Rachael Leigh Cook, a familiar face in romantic comedies, is back in her element with Hallmark Channel’s latest offering, Caught By Love. This film, steeped in romance and intrigue, seems to have had an uncanny foresight into a high-profile international heist.

Note: Minor spoilers follow for Caught by Love, which debuts this evening on Hallmark Channel.

Cook, who rose to fame with her iconic role in 1999’s She’s All That, has become a staple on the Hallmark Channel. Over the past ten years, she has graced more than ten of their films, including the 2025 hit Sisterhood Inc., which has recently climbed into Netflix’s Top 10 Movies list. In Caught By Love, Cook portrays Annie Collins, who seizes an opportunity to visit the Monarch, a wellness retreat nestled in Malta, at the invitation of her friend Joanna (played by Ruby Kammer).

During her stay, Annie literally stumbles into romance with Jake, portrayed by Luke Macfarlane. The encounter is reminiscent of the memorable makeover scene with Freddie Prinze Jr. in She’s All That, a similarity Cook herself has noted.

“I mean, I’m falling in a red dress, towards a handsome man,” Cook remarked. “The comparison could definitely be made. It’s a very different red outfit and there’s no stairs involved, but I had a very similar feeling as to when I shot that scene in She’s All That, which I hadn’t experienced in a really long time.”

Though undercover as just another well-off resort guest, Jake eventually reveals himself to be a private investigator, who received an anonymous tip that a necklace stolen from the Metropolitan Museum of Art is at the Monarch.

For those immediately reminded of the October 2025 Louvre robbery, Cook told DECIDER via Zoom that Caught By Love coincidentally “wrapped two weeks before that happened,” and “cannot believe the similarities,” either.

During her recent chat with DECIDER, Cook also opened up about working with Macfarlane, gushed about shooting in Malta, and weighed in on the “bright” future of the rom-com genre. Check out our full conversation below.

DECIDER: What drew you to this movie in the first place, and did it feel particularly timely given the Louvre robbery ?

RACHAEL LEIGH COOK: I mean Alex, we had wrapped two weeks before that happened. And of course, you gotta do the dumb thing where you’re like, “Hey, what were your whereabouts on this day, Luke?” [Laughs.] Yeah, I could not believe—of course, I wish the movie was coming out closer to the time that that had happened because talk about luck. By the way, I think it’s ok to talk about because no one got hurt, from what I’ve heard. But anyway, I cannot believe the similarities with the Louvre robbery, incredible. This movie was the easiest yes in the world. It said Luke Macfarlane, Hallmark, Malta. Like, you had me at Luke Macfarlane. Let’s just go. This is wonderful.

The movie was shot on location in Malta. What was that experience like?

It was incredibly cool. I have various friends and acquaintances in the Hallmark world, and they all were always seeming to shoot in these incredibly glamorous locations, and I was like, maybe I’m on some kind of Hallmark naughty list that I don’t get to go to the exotic locations. Why don’t I get to go to a castle, or a beach, or something? And finally, I got my beach invite. So Christmas is safe, and now I get to go to the beach. So I just win the Hallmark bingo now. I was thrilled to get that call.

With the start of the movie, your character has this glamorous walkout when she’s introduced and is initially perceived to be her friend, Joanna. But then your meet-cute with Jake takes place as you literally fall for him in the resort lobby. The fall, for me, felt kind of reminiscent of your character’s makeover scene in She’s All That, when you trip after coming down the stairs. Did you feel this way at all?

I’ll take it. I mean, I’m falling in a red dress, towards a handsome man. The comparison could definitely be made. It’s a very different red outfit and there’s no stairs involved, but I had a very similar feeling as to when I shot that scene in She’s All That, which I hadn’t experienced in a really long time. Because you always think in these moments that you’ll be capable of sort of throwing your shoulders back and bringing it, and knowing that you’ve got the hair and makeup together, and that people got your back and you’re not going to look bad. But we’re all just humans at the end of the day. I really remember just thinking, “I hope we have time for more takes of this, because I am not able to walk without looking down, and I’m just realizing that right now.” Much respect to the people who can really strut their stuff without second-guessing it on the first take, because it does not come that natural to me.

Yeah, I get it. As someone who can’t walk in heels, I completely understand.

Yeah, they were like, “Rachel, you don’t need to fall that hard. We don’t need people to be concerned about your actual safety.” And I was like, “I’m just falling, guys.” I know where to begin the fall, but I don’t know how to stop falling. So luckily he’s Luke Macfarlane, and everyone is safe when he’s around somehow because he’s just kind of magic like that. But there were a lot of takes that looked pretty concerning. For sure.

Another little Easter egg I picked up on in this movie is the book that falls out of your bag during this introduction. It was The Dressage Detective: Foal Play. It kind of aligns with her eventually teaming up with Jake and also her wish to become a criminal defense lawyer. Was this purposeful?

