Adam Kaufman

Loving Leah Is an Unorthodox Hallmark Movie

Loving LeahWould you marry your brother’s widow to honor an ancient custom you don’t believe in? That’s what successful bachelor and cardiologist Adam Kaufman is asked to do in Loving Leah. Lauren Ambrose, perhaps best known for her role as Claire Fishe in Six Feet Under, plays the 26-year-old Hasidic Jew widow in this tale that’s quirkier than your average Hallmark Hall of Fame movie.

Loving Leah, which began as a small play, was brought to Hallmark by Ricki Lake, who plays a Reform rabbi in the movie. Playwright P’nenah Goldstein also wrote the screenplay: "I saw it in a way like Moonstruck or Crossing Delancey. I didn’t see it as a Jewish story. It’s a love story, and for a love story you have to have a great hook that brings them together. And the hook in this case was that ancient Jewish law."

Loving Leah airs Sunday, Jan. 25 (9-11 PM, ET/PT) on CBS