'Really old friends' Kathie Lee Gifford, Roma Downey reunite on new show 'The Baxters'

NEW YORK ― Easter, the holiday in which Christians mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is for some a time to reunite with family over brunch and perhaps a few chocolate eggs. On TV, another reunion will happen between the families of two longtime friends: Roma Downey and Kathie Lee Gifford. Downey's new faith-based series “The Baxters” (now streaming on Amazon Prime), features a cast including Downey's daughter, Reilly Marie Anspaugh, and Gifford's daughter, Cassidy.Gifford, the Emmy-winning TV host, has known Roma since her cameo appearances on Downey's hit CBS show “Touched by an Angel.” She also makes an appearance in Season 1.

“I was visiting (Cassidy) out in Los Angeles when they were shooting,” Gifford, 70, tells USA TODAY before turning and shrugging. “I had to force my way on!”

Cassidy, 30, quickly adds, “She does that!”

“The Baxters” is based on a series of novels by Karen Kingsbury. Downey read the books and optioned them for the series, which she's been developing for a decade. Filming began prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I came to this series as a fan,” Downey, 63, says. “It was my intention that audiences won’t be able to stop watching it.”While mentioning this, Downey brings up a “new word” the way your parent might: “bingeing.” Save for the first episode, “The Baxters” is split into 22-minute episodes. The actress and executive producer surprised fans on Thursday by revealing all three seasons of the show (34 episodes in total) are available now. Downey has rarely appeared on camera over the past decade and says it was a little like getting on a bicycle again.“A little older, hopefully a little wiser,” she jokes. “But I had such a lovely cast to work with.”

As for working with her daughter, Downey tried not to be a “helicopter mom.”

“Every now and then (Reilly would) go, ‘Mom!’ because I’d walk over in between takes,” she recalls. “’Mom, let me be!’”

The other mother-daughter duo involved in the series, who live near each other in Nashville, disagree on the frequency of their visits: Kathie Lee believes she sees her daughter "hardly ever," but Cassidy quickly clarifies that they are together at least weekly. They are on the same page, though, when it comes to their faith and their belief in the timing of this series.

Frank Gifford, Cassidy’s father and Kathie Lee’s husband, died in 2015. "It's just hard to believe that it's been that long," she says, adding he’d be happy about the show. “He adored (Cassidy). He never thought he’d have more children. But he always felt like if that was something I wanted, then he had no right to not let me have children."

They had two; Cassidy's brother Cody, 34, has two children.

"My husband passed away almost nine years ago. It's just hard to believe that it's been that long," Gifford says in a reflective moment. "But you know, life is full of different seasons."