'Sweet Magnolias' star Chris Medlin says Serenity is ready for a big gay wedding

This story originally appeared on Out.Chris Medlin grew up in a small town in Tennessee, so when he says Serenity, the fictional South Carolina town Sweet Magnolias is set in, represents something real, he means it."I think Serenity represents what every town could and should be," Medlin tells Out. "What I think this show does really well is have all of these diverse perspectives, have all of these varying walks of life, and not having any of their stories be about that exact thing that makes them different. Whether it’s sexuality or race or relationship status, it’s just understood by the town, and, through them, the show."That's a quiet kind of radical. Sweet Magnolias doesn't announce Isaac's queerness as the subject. It just lets him exist fully in a town that loves him. For Medlin, that's the whole point. Chris Medlin as Isaac Downey on 'Sweet Magnolias.' Courtesy of NetflixHe's been playing Isaac since 2019, after a stint in Mean Girls on Broadway, for his first TV gig. Season five finds Isaac more grounded than we've ever seen him, stepping into a managerial role at Sullivan's, six months into his relationship with Michael, and more certain of his place in Serenity than he's ever been. Isaac came to town looking for the parents who gave him away as teenagers. "He shows up to town very uncertain of who he is and where his place in the world should be, and he finds it quite quickly in Serenity," Medlin says. "I do think finding it so quickly and being welcomed so warmly is a little unnerving for Isaac, and it makes him anxious."That anxiety shows up in full force as Isaac spirals trying to plan the perfect romantic anniversary dinner for Michael. "It's very internally motivated," he says. "Isaac has done most of his life on the outskirts, on the outside, and hasn't had that sense of family that he's found in Serenity. Now that he has it, he is sharing every single thought that passes through his brain."The anniversary dinner becomes the container for all of