Sweet Magnolias’ Anneliese Judge on Ty and Annie’s Season 4 Romance

When it comes to Annie and Ty finally getting together on Sweet Magnolias, Anneliese Judge is echoing her character’s sentiments — literally.

“Annie has a line [in episode 1 where she says], ‘About damn time.’ That’s how I feel about it,” Judge, 23, exclusively told Us Weekly with a laugh while discussing season 4 of the Netflix hit. “Our writers are such masters of romance that they knew the exact moment to give it to us that was gonna be the most fulfilling and just at the right time. It’s been such a cool experience. It’s so exciting. I can’t wait to see the fan reaction. I think it’s gonna catch them so off guard.”

After years of back and forth, childhood BFFs Annie (Judge) and Ty (Carson Rowland) admitted their love for one another at a Halloween party in the first episode of the show’s fourth season, which premiered on Thursday, February 6. While many fans worried that season 4 would bring more “will they or won’t they” guessing, the coupling came quickly — with a passionate kiss in a dark room interrupted only by Ty’s younger siblings  — leaving an entire 10 episodes of the pair to settle into their blossoming new romance.

But while Ty and Annie spent the season settling into their new dynamic, Judge told Us that she and Rowland were able to navigate the change seamlessly as actors, much in thanks to their real-life friendship.

“Carson and I are really good friends, and I think that helped a lot,” Judge said. “It was just fun artistically to explore this different side of our characters and I really appreciated that trust that we had in each other to do the characters justice.

Judge confessed that she and Rowland are both “big fans” of the couple — known to loving fans as TyAnnie — and were dedicated to making sure they did the story “justice” after so much “build up.” At the end of the day, Judge is confident they did just that.

“I feel really proud of this season for a lot of reasons,” she said, “but especially for the ways that we were able to handle that [relationship] and how quickly [it all] happened.”

The twosome were in new-couple bliss for a few episodes before Ty left on tour with his band in the back half of the season. And although Annie was nothing but supportive of her boyfriend’s passions, she struggled with saying goodbye. For Judge, it was about showcasing Annie’s growth from her first relationship with Jackson (Sam Ashby), and learning that things can’t always be “sunshine and rainbows.”

“You just have to continue to show up for the people that you love,” she explained, pointing to the moment Annie breaks down in tears after Ty tells her he’s leaving town. “That moment particularly, it was really important to her to be supportive in the way that she would’ve wanted him to be for her. Because she has big dreams of going to photography school. She doesn’t know where she’s gonna end up. … It wouldn’t be right for her to not support this person she loves and then expect that in return.”

“Annie has grown to be such a compassionate, empathetic, kind person,” she continued. “Not that she wasn’t that before, but she’s really grown into that, and we really see that from her more [this season]. So I think that in that moment it was intentional and she wanted to be supportive, but it mirrors that scene in season one where it’s like, ‘Did I just get this thing that I wanted and now it’s like gonna be taken away from me?’”

Those doubts only continued to grow as the season progressed and Annie learned she’d been accepted to her dream school in California. Despite being Ty’s biggest cheerleader with his music, he was less than enthused to learn of Annie’s plans. The season finale revealed his hopes that she would join him on tour in Europe instead, an offer she ultimately declined.

“I don’t even think it was a thought in her mind that college was going be an issue for them,” she said. “Like, she went and watched his band and watched [new drummer] Roxanne audition and she said, ‘You know, it’s not my band. I’m just so happy to be here.’  I think she’s such a rock and so supportive of everyone around her. So I truly feel like it came as a shock to her — and to me — that it was a question that he wouldn’t be the same way to her.”

Judge admitted that Ty and Annie’s conflict feels like what typical “teenage relationships” can be at times, pointing out that Ty clearly wasn’t “malicious” in his intentions. However, Annie’s choice is something that Judge stands by.

“I was so proud of her. To stand up for herself and to stand her ground,” she told Us, crediting Annie’s Mini Magnolia comrades CeCe (Harlan Drum) and Lily (Artemis), and mom, Dana Sue (Brooke Elliott), for helping her find her inner voice. “I don’t know if she would’ve done that without her girlfriend behind her or that relationship with her mom being as strong and great as it was. All these people [were] encouraging her throughout the season to follow her dreams. I don’t know if she would’ve had the courage to say, ‘I’m gonna do this. This is something I really want,’ and I just have to go after it.”

Season 4 featured an entirely new version of Annie in a multitude of ways, with the first time jump of the series — more than a full year since the events of season 3 came to a close — allowing Judge to portray a more evolved, mature version of the character; one who has settled into her friendships before entering her senior year of high school.

“There’s such a real sense of joy and relief in that for her. And I think she’s challenged in a lot of new ways, because these friendships push her to think outside of herself and open up in ways she hasn’t before,” Judge told Us. “So I just went into it really free and really open to that experience.”

The evolution felt in Annie helped Judge reflect on her own life and being in her early 20s, as well, with the actress telling Us, “I’m still kind of going through [what Annie goes through] in a lot of ways. So it’s been really special and I feel connected to heron such a different, more intimate level.”

Annie may be clear on what she wants for her future, but the question remains: what happens now? Ty is setting sail for a tour in Europe, and Annie is on her way to California. While Judge agreed the couple should be able to make it work — couldn’t she join him in the summer and then he could go visit her in the fall after finishing out the tour, Us asked? — the answers lie in a potential season 5, which has yet to be greenlit by Netflix.

“I don’t know [if they’ll make it work]. I don’t know. Of course, I hope so,” Judge said, adding,, “I’m gonna be really interested to see if we’re renewed for another season. .. The cliffhanger, it’s there for me [too]. I feel like I’m right alongside the viewers. Like, ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t know what’s gonna happen!’ IWe’ll have to see.”

For now, Judge is just keeping her “fingers crossed’ that another season is on its way — and promised that she would reprise the role for as long as Netflix and showrunner Sheryl J. Anderson will let her.

“This has been the honor of a lifetime,” she said. “And as long as I can work on this show with these incredible people, I’m so thrilled to do so.”

As she awaits the news on season 5, Judge is leaning into other endeavors. She has hopes of starring in a feature film — feeling inspired by her time at Sundance Film Festival — and is busy running her online book club, Who to Judge?,  a community focused on discovering new stories and perspectives at your own pace. Their latest novel is Sheryl Woods’ first Sweet Magnolias book, Stealing Home, and Judge hopes to deliver some exciting content for fans with author interviews, castmember cameos and more.

“[Harlan and Artemis], the Mini Mags are going to help me out with a couple really fun videos, Judge told Us of the book club’s February plans. “And we’re gonna have a really cool month filled with Sweet Magnolias and some recipes from the cookbook. I’m excited for the girls to help me make it just really fun and really special.”

Sweet Magnolias is currently available to stream on Netflix.