Kyana Teresa ‘honored’ to be part of first LGBTQ storyline on Hallmark’s Good Witch

Canadian actress Kyana Teresa said she has been overwhelmed by the support she has received from fans of the Hallmark Channel series Good Witch. Teresa joined the cast during Season 7 as Zoey Taylor, who recently began dating one of the show’s main characters, Joy Harper, played by Kat Barrell.

“I’m extremely honored,” said Teresa during a recent appearance on the Hallmarkies Podcast. “I can’t even describe how proud I am of this character.”

Teresa had never seen Good Witch before she auditioned for a bit part on the show in 2020. Her audition went well, but the show’s writers thought Teresa would be better suited to a character they were still creating. With her in mind, they came up with Zoey Taylor, a firefighter who moved to Middleton to start over following the death of her girlfriend.

Teresa said she loved the character, and was thrilled when she got the part.

Hallmark embraces diversity

Crown Media, the company that owns the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies and Mysteries, has traditionally shied away from storylines that include openly gay or lesbian characters.

But when Zoey Taylor first appeared in Season 7, Episode 3, “The Delivery,” it was clear that a romance was in the works. After helping Joy get her arm unstuck from a wall, the two traded lingering glances. They kept running into each other, and finally, after Joy had tracked down her estranged father, they went on their first date.

Fans gave Joy and Zoey couple name ‘Joey’

Fans have been supportive of the romance, referring to the pair as “Joey.” Before last week’s episode, many took to social media to express excitement about the upcoming date.

On Twitter, one fan wrote, “Me staring at the tv chanting ‘Joey, Joey, Joey’ because I’m a child who is horrible at waiting,” wrote one fan just before last week’s episode aired.

Though she’s new to Good Witch, Teresa has worked for the Hallmark Channel in the past. She starred in Double Holiday, a 2019 film in which the main character celebrated Hanukah and Christmas. She also played a lawyer in Hallmark Movies and Mysteries A Killer Engagement, starring Danica McKella.

In a podcast for the website Fandomize, Teresa said Zoey and Joy are in for a serious romance.

“There are a lot of ebbs and flows,” she said. “There a few obstacles that we have to tackle head on.”

Though she can’t give too much away about the story line, she did say that fans should be excited.

“It’s really juicy,” she said. “I think the fans are going to be really happy and so satisfied.”

Season 7, Episode 7 of Good Witch will air on Hallmark Channel on Sunday, June 27 at 9/8c.