Whatever Happened To The Cast Of Melissa And Joey?

You probably know Freeform as the network originally known as ABC Family. But Freeform actually has some excellent shows, which range from dramas to comedies and even sitcoms. Of course, the sitcoms tend to be pretty cheesy, as pretty much all sitcoms tend to be, but that doesn't mean they aren't entertaining. "Melissa & Joey," a sitcom starring Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence, was super funny, cute, and, overall, just fun to watch.

The show featured Hart as the stereotypical cool aunt who begins raising her young niece and nephew after their parents are forced to go into hiding for embezzlement and fraud. Hart ends up hiring Lawrence's character to help out around the house and with the kids, and, unsurprisingly, they have some chemistry that plays out in interesting ways over the course of the series. The show wasn't critically acclaimed, but it was still sweet, and the cast was very talented. So whatever happened to the cast of "Melissa & Joey"? Well, they've all moved on in their own ways, that's for sure.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably recognize Melissa Joan Hart. She's been acting for quite some time and appeared in two popular teen sitcoms in the 1990s: "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" and "Clarissa Explains It All" — in both series, she played the titular character. So, when Hart starred in "Melissa & Joey," fans loved seeing her on-screen again, this time as an adult. She played Melanie Burke, a busy city councilwoman trying to keep her life together. 

After the series ended, Hart starred in many made-for-television Christmas movies, like "Broadcasting Christmas," "A Very Nutty Christmas," and "Dear Christmas." In an interview with Media Village, she explained that she loved working on the heartwarming projects. "I love doing them because they do give people a good happy feeling," she said. "Whatever is going on in our real lives, in politics, or in the pandemic, [people] can come to this safe place." And she's exactly right. Hopefully, Hart continues to do more because her fans love seeing her.

Obviously, one of the main characters on "Melissa & Joey," is Joey Longo, played by Joey Lawrence. On the show, Lawrence's character was a financial worker who was let go by Melissa's sister and brother-in-law when they found themselves in the middle of a huge scandal. He was definitely upset with his situation when he wound up on Melissa's doorstep and ended up working as her nanny. But, considering Lawrence has been acting since childhood, it makes sense he would continue acting after the series ended.

Let's go way back to the 1990s, because Lawrence, like Melissa Joan Hart, was a teen star, known primarily for his role as Joey on the popular '90s sitcom "Blossom." He also had an impressive singing career as well. So, after "Melissa & Joey" ended in 2015, it was seemingly pretty easy for Lawrence to land more roles — since his career never really stalled. Specifically, he appeared in several episodes of the rebooted "Hawaii Five-0" and films, such as "The Office Mix-Up" and "Roe v. Wade." Additionally, Lawrence appeared as a "Single" on 2021's "The Celebrity Dating Game," proving he's ready to find love again since splitting from his second wife, Chandie Yawn-Nelson.

Lennox Scanlan, played by Taylor Spreitler, was another main character on "Melissa & Joey." Lennox was Melanie's niece that she took in when her sister and brother-in-law fled the country, and Lennox definitely had a bit of a wild side to her — well, as wild as you would expect a teenager on a sitcom to get. Still, Spreitler was perfect at giving off that angsty teenage attitude, so it's no shock that she continued find success in acting after "Melissa & Joey" ended.

In particular, Spreitler had a guest role on "Criminal Minds," appeared in six episodes of "Casual," and even landed a role in the horror film "Amityville: The Awakening." She also had a recurring role in the sitcoms "Kevin Can Wait" and "Young Sheldon." Clearly, comedy is Spreitler's sweet spot, and in an interview with Talk Nerdy With Us, she explained why. "You can't really have a bad day at work when your job is to literally make other people laugh," she said with a laugh. "I love that as a job we put a smile on someone's face." Spreitler has definitely found her calling in sitcoms.

Showing up to his aunt Mel's house on "Melissa & Joey," alongside his older sister, was Ryder Scanlon, played by Nick Robinson. Ryder was a bit quieter than Lennox, but, like her, he had a ton of plot lines in the series. After "Melissa & Joey" ended, Robinson really made a name for himself in Hollywood, and you've probably seen him in a movie or television show since then.

Most notably, Robinson landed the titular role in the 2018 film, "Love, Simon," which told the story of a young teenager preparing to come out as gay to his friends and family. Robinson was incredible in the role, which only led to more success for him. In 2020, he starred in "A Teacher" alongside Kate Mara. In the series, Robinson played a high school student having an affair with his teacher, and the role was something Robinson really enjoyed. "It was a challenge," he told Variety in an interview. "The story itself I felt was going to hopefully challenge audiences." Although Robinson has landed some top-tier roles since "Melissa & Joey," it seems his career is just taking off.

