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    Sweet Home Carolina

    5.6/10 · 944 ratings·2017·1h 24m·Mother's Day·Weirdness 3/10
    Sweet Home Carolina poster

    At a glance

    3/10

    Mostly standard issue

    What bumps it up: Second chance romance.

    Holiday
    Mother's Day
    Season
    Multiple
    Setting
    Small Town
    Time period
    Contemporary
    Leads start as
    Old Friends
    Runtime
    1h 24m
    Watch trailer
    IMDbLetterboxdTMDBJustWatch

    Where to watch

    🇺🇸United States16 ways

    Stream

    • Amazon Prime Video
    • Amazon Prime Video with Ads

    Free

    • Hoopla
    • Fandango at Home Free
    • Pluto TV
    • Tubi TV

    Rent

    • Amazon Video
    • Apple TV Store
    • Google Play Movies
    • YouTube
    • Fandango At Home

    Buy

    • Amazon Video
    • Apple TV Store
    • Google Play Movies
    • YouTube
    • Fandango At Home
    🇨🇦Canada2 ways

    Free

    • Hoopla
    • Tubi TV

    Via JustWatch · can change anytime.

    The premise

    Diane is a struggling single mom in LA. Just when things are at their worst, she inherits a house, but she will have to live in small town USA and take care of a dog for a year before she can sell the house.

    Themes:Second chancesPrioritizing family over careerSmall-town redemptionMother-daughter reconciliation

    How unusual is it?

    Mostly classic comfort-watch, give or take a second-chance romance.

    Who’s in it

    Heather McComb headshot

    Our Girl

    Heather McComb

    as Diane

    Paul Greene headshot

    Our Guy

    Paul Greene

    as Luke

    Alongside them

    • Lexi Giovagnoli headshot
      Lexi GiovagnoliAndrea
    • Kiersten Warren headshot
      Kiersten WarrenPenny
    • Elayna Grace headshot
      Elayna GraceAubrey
    • Preston Grant headshot
      Preston GrantTroy
    Show all 10 castShow fewer
    • Lunden De'Leon headshot
      Lunden De'LeonBianca
    • Jason Serrano headshot
      Jason SerranoJorge
    • Jim Gooden headshot
      Jim GoodenHenry
    • Starla Christian headshot
      Starla ChristianSarah

    Behind the camera

    ShowHide

    Directed by

    • Charlie Vaughn headshot
      Charlie Vaughn

    Written by

    • Elizabeth Snoderly headshot
      Elizabeth Snoderly
    • Julie Kristine Sullivan headshot
      Julie Kristine Sullivan

    Wait, what?

    The quirks and curveballs that make this one a little weirder than your average Hallmark. No spoilers, promise.

    • The legal requirement to live with a specific dog named Mister for exactly one year to inherit a house.
    • The boss flying across the country to a small-town diner to beg an employee to come back.
    • The protagonist's nickname 'DJ' standing for Diane Janet.

    Every trope, all in one place

    Here’s everything this one has going on, from the setting to the way it wraps up. Tap any of the 34 to find more movies that do the same thing.

    Setting2

    🏘️Small Town📍Other

    Time & season3

    🔀Multiple💐Mother's Day🗓️Contemporary

    Premise1

    📜Inheritance

    Characters9

    💼Lead: Executive/Corporate👥Love interest: Woodworker/Craftsman🐕Dog👶Cute kid👨‍👧Single parent🏠Returns home⏰Workaholic lead💘Matchmaking relative🐕Pet

    Conflict4

    ⚖️Career vs Home/Family🫀Personal stakes🗺️Long distance💔An ex returns

    Romance7

    💕Start as old friends💕First kiss: middle♻️Second chance💓Instant attraction🔥Slow burn💗Love confession🎁Grand gesture

    Tone & quirks3

    🎬Light/Heartwarming👨‍🍳Cooking scenes🎞️Montage

    How it ends5

    💍Proposal ending💋Ends with a kiss🏘️Stays in the small town🔄Career change🤝Family reconciliation

    How it all plays out

    Already seen it, or just can’t wait? Open this up for the whole story, ending included.

