Loretta Devine reflects on working with Jennifer Love Hewitt on ‘The Client List’

Loretta Devine got candid about working with Jennifer Love Hewitt.

The Grey's Anatomy star, 75, reflected on some of her past projects while attending the American Black Film Festival Honors on Monday, Feb. 17. 

When the conversation turned to her time on The Client List, Devine didn’t hold back her candid thoughts about working alongside Jennifer Love Hewitt, who both starred in and served as an executive producer on the show.

“Mixed,” she said with a laugh when asked to describe the experience. Then, with a knowing smile, she added, “You know what? She decided to rewrite the entire angle of the show right in the middle.”

Devine, who played Georgia Cummings on the Lifetime drama, admitted she had been excited about the show’s direction, despite its abrupt cancellation after just two seasons.

“It was good,” she shared. “Everything gets you prepared for whatever you're going to do next.”

The Client List, which aired from 2012 to 2013, starred Hewitt as Riley Parks, a struggling single mother who takes a job at a spa—only to discover that it offers more than just massages. 

However, according to Entertainment Weekly, a disagreement between Hewitt and the network over the show’s future storylines reportedly led to its untimely end.

At the time, Hewitt was also expecting her first child with now-husband Brian Hallisay, whom she met in 2011 but reconnected with while filming The Client List.

Hallisay played her estranged husband on the series—a dynamic they revisited years later in 9-1-1, where he portrays her character Maddie Han's ex.

More recently, the couple switched things up by starring as a happy couple (for once!) in the Hallmark holiday movie The Holiday Junkie, which Hewitt joked was a refreshing change for their kids to see.

While The Client List may have been short-lived, it clearly left a lasting impression on its cast—even if the behind-the-scenes experience had its fair share of surprises.