Filming for pilot series wraps at Shadow Ranch

Shadow Ranch continues to make itself known in the movie business. As of Sunday, Director, M. Legend Brown and Executive Producer Eric King of King and Brown Enterprises and Poor Child Films, along with Co-Producer Kelly Bobino of Reda Jo Films finished shooting scenes at Shadow Ranch for an upcoming pilot series called “Steps of Faith – The Series.”

Putting the ranch in the spotlight once again, the series is set to premiere in September. The production will appear on Pure Flix, a Christian-based online streaming service, like Netflix, for a chance to become a television series. If launched, the pilot will be the first of four episodes of a full series.

The show, written by Michael D. Brown is a spinoff of “Steps of Faith,” an original movie first shot at Shadow Ranch in 2014. The movie premiered first in Dallas and then at Shannon Oaks Church in Sulphur Springs. The original cast consisted of Malik Whitfield, of the Emmy Award-winning mini-series, “The Temptations, Chrystee Pharris of “General Hospital” and Gail Cronauer of the 2022 film, “Unplugging.”

The movie is about a city girl, Faith, played by Pharris, who finds herself in the small town of Red Springs at "Steps of Faith Hippotherapy Ranch." With the help of Cronauer as Bell, the Executive Director of the ranch, she learns the ropes of becoming a horse trainer and instructor, while falling in love with Marshall, played by Whitfield. By the end of the film, she finds inspiration and an equal amount of humility to help her achieve her goals.

Fast-forward to the spin-off television series, “Steps of Faith – The Series” will feature a young cast played by local actors Campbell Williams, Jaden Toliver and Jalen Love. The new series will be about the journey of Faith and Marshall’s daughter, Hope, played by Campbell Williams.

Following in the footsteps of her mother, Hope is an aspiring young Hippotherapist working to take over the ranch one day. Like her mother, she finds love at the ranch in a young man, Austin, returning home from the Army, played by Jaden Toliver. Alex, played by Jalen Love, will play the part of ‘ranch-hand,’ assisting Hope and the dreaded “Bell.”

Bell, still played by Cronauer, is a tough old broad who doesn’t take any slack. Continuing her role in the series as the Executive Director of Steps of Faith Ranch, she proves to be a driving, although aggravating force behind most, if not all of the characters’ development. Doing what she does best, she will drive yet another young girl to reach her goals and find strength in herself.

Although, the series will feature Steps of Faith Ranch as a Hippotherapy center, Hope will take the reigns in a new direction, providing help to troubled youth as well. Paying tribute to Shadow Ranch, the series will represent more of what they do each day – help ‘all’ of those in need.

Owned and operated by co-founders Marion Cox and Pam Richardson, Shadow Ranch is a 501(c)(3) non-profit PATH certified therapy center. Their mission has been to enhance the quality of life for kids and adults dealing with disabilities and/or with debilitating situations in their lives and to make a positive difference in the lives of their staff, volunteers and community.

Eric King, Executive Producer of King and Brown Enterprises found Marion and Pam through a chance meeting at local AM radio station, KSST. Director of King and Brown Enterprises, M. Legend Brown decided larger therapeutic centers in Dallas were too busy, and that the “scale of Shadow Ranch was better for the movie and the message,” according to Cox. The movie turned out to be a hit, leaving the local Dallas production companies ready to saddle up and film out west, err, northeast once again.

Sulphur Springs could have easily qualified as West Texas on Sunday; the temperatures were in the upper nineties with a heat index of 100. The cast and crew were briefed on the dangers of heat exhaustion and dehydration by Shadow Ranch Executive Director, Cox. As a former platoon sergeant in the Army, specifically during Desert Storm, Cox is very familiar with many dangers, including hotter temperatures.

Regardless of the heat, King, Brown and Bobino were grateful for yet another successful trip to Sulphur Springs. Offering his thanks, King mentioned “I want to thank Shadow Ranch, The city of Sulphur Springs, Hopkins County Sheriff ’s Office, Judge Newsome, Judge Cummings, Chili’s, The Magic Scoop, Mother Dozier’s Homeless Foundation and Andrea King and Arbrie King.”

Not the first time and certainly not the last time, King and Brown Enterprises and Reda Jo Films may very well make their way back for another movie, as this is their third time shooting a production in the area.