Jesse Metcalfe Joins Dennis Quaid, Heather Graham in Faith-Based Drama On a Wing and a Pray

January 2024 · 5 minute read

Jesse Metcalfe has signed on for MGM and Lightworkers’ new faith-based family drama “On a Wing and a Prayer,” starring opposite Dennis Quaid and Heather Graham.

Based on a true story, Quaid stars as Doug White, who’s forced to fly a plane after the pilot dies unexpectedly mid-flight.

The movie is the latest production from MGM’s Lightworkers — the company, founded by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, is behind “The Bible” miniseries and MGM and Paramount’s contemporary “Ben-Hur” adaptation. Downey will produce the movie alongside Autumn Bailey-Ford, with Burnett serving as an executive producer. Directed by Sean McNamara from a screenplay by Brian Egeston, “On a Wing and a Prayer” is currently in production and slated for release on Aug. 31, 2022.

After kicking off his career with heartthrob roles on “Passions,” “Desperate Housewives” and the 2006 hit teen comedy “John Tucker Must Die,” Metcalfe has found massive success on the family-friendly circuit and become a fan-favorite on Hallmark. In August, the actor wrapped up a five-season run on the network’s hugely popular drama “Chesapeake Shores,” where he’d played singer-songwriter Trace Riley since the show’s 2016 debut. Metcalfe also recently starred in and executive produced “Ships in the Night: A Martha’s Vineyard Mystery,” the latest installment in the “Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries” film series, and had a leading role in “Christmas Under the Stars,” opposite Autumn Reeser and Clarke Peters.

Related Stories

The Hollywood sign with a hand coming out of the "O" holding a megaphone VIP+

Hollywood’s Next Superhero: Purpose-Led Branding  

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 08: (L-R) Terry Crews actor, Co-Founder & CEO, Super Serious attend Variety Advertising Week Studio presented by Canva at Pendry Manhattan West on October 08, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Eugene Gologursky/Variety via Getty Images)

How Uber Leveraged 3000 Rides Per Taylor Swift Show, e.l.f.'s Roblox Beauty Squad and Learning to 'Hustle Like You're Broke' - The Biggest Takeaways From Variety's Executive Studio at Advertising Week

On the big screen, the actor recently reunited with Bruce Willis (with whom he starred in last year’s action-thriller “Hard Kill”) for Lionsgate’s “Fortress,” which will be released in December. Additional film credits include “Dead Rising: Endgame,” “Escape Plan 2: Hades,” “The Ninth Passenger” and “God’s Not Dead 2.” Metcalfe is represented by Untitled Management, Gersh and The Initiative Group.

Popular on Variety

Founded in 2011 by Emmy-nominated actor and producer Downey and Burnett, MGM’s Lightworkers is the banner behind numerous television series and films, including the Emmy-nominated “The Bible,” which has gone on to spawn multiple feature film adaptations, including “Resurrection” (which debuted on Discovery Plus in March 2021), as well as the 2015 NBC miniseries “A.D. The Bible Continues.” Lightworkers also produced the Lifetime series “The Women of the Bible,” CBS’ “The Dovekeepers” and TLC’s “Answered Prayers,” plus the feature films “Little Boy” for Open Road Films, “Woodlawn” for Pure Flix, and “Messiah” and “Country Ever After” for Netflix.

Read More About:

Jump to Comments

More from Variety

Most Popular

Must Read

Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Variety Confidential

A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast

ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXN9jp%2BgpaVfo7K4v46jnKyrlWK6psDCmqOfnV2brqrAx2aZmquVmXquu9WinGannmKubsPIp55mmZ6ZeqJ5z6uYsp2iYn5zf5Rpb29vaW18