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Ian Harding plays a total charmer on Hallmark+’s Holidazed series — but not even his connection to the town sheriff could save him from being arrested.
“That is the first time I have ever been in the back of a police vehicle,” Harding, 38, exclusively told Us Weekly of the TV shoot. “I have interacted with police folks before for reasons that are clearly not bad enough [for] that.”
The actor, who spoke with Us while on a long road trip, joked that perhaps he was “actually fleeing the law” instead of driving to Toronto for work. “That’s what you’re witnessing right now,” he teased. “And I’m, like, super calm and sociopathic.”
During episode 2 of the holiday-themed show, which premieres on Thursday, November 14, Harding’s Josh Hill has multiple run-ins with the law and town sherriff Nora Jacobs (Erin Cahill), who just-so-happens to be Hill’s former classmate.
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While the incidents start off innocent enough, Josh ends up in the back of Nora’s squad car at one point — a scene which caused Harding to realize getting arrested in real life isn’t for him.
“They’re not comfortable. I’ve learned that,” he told Us of the vehicle. “And I was not handcuffed. I could very easily get in and out.”
Harding said he had “fun” filming in the cop car, but he worried he might’ve scared a few local kids who had no idea what was happening that day.
Ian Harding and Erin Cahill in ‘Holidazed’ Hallmark Media
“There were children in the one area that I was in the back of the cop car,” he recalled. “I think kids were having, like, a field trip and I just popped out of the cop car at one point — out of the back — and you could see they kind of were uncertain as to whether or not I was a fugitive.”
The Pretty Little Liars alum has since vowed, “I would like to not ever be in one where there weren’t cameras around, you know? That’s a goal of mine in life is to never revisit one of those.”
Although Harding’s character does get into trouble during the mini-series — which follows six different families over the course of eight episodes — he has a heart of gold.
“He wins at everything that he tries. But he’s also a very hard worker. He has a plan for life and how things are supposed to look,” Harding said of Josh and his story arc. “He’s by no means a jerk, but he has an expectation of how life and things are supposed to go.”
The actor teased that “when the universe throws something in his way, he gets a little worked up.”
One of those curveballs is crossing paths with Nora, whom he knew as a kid. Following their run-in and Josh eventually meeting Nora’s son, Theo (Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez), whom he bonds with while home for the holidays, Josh must decide what he really wants out of life.
Ian Harding in ‘Holidazed’ Hallmark Media
“When we start the show, we find him in one place and he ends up in a completely different place,” Harding shared. “There’s a lot of growth and hilarious pain that he has to deal with.”
He teased that through “some shenanigans” and Josh’s own “incompetence” his trip back to his parents’ cul-de-sac (where all the other families in the story crossover) is very unexpected.
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“I feel that there’s something that Josh is actually missing in his life, which is meaningful connection,” Harding told Us, noting that Josh’s encounter with Nora will shake up his life in ways that will last well after the holiday season.
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He hinted that perhaps Josh and Nora’s relationship was “destined,” joking, “I don’t know who interacts with a cop and then learns about what’s meaningful in life.”
In addition to the Hill family — which includes Josh and his parents, Lorriane (Gwynyth Walsh) and Sam (Barry W. Levy) — viewers will get to know the Manetti-Hanahan clan, the Lin family, the Lewin brood, the Camarena crew and the Woods women.
Holidazed’s first two episodes premiere on Hallmark+ Thursday, November 14, with new episodes to follow every Thursday.
