistible Amish foods, this after show reveals what made Season 1 so special. Read on for the highlights!

What makes Sugarcreek Amish Mysteries different from other mystery series?

Kevin Joy: What makes it different, I would say, is the heart. I think in a lot of mystery series, you get caught up in the mystery or what’s happening. And I feel like we have that – we have that intrigue – but we also have all this undertone of heart that’s going around in it. We have this community, we have the family, we have the potential love relationship. I think you’re left every episode enjoying that mystery, and on edge about what’s going to happen next and trying to piece it together, but you’re also left at the end of every episode with this tender, loving moment. You don’t only get the culmination of the mystery, but you also get the catharsis of the emotion and the heart that goes along with that.

Galadriel Stineman: I like that I feel better when it’s over, instead of worse. So even though no one really knows how each episode is going to end or how we’re going to get there, they have confidence that it’s all gonna be tied up and you’re going to find out the why and you’re going to be left feeling good instead of feeling scared.

Denise Gosset: I think that it’s different from other mystery shows because it is so wholesome… And I think you can get attached to the characters, and they’re very different than a lot of the shows out there and I think that’s the thing we love the most about it.

Riley Beeson: Of course, it’s also Amish! That makes a difference in the show. I think that’s a really fun idea. We all call it Little House on the Prairie maybe mixed with a Nancy Drew, and I love the whole vibe of that. I just think it’s a fun little show.

Denise: Not to mention the scenery. It’s beautiful here!

What are some of your favorite Amish foods?

Galadriel: One of my favorite parts of Amish food is how they put gravy on almost everything. And I find myself doing that more in my own life, too. If it’s good, it’s better with gravy! So, how about you guys? What are some of your favorite Amish dishes you’ve had?

Denise: All of it. My favorite Amish dishes are all of it. The desserts, the baked goods, the mashed potatoes with gravy, all of it! It is too good. It is a problem, really. ‘Cause you really have to show self control!

Riley: My favorite is probably apple fritters. They are so good here, so if you’re ever in Amish country, get an apple fritter. They are incredible.

Kevin: I think I’m going with a popular opinion. How do I  decide? Let me count the ways… It just feels like when you’re eating it, it’s made with wholesome ingredients, made with love, if we want to be a little corny about it. It’s just good, comforting food.

How does faith shape the world of Sugarcreek?

Denise: I love the way that faith is woven through the stories and our show. Naomi, she always prays all the time. She’s always saying she’s going to pray for you & prays for everyone, and that’s always her go-to answer.

Galadriel: Yeah, and I think people throw around the words “faith in action,” [but] that that is such a great message in the show regardless of the religious background that people are coming into the show with. It’s all about taking that pause to trust and have faith that things are going to work out the way that they should.

How has spending time in Sugarcreek influenced your character?

Denise: Every day I come in to contact with Amish people and I watch them and I see how they’re dressed, how they walk, how they talk, what they sound like, and I want to do them justice so badly. I want to respect everything about them so I’m always watching and listening and just hoping that I am doing [them] some justice.

Riley: Same here for me. If we were shooting this in LA or somewhere else, it would not be the same vibe of every single day that we go through. And all of the research that we did when we went into this mostly was incorrect. So when we got here, all of the ideas that we had about the Amish were completely changed when we saw what the Amish actually were. And it was just really cool. I feel like that really influenced Esther as a character.

Kevin: It’s made a huge difference for us to be here to film. Now, I couldn’t imagine filming this anywhere else. I feel like we have to be here, I feels like a second home. I feel like spending as much time as we have here, personally, has definitely informed how I play Levi. You can read about the Amish community from the outside… and there are so many differentiations between the different communities that it’s not the whole picture. I think that getting to spend time here and get a grasp of that picture… feeling the community of this place and having that inform how your character moves, the peace that they have, the community that they have, I think that that has really shed a light on how it is we want to approach, certainly from an Amish perspective, the Miller family and the community, too. I think it’s an amazing place. I love driving to set everyday, though when we’re here to work, there’s still a piece going down the road, seeing the horses and buggies and knowing you’re a part of that. I think it fuels us to want to do an even better job to honor this community and where we are because it feels like a second home for us that we really care about.

Cheryl: My answer is a little bit different because my character is not Amish, but I think for me specifically as we started to film Season 1, that was when our family was also making the move from the big city to the small town, and so that ran so parallel [to our real lives]. And to go from Los Angeles immediately here for Season 1 and be here for long enough to be part of the community, Cheryl has said before that it’s like “coming to a screeching halt.” And I think she says that with all of the positivity, because sometimes it’s not until they turn off the music that you’re suddenly like “Oh wow, it’s really loud in here!” So, all I really had to do was come and open myself up to experiencing this place in the same way that Cheryl would, and we got to have that parallel journey. And shout out to all the “Englishers” here, too! This is the only place I’ve been where the Aish and the English live intertwined. It’s very symbiotic. They’re shopping from each other. They’re working with each other. They’re welcoming each other. I’ve never been any place that is so friendly, kind, and trusting. I think we as actors would have to do a whole lot more work if we weren’t here doing it. So, not only is it more fun, but I think it makes our jobs a lot easier, too.

As you can probably tell, this casts’ love for the Amish community runs deep! But we’ve only scratched the surface of our conversation. In the full After Show, Kevin and Galadriel share what it was like brining Cheryl & Levi’s super slow-burn romance to life while being a real-life married couple, while Denise & Riley reflect on playing on-screen mother and daughter for the very first time – including Riley’s request that her mother not watch as she filmed her flirting scenes in Episode 1 too closely. The cast also reveals which of their castmates’ Sugarcreek roles they’d like to swap for a day, and their answers might surprise you (spoiler: someone wants to be Chief Twitchell!). Be sure to watch the full video for all the behind-the-scenes stories, laughs, and cast moments you won’t find anywhere else:

Want more exclusive news about Sugarcreek Amish Mysteries? Keep your eyes on the WatchList Blog for exclusive content, series deep dives, and future season announcements!