    Full story (spoilers)
    Diane Lawrence is a stressed-out Los Angeles advertising executive struggling to balance a demanding career with the needs of her two daughters, Andrea and Aubrey, and a difficult ex-husband. After a series of missed calls and a 'rough patch,' her boss Henry fires her, giving her accounts to a rival. Simultaneously, Diane learns she has inherited her Great Aunt Hilly’s estate in Marion, South Carolina. The inheritance comes with a catch: she must live in the house for a full year and care for Hilly’s dog, Mister, or the property will be turned over to the historical society. Despite Andrea’s teenage rebellion and Aubrey’s fear of dogs, the family moves to the rural South. Diane takes a job waitressing at a local diner owned by the gossipy but kind Penny, while Andrea finds work at a furniture shop owned by Luke, a man Diane had a passionate summer romance with twenty years prior. As the family settles in, the house begins to feel like a home. Luke helps Diane with repairs, and they slowly rekindle their relationship, though Luke remains wary of Diane’s tendency to choose her career over her personal life. The family dynamic shifts when Andrea discovers her father in LA has no intention of letting her move back in with him, leading to a heartfelt reconciliation between mother and daughter. Just as Diane begins to embrace small-town life, Henry and a major client fly to South Carolina to beg her to return to LA with a partnership offer. This creates a rift with Luke, who believes Diane is destined to abandon him again. However, after realizing that her daughters are finally happy and that she has found true peace, Diane chooses to resign from her firm permanently. The film concludes on Mother's Day with Diane accepting Luke’s marriage proposal and committing to her new life in South Carolina.

    Beat by beat

    1. 1

      Opening

      Diane is fired from her high-stress advertising job in Los Angeles after a period of personal and professional struggle.

    2. 2

      Inciting Incident

      Diane inherits her Great Aunt Hilly's house in South Carolina, but must live there for a year with a dog named Mister to keep it.

    3. 3

      Midpoint

      Diane reconnects with her old flame Luke, while her daughter Andrea begins to find purpose working in Luke's furniture shop.

    4. 4

      Turning Point

      Andrea learns her father doesn't want her to return to LA, causing her to finally bond with Diane and accept their new life.

    5. 5

      Climax

      Diane's old boss Henry arrives in town to offer her a partnership, causing a conflict between her career ambitions and her love for Luke.

    6. 6

      Resolution

      Diane officially resigns from her LA firm and accepts Luke's marriage proposal on Mother's Day.

    34 tropes in one movie

    We counted 34 distinct Hallmark tropes packed into this one — a genuine greatest-hits reel.

    How it stacks up

    Where this one’s rating lands against every other rated Hallmark movie.

    Rating 5.6 vs every rated Hallmark moviemedian 6.4This movie · 5.645678

    Among the lower-rated Hallmark movies — the median is 6.4.

    Where this one fits

    The corners of the catalog Sweet Home Carolina belongs to — handy if you’re after more of the same.

    • 🔄Hallmark Second-Chance Romance MoviesA rekindled romance.
    • 💍Hallmark Wedding MoviesWedding bells are involved.
    • 🐶Hallmark Dog & Pet MoviesA four-legged matchmaker.
    • 🧁Hallmark Baking & Cooking MoviesPlenty of time in the kitchen.
    • 👨‍👧Hallmark Single Parent MoviesA single parent finds love again.
    • 🏘️Hallmark Small Town MoviesA classic small-town setting.

    Lines worth quoting

    The lines that stuck with us — the ones you’ll be repeating after the credits roll.

    • “I practically gave birth to my kids on that conference room floor!”
      — DianeDiane arguing with Henry after being fired.
    • “It's a 100-year-old door, so it still makes a little noise, but it's gonna retain some of the personality it's gained along the way.”
      — LukeLuke explaining his repair work to Diane, serving as a metaphor for their relationship.
    • “You only get one mom, and the one you got is a strong and amazing woman.”
      — LukeLuke giving advice to Andrea about her mother.

    Meet the characters

    Who’s who before you press play. Nothing here gives the ending away.

    • Diane (DJ) Lawrence

      Lead

      Advertising Executive / Waitress

      WorkaholicResilientProtectiveStressed
    • Luke

      Love interest

      Furniture Maker

      Former summer flame and current love interest

      HandyPatientLoyalSmall-town oriented
    • Andrea

      Supporting

      Student / Shop Assistant

      Teenage daughter

      AngstyRebelliousArtistic
    • Penny

      Supporting

      Diner Owner

      Employer and friend

      GossipyWarmWelcoming
    • Henry

      Supporting

      Ad Agency Owner

      Former boss

      CorporateDemandingRegretful

    Questions people ask about Sweet Home Carolina

    Where can I watch Sweet Home Carolina?

    Sweet Home Carolina is available via Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, and Hoopla. Streaming options change often, so check current availability before settling in.

    How long is Sweet Home Carolina?

    Sweet Home Carolina runs about 1 hour and 24 minutes, and was released in 2017.

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    Data and sources

    Curated by the Talking Hallmark team.·Last updated June 17, 2026.

    Sources:IMDb·TMDB·JustWatch

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