Joey Lawrence and Wife Samantha Cope Meet-cute in Tubi Romantic Comedy 'Frankie Meets Jack'

It's the perfect Valentine's Day flick! Joey Lawrence and his wife Samantha Cope bring real-life couples goals to the small screen in the new Tubi romantic comedy Frankie Meets Jack. In the flick, Samantha Cope plays Frankie (Samantha Cope), a single mom who is all-in on "dog mom life." When she crosses paths with Jack (Joey Lawrence) and his dog Dakota, sparks and tensions are high. As a series of coincidences converge, Frankie and Jack continue to cross paths: Jack becomes Tucker's veterinarian and Frankie later covers Jack's wedding announcement in the local paper. As they stumble their way through finding and pursuing love, Frankie and Jack, have the support and encouragement of their best friends- both canine and human.

Recently, Lawrence and Cope spoke with PopCulture for an exclusive interview about the movie, the importance of romantic films, and family ties. 

How long has this project been in the works, and how did it develop?

Joey: It was in the works for about a year. Sam and I just wanted to do something fun together, so we were big fans of romcoms.

Samantha: And I love dogs, so we knew we had to incorporate the dogs and the animals into the movie.

Joey:  And yeah, it just kind of blossomed. So we said, you know what, we'd never really written anything each of us, but we said, let's, let's try to write something. And it turned out pretty good. We had a couple of friends read it, and they said, "this is pretty good." So we took it to Fox and Tubi, and they said, you know what? We'd love to do this with you guys. So it's sort of how it happened. I'm sort of in this growing relationship we had with Fox and Tubi. I did one of their first original films, which did really well. So we had we had an opportunity to work on something else and, and, and we did this, and people are excited about it. So it's just a cute little movie. Hopefully, people enjoy a little escapism and have some fun. We had my brother [Andrew Lawrence] direct it for us, which was great. And you know, it was, it was, it was a really cool little shoot, and it turned out good. So we're excited. People have really been responding to it, so it's kind of cool.

What was it like to be so involved together in a project that you not only co-starred in but wrote? 

Joey: It was cool. Writing and producing are neat. It gives you a little more creative control.

Samantha: And we work really well together, which is a huge blessing. We can go to work happy, come home happy.

Joey: Not a lot of drama. So it really feels great to be able to do that. There's really a certain level of trust there and, there's a level of comfortability there that you, you can't pay for that, you know? And you don't have to worry about anything because you know that whatever comes up, you can figure it out and work through it, and we inspire each other and give each other notes and all those things that you can never really do with somebody else. Or if you do and they take it the wrong way, then the workday's over. So there's just a real, a real level of trust here that really makes it special. 

And Joey, your daughter Charleston also appeared with you in My Husband's Secret Brother. And you've acted with Andrew as well. Is there a chance we'll get a movie with the entire family at some point?

Joey: We did a Christmas movie for Amazon last year, which ended up being the number one Christmas movie, believe it or not, called Mistletoe Mix Up. And the brothers and I were all on that. Andy directed that one as well, and it did so well that we did a sequel to that. Sam was in it too. And then so we just got done shooting that. Mistletoe Mix Up 2, which is not the title, but that's the movie. It's the sequel. It's great. And I think it's better than the first one. And we're excited about that that comes out this Christmas. So we're always, we're working a lot together. Again, the brothers and I worked a lot together as young kids, but we're working together a lot now. So we have a new TV show. We got coming out with the producers of Wedding Crashers, which is really dope. Single camera called Lawrence House. It's fantastic, we're so excited about it. Steve Pink is our showrunner on that.

And we have a podcast called the Brotherly Love Pod, which is launching Feb. 24 and every Friday after that. And the pre-screenings have been huge for that. So we're really excited. Nobody's ever seen us react like the interdynamics of actually how we react and relate to each other. And Sam and I, we have a couple of shows on the way. We have a game show that we're launching together, which is like this pop culture game show, which is really exciting. And then we're gonna be hosting this couple's competition show called The Experiment, which we created, which we're really excited about too. So there's a lot of stuff. We're always working together. You know, if you can work with family, you can work with people that you trust, it just makes it better, honestly. You never feel like you're gonna be hung out to dry. You never feel like you have to watch your back, you know? And there's a real insulation there that just feels very, you know, no matter what, it's family. 

Samantha: Technically, [baby daughter Dylan Rose Lawrence, born Jan. 16, 2023] was there during Frankie Meets Jack.

Joey: Yes. Dylan was, she was pregnant during shooting. 

Samantha: Right in that lovely nauseated first-trimester shooting Frankie Meets Jack.

Joey: And we shot Mistletoe Mix Up, too, when we were pregnant. She did two movies while she was pregnant.

Samantha: So our daughter was there. 

What do you hope viewers take away from this movie?

Samantha: I personally really hope it sheds a light on adoption and rescues for animals and dogs specifically. I feel like there's so many dogs out there that need good homes, and as my character, Frankie, got to experience, her life was enhanced in way more ways than just the one of having and adopting Tucker, who brought her to some, some hunky love. So, there's just a whole world out there for people if you are looking for animals, it's a great route. So I hope it sheds a little light on that.

Joey: Sam is a huge animal lover, right? Obviously. And the passion's real. And it's inspiring because it's real. I mean, it's like totally legit. She lives that. For me, I just hope people can tune in and watch kind of like a throwback little romcom and just, I hope escape for an hour and 20 minutes. I mean, it's not rocket science, you know? And we grew up loving those iconic films. My Best Friend's Wedding and How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, and When Harry Met Sally and all these great films, and they don't make a lot of 'em anymore. So, in our small way, we wanted to try to make one and bring it to the home box office audience. These work and people have been responding really well to it, and we had that Julia Roberts, George Cooney romcom that did pretty well at the box office. And I hope that studios give it a chance. I don't think fans have tired of the genre. I think they're actually craving it.

I think that, for some reason, it goes in this weird cyclical order with studio heads where they deem the romcom out of favor for some reason or they deem action out of favor. And I think people are always ready for something good. I don't care what genre it's in. And I think the romantic comedy is vital to film. I really do. I think it holds a very special place. Despite all the Avatars and the CGI, and all this stuff, I think just like a basic romantic comedy, right? Relatability, situational, you know, comfortability. I think that these things, they just make you feel good when you watch 'em, and sort of grounded. So that's really what we wanted to do in our little way, and so far, so good, you know? 

Frankie Meets Jack is available to stream on Tubi now.