Yes, absolutely. It’s supposed to be an early tipoff that she’s a person who’s interested in mystery and adventure. It’s not something that’s completely out of thin air in terms of her realm of interests, so that was intentional. Was it an Easter egg abut the fact that Luke and I could end up in a movie called The Dressage Detective? Absolutely not. I’m not saying no, like, show me the script. But not that part.

Everyone’s a suspect in this case, even your character Annie is considered at the start. Did you have a favorite lead or suspect after Annie joined forces with Jake?

Well, I have to be careful not to give any spoilers, but I love that everyone gets their moment in—not the sun, the shade of suspicion, shall we say. We had such an incredible cast of international actors who really brought their parts off the page, even with limited story time available to tell everyone’s story. But they managed to add so much and pull at my heartstrings with every scene that they did. I feel so lucky to have been working with this cast. But yeah, in the great tradition of the whodunnit, you really get to wonder about absolutely everyone at the resort. I think there are lots of different ways that the movie could have ended, but I like to think that the ending is a nice surprise.

I’d love to ask about the rock climbing in this movie. How was this shot? Did you have a stunt double? What was the experience like?

Well, we went out to the rock climbing place, and I found out that the place that we were doing the actual climbing was not really made of rock. The rock climbing expert said that they would not normally advise climbing there because it was made of something closer to petrified sand, so large parts of rocks that were within it were often falling down when we were tethered on these lines. I got a little bit nervous. I went over the edge of the cliff, was not able to complete the climbing up. So not to ruin everyone’s experience of the movie, but that is not me doing the amazing ascent. I tried, but we didn’t have four weeks to do that scene, so we do what we could. Luke did his own climbing, The actor who played Robert [Rupert Hill] did his own climbing, an incredible actor. But he was an incredible climber, and it was expected of him. They said, ‘You’re from Spain, you can climb.’ And then they just threw him over a cliff. That’s gotta be hard. But Malta’s just a beautiful place. The quality of the light, the quality of the crews there is incredible. They shoot so many movies there to just get big panoramas of the ocean, and I just feel lucky to have gone.

I know we’ve already talked about this a little bit, but you get to work with Luke Macfarlane in this movie. Can you elaborate a little bit more on your experience and what it was like developing chemistry with him for this movie?

I had heard lore of how just excellent a human Luke was from many people, and I remember thinking long ago that I’d like to work with him. He’s just so darn handsome, charming, all of these things, that it would’ve taken a script like this one, where my character looks at him as this sort of unattainable, mysterious, awesome kind of like… I don’t know, James Bond-type figure of a guy to have it be believable to me that he and I would be cast together in a movie. I feel like I’m so much more everyday. He seems like an action star guy. So it took a script like this to bring us together, and I hope that the pairing works well in everyone’s opinion.

Well, in my opinion, it definitely does. I wanted to shift gears a little bit. You are a pioneer and an icon of the rom-com genre, going all the way back to She’s All That, and you’ve since become a mainstay in the genre. How does your experience working in rom-coms in the present day compare to your start in them, and have you noticed any major changes? What’s the state of the rom-com today?

First of all, thank you so much for saying that. I think there’s something about having a genuine and fervent love for the genre that I’m just lucky has somehow aided in my ability to continue its traditions, and for people to know I’m just truly in it for the love of the game. I take our tropes very seriously, and I love them, and I just want to keep bringing fresh takes on them forward. In terms of how I feel about where the rom-com is at now, the cellphone posed a lot of problems for the rom-com. That’s been an interesting turn. I think we’re at a place where people need and love them unapologetically more than ever, and I really feel like they are truly their own ecosystem. I don’t think that people are going to max out on wanting to see love be found and experienced, and I think that the future of the rom-com is bright.

I hope so, because it’s one of my favorites.

We need that optimism.

Another Hallmark movie of yours, Sisterhood Inc., was in the Netflix Top 10 this week. You starred in the movie and produced it. What is it like to see work that you’re not only in on screen, but also doing so much work for behind the scenes, get such positive reception, and also expand and move to different platforms outside of Hallmark?

I felt really proud of Hallmark for making that movie. It has a lot of trappings of sort of a ’90s concept comedy. And I am so grateful to Netflix for picking it up for wider viewership because it really can benefit from a wider audience, as can so many. But how does it feel to know that something that I was at starting point zero to all the way to it finding yet another home? It’s absolutely incredible. I sometimes can’t understand that, like in the instance of Sisterhood Inc., that a small conversation that I had with a friend could lead to a movie that now millions of people will have watched. That kind of does my head in. I love that movie. I don’t have a sister, but I have a sister-in-law, and when people have told me that the movie resonates with them and that they enjoyed it, I’m just thrilled. What can I say?

How To Watch Caught By Love

The only way to watch Hallmark Channel live without cable is by using a live TV streaming service. We recommend DIRECTV, which comes with a five-day free trial before payment begins.

DIRECTV offers a number of flexible subscription options, including Genre Packs, so you can best choose which streaming plans fit your needs and budget. Plans start at $49.99/month.

Caught By Love premieres tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel, with next-day streaming on Hallmark+.