Netflix
Netflix’s newest Christmas movie, “Love Hard,” premieres on the streaming platform on November 5. The movie stars Nina Dobrev, Lochlyn Munro, Rebecca Staab, Harry Shum Jr., Darren Barnet, Jimmy O. Yang, and more. Read on to learn all about the movie, where it was filmed, and the cast who brought the movie to life.
‘Love Hard’ Was Filmed in Canada Last Year
Netflix’s “Love Hard” was filmed in Canada, according to IMDb. Filming locations included Vancouver, British Columbia, and Burnaby, British Columbia. The movie was filmed about a year ago, between October 5, 2020, and November 24, 2020. Despite the moving taking place in locations like Los Angeles and New York, the movie itself was wholly filmed in Canada.
Canada is a favorite location for Christmas romance movies, including many Hallmark movies. In fact, Vancouver is sometimes referred to as “Hollywood North.”
On October 19, 2020, a notice of filming was shared for people in the vicinity of 6958 Pioneer Avenue in Burnaby, where they planned to film both interior and exterior dialogue scenes from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. They noted that they would have “snow blankets with ice placed outside the building to stimulate the winter season.”
OPB reported that in November 2020, British Columbia was busier than ever with filming opportunities despite COVID-19. According to OPB, Netflix purchased the rights to the movie which had been filmed in Vancouver.
On November 24, 2020, Shane Hurlbut posted that they wrapped filming.
Hurlbut wrote: “It’s a WRAP on Love Hard. A huge thank you goes out to British Columbia for keeping us safe. To our COVID staff and nurses that kept us healthy thru out all production. We did it. No cases. No shutdown. No COVID infiltrated our set. My crew was absolutely amazing. I cannot be more grateful and humble for the ability to create art in these most difficult times. Be safe everyone. Don’t let your guard down.”
He shared that they hired four Hurlbut Academy members for this movie.
Dobrev shared the above photos while they were filming on October 13, 2020, and they celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving together.
She had to quarantine for 14 days prior to filming, Hollywood North Buzz reported. Here’s a photo she shared while in the middle of quarantining.
The publication reported that filming was pushed back a bit because Charles Melton was filming for “Riverdale” and his role might have needed to be recast. His role did end up being recast and Darren Barnet replaced him, Just Jared Jr. reported. Barnet starred in “Never Have I Ever.”
Meet the Cast
The synopsis reads: “An LA girl, unlucky in love, falls for an East Coast guy on a dating app and decides to surprise him for Christmas, only to discover that she’s been catfished. But the object of her affection actually lives in the same town, and the guy who duped her offers to set them up IF she pretends to be his own girlfriend for the holidays.”
Nina Dobrev is Natalie Bauer. She’s perhaps best known for her role as Elena/Katherine/Amara on “The Vampire Diaries.” Her credits also include “Fam” (Clem), “Crash Pad,” “Flatliners,” “Then Came You,” “Degrassi: The Next Generation” (Mia Jones), and more.
Lochlyn Munro is Rex. His credits include “Peacemaker” (Larry – premiering in 2022), “Riverdale” (Hal Cooper), “The Chronicle Mysteries” (Billy), “The Crossword Mysteries” (Morgan), “The Good Doctor,” “A Romance Wedding,” “Take Two,” “Garage Sale Mysteries,” “Beyond” (Ken Sheldrake), “Date My Dad,” “Major Crimes,” “Lucifer,” “When Calls the Heart,” “Arrow,” “Cedar Cove,” “Secret Liaison,” “True Justice” (Mark Simms), “Charmed” (Jack Sheridan in 1999-2000), “Two” (Agent Andrew Forbes), “Hawkeye” (McKinney), “Northwood” (Jason), and more.
Rebecca Staab is Barb Lin. Her credits include “The Chronicle Mysteries” (Eileen Bruce), “The Santa Stakeout” (which just aired on Hallmark), “Christmas Bells Are Ringing,” “Christmas By Starlight,” “A Christmas Miracle,” “Breakthrough,” “Mingle All the Way,” “Somewhere Between” (Colleen), “Moonlight in Vermont,” “The Young and the Restless” (April Stevens), “Port Charles” (Elizabeth Barrington), “Live Shot” (Sherry Beck), “Dark Shadows,” “Guiding Light” (Jesse Matthews), and more.
Harry Shum Jr. is Owen Lin. His credits include “Tell Me a Story” (Brendan), “All My Life,” “Shadowhunters” (Magnus), “Single By 30” (Peter), “Glee” (Mike Chang), “Caper” (Luke), “Greek” (Vance), and more.
Jimmy O. Yang is Josh. His credits include “The Opening Act,” “Space Force” (Dr. Chan Kaifang), “Silicon Valley” (Jian Yang), “Fantasy Island,” “Like a Boss,” “Fresh Off the Boat,” “American Dad!,” “Broken” (Donny), “Those Who Can’t” (James Chen), “Things You Couldn’t Say Past Midnight” (Phil), and more.
Darren Barnet is Tag. He is perhaps best well-known for playing Paxton on “Never Have I Ever.” His other credits include “Untitled Horror Movie,” “Agents of SHIELD,” “Family Reunion,” “Turnt” (Hot Seth), “This Is Us” (young Jack), and more.
Also starring, according to IMDb, are:
- Mikaela Cooper as Chelsea
- Darien Martin as Mike
- C. Ernst Harth
- James Saito as Bob Lin
- Matty Finochio as Lee
- Takayo Fischer as Grandma June
- Sean Depner as Chip
- Heather McMahan as Kerry
- Kurt Szarka as Greg
- Justine Warrington as Drew’s wife
- Debbie Podowski as Dr. Foye
- Fletcher Donovan as Eric
READ NEXT: Hallmark’s Christmas 2021 Lineup of Movies
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Where Was ‘Love Hard’ Filmed? See Locations & Meet the Cast