If you grew up in the 2000s watching the Disney Channel, chances are you probably recognize Sterling Knight. He was kind of everywhere at one point, and though he wasn't a main character on "Melissa & Joey," he still had an important role. Knight played Zander Carlson on the series, appearing in 31 total episodes, which is pretty impressive. Zander was a love interest for Lennox, and his character was silly and fun to watch.

But, despite his impressive acting credits before "Melissa & Joey," like "17 Again," "Sonny with a Chance," and more, he slowed down a bit after the sitcom ended. He appeared in a few different shows and short films after "Melissa & Joey," like "Crowded" and "Different Flowers," but his last project was in 2017 when he appeared in seven episodes of "In the Rough," as Cameron Fullbright. Since then, he's apparently taken a break from acting. He's still somewhat active on social media and will shoot Cameo videos for a $50 fee, but, lately, he seems to be more into working out and staying out of the spotlight.

Lucy DeVito appeared in 15 episodes of "Melissa & Joey" as Stephanie, Melanie's attentive and loyal assistant. DeVito definitely brought a lot of charm and humor to her character, and anyone who watched her on "Melissa & Joey" will not be surprised to learn that her career hasn't slowed down in the slightest since the sitcom came to an end. On the contrary, DeVito went on to appear in several television shows, including "CrimeFighters," "Alpha House," and "Deadbeat."

Additionally, DeVito landed some made-for-TV Christmas movie roles similar to those of her former co-star, Melissa Joan Hart. She appeared in "The Santa Con" (actually alongside Hart) and "A Cinderella Christmas," amongst other TV movies. But if you're thinking that DeVito looks familiar, you would be right. Her father is legendary actor Danny DeVito, and her mother is Rhea Perlman of "Cheers" fame, meaning she's kind of a Hollywood legacy. However, DeVito has said she has mixed feelings toward her parents' careers. "It's a curse and a blessing having that last name," she said, according to Fabiosa. Still, DeVito has done well for herself, appearing in two episodes of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and the 2021 Marilyn Monroe film, "Blonde."

Another love interest for the teens on "Melissa & Joey" was Ryder's girlfriend, Holly Reback, played by Rachel G. Fox. Holly's spoiled attitude definitely made for good television, thanks to Fox's ability to bring the character to life effortlessly. So it might come as a bit of a surprise to learn that "Melissa & Joey" was actually one of her last acting roles. After her time on the series ended in 2012, Fox landed a few more roles. She starred in the made-for-television movies "I'm Not Dead Yet," "Zombie Night," and "The Wrong Boyfriend" before her final acting role in "C.S.I: Cyber" for one episode in 2015.

Though Fox had a promising start to her career — before "Melissa & Joey," she had a recurring role on the hit ABC drama "Desperate Housewives" — she's apparently quit acting. Additionally, her Instagram page, which seems to be her only social media platform, hasn't been updated since 2018, and she doesn't describe herself as an actress in her bio. Fox has disappeared in a sense, and fans can only hope that she's just living her best life under the radar.

Though it was pretty clear from the get-go on "Melissa & Joey" that Melanie and Joey were going to get together at some point, they both had other love interests throughout the series. For Melanie, that main love interest was Austin, played by Trevor Donovan. Austin was definitely a heartthrob, as anyone can see, and Donovan was so great at playing the perfect guy for Mel — on paper, that is. Though his relationship with Mel doesn't work out on the show, Donovan still played an important role, and he's been steadily working since.

After appearing in several television series after "Melissa & Joey," Donovan has become a staple on the Hallmark Channel, where's he's done a ton of made-for-TV movies. He's appeared in flicks such as "Love Finds You in Charm," "Marry Me at Christmas," "Love, Fall & Order," and more. In an interview with My Devotional Thoughts, he explained why he loves working with Hallmark. "I think Hallmark is a place people can go to watch a morally uplifting movie for the whole family and know they're getting a happy ending," he said. Hey, he's not wrong, and he's also great at what he does.

One of the funniest characters on "Melissa & Joey" was, without a doubt, Mel's dad, Russell Burke, played by Christopher Rich. Before "Melissa & Joey," Rich appeared in a ton of television shows and movies, including "Reba," "The George Carlin Show," and many more. But Rich suffered a stroke sometime after "Melissa & Joey" ended, which obviously forced him to slow down in his career and focus on his health. Additionally, Rich confirmed in an interview that he had a new career in green energy sales, though he has also continued acting. Rich also explained that returning to acting afterward was hard. "Getting confidence back was tough," he said, but he managed to pull it off.

Still, Rich has continued to act occasionally despite his health complications. Since "Melissa & Joey," he's been in several movies, including "Cassidy Way," "The Christmas Trap," and "Spiked." Acting is clearly something that Rich enjoys — and something he excels in — so it's pretty inspiring to see him rise above his health complications and continue to do what he loves.

Another popular teen heartthrob who appeared on "Melissa & Joey" is Gregg Sulkin, who was probably familiar to anyone who watched "Wizards of Waverly Place" since he played Mason Greyback. Though Sulkin only appeared in three episodes of "Melissa & Joey," his character, Haskell Davis, was pretty important since he was involved in both Lennox and Ryder's lives. After his time on "Melissa & Joey" came to an end in 2012, Sulkin went on to land even more impressive roles.

Sulkin appeared in several episodes of "Pretty Little Liars" and "Faking It," and he even had a guest role in the Freeform Original series, "Young & Hungry." In 2017, Sulkin landed a major role on "Runaways" as Chase Smith, and he seems to have loved his time on the show. In an interview with Den of Geek, Sulkin explained that his role in the Marvel series was a huge deal for him. "I think every child dreams of being a superhero at some point in their life, and having super powers," he said. "So for that dream to come true and to hopefully be a reality for the next few years is pretty awesome."

Appearing in five episodes of "Melissa & Joey" was Elizabeth Ho, who played Rhonda Cheng. Rhonda was definitely an important character to Melanie at the start of the series, and, although Ho only appeared in one season of the sitcom, she did a stellar job, so it's no surprise that she went on to do pretty well for herself in Hollywood.

In fact, Ho had guest roles in several popular shows like "Bones," "NCIS," and more before landing a recurring role on "TRON: Uprising" in 2012. After that, things really seemed to pick up for Ho, and she soon landed a major role on the Netflix series "Disjointed," alongside Kathy Bates. In an interview with Crookes Magazine, Ho gave some insight into just how nervous she felt auditioning for the series. "Auditioning never fails to be a nerve-wracking process, even for those actors who've been doing it for their entire lives!" Though the series ended in 2018, Ho said she was very lucky to work with Bates. In 2019, she appeared in the Netflix limited series "Merry Happy Whatever" and has continued to appear on television since then. Clearly, Ho is doing just fine.

One of the most memorable guest stars on "Melissa & Joey" was definitely Faith Prince, who played Gloria, Joe's mother, throughout the series. Gloria ended up having some heat with Mel's dad, which made for interesting scenes.

Though Gloria only appeared in seven episodes of "Melissa & Joey," her character was such a delight to watch, largely thanks to Prince. Since her time on "Melissa & Joey" came to an end in 2015, Prince hasn't slowed down — in fact, she's landed some guest roles on some pretty popular television shows. In 2014, she appeared in an episode of "Scream Queens," then went on to appear in two episodes of "Modern Family" in 2017 as well as one episode of "Chicago Justice" that same year. But that's not all. Prince also had a role in the Netflix original series "Emily in Paris" and starred in the TV movie "Dear Christmas," alongside none other than Melissa Joan Hart. Prince definitely knows what she's doing, that's for sure.

A major plot twist on "Melissa & Joey" is when Joe learns he has a daughter, Dani, from a previous relationship. Jada Facer played the small but important role on the show. In total, Facer appeared in ten episodes and nailed her character. In an interview with Glitter Magazine, Facer explained that landing the job on "Melissa & Joey" was a career highlight for her. "Working on Melissa & Joey was like a dream come true," she said. "Everyone is so amazingly sweet and they made me feel welcomed from the start."

But, since "Melissa & Joey," Facer only has four projects to her credit, three of which were one-episode arcs on the television shows "Henry Danger," "The Thundermans," and "The Mick." Her last role was in the movie "Battle for Skyark" in 2017. However, from the looks of it, Facer appears to have pivoted to a singing career. She describes herself as a musician in her Instagram bio, where she provides a link to her new music video. In one Instagram post, she even gave some insight into her new song. Good for her!

Marco on "Melissa & Joey" was definitely both interesting and entertaining. Marco, played by Kevin Fonteyne, was one of Lennox's most serious love interests, but the two run into some trouble when Marco gets a job offer in Japan. After his time on "Melissa & