To Barcelona, Forever is Hallmark Channel‘s follow-up to the pleasantly charming To Barcelona, With Love, and it delivers a satisfying conclusion to Anna and Erica’s story. The sequel falls a little further into what’s expected from both the romance movie genre and the Hallmark brand, but still deserves praise for making it worth going back to this story and these characters again.

For those who missed the previous movie, this one picks up with writer Anna Kelly (played by Ashley Williams) returning to Spain in order to catch up with her translator Erica (portrayed by Alison Sweeney), who is now in a relationship with charming bookstore owner Nico (Alejandro Tous). Anna and Erica have become good friends after their experience in To Barcelona, With Love, so Anna is still part of their lives, and she’s turned over a new leaf for herself, too.

Here’s where the Hallmark Media team deserves some props: having this film premiere the week after To Barcelona, With Love and also repeating that movie just ahead of the sequel’s June 14 debut are two excellent programming choices. Those who loved the first one don’t have to wait long for part two, and it’s also close enough that it’s easy to remember relevant plot details. But along similar lines, writer Julie Sherman Wolfe also doesn’t rest on her laurels and assume everyone saw the original. The setup of To Barcelona, Forever contains just enough exposition that one doesn’t have to have watched To Barcelona, With Love to follow this movie.

To Barcelona, Forever is the perfect companion for To Barcelona, With Love—which is also to say it’s what viewers will want and to a lesser degree, expect. Since the first movie resolved with Erica and Nico falling in love, it’s no surprise that the second movie is focused on Anna also finding someone to love. It would be off-brand for Hallmark to only care about one of the two main characters. But because the audience knows that, there are some elements of the story that are easier to predict than they were in the first movie.

The biggest difference (and biggest criticism) is that To Barcelona, Forever feels less balanced than its predecessor. To Barcelona, With Love felt as though it were as much about the growing friendship between Anna and Erica, and how they impacted each other’s lives, as it was any potential romance between Nico and either of the women. This movie is much more Anna’s story, with Erica moving into the supportive best friend space seen in many other Hallmark movies. Although there is still a major development for her, the shift in storytelling does cut back on one of the things that made this project so great.

But actor Alison Sweeney is as comfortable playing the friend role as she was portraying the overlooked protagonist. To Barcelona, Forever continues to make use of Sweeney’s dry wit and charm. On the other side of the equation, co-star Ashley Williams—who again serves as a producer on what was her passion project—leans even more into Anna’s awkwardness and unintentional self-focus. She still thinks someone should know who she is, and still has a tendency to put her foot in her mouth. Anna may not have entirely grown since the events of To Barcelona, With Love, but Williams still makes Anna loveable with her charisma and earnestness.

To Barcelona, Forever also plays more with the comedy in “romantic comedy.” Rather than the cute coincidences that happen in many genre films, the central conceit of this movie takes things up a few notches and goes for an even more classic idea: the misunderstanding blown up to epic proportions. Anna and her potential love match are forced into an unexpected situation, which is something else Hallmark knows how to do very well, and the script and the actors never lose sight of how abnormal the predicament is.

Altogether, the Barcelona duology is a fun step forward for the Hallmark brand. It’s a well-cast way to tell smaller stories while still providing all of the charm and lightheartedness that people come to Hallmark movies for. The company would do well to use this as a template to match up other well-known Hallmark fan favorites in other stories that likewise don’t have to wrap up so simply or become a whole series. They can just be a whole lot of fun.

To Barcelona, Forever is now streaming on Hallmark+ and will repeat on Hallmark Channel. Check your local listings for time and specific channel. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Hallmark Media.

Article content is (c)2020-2025 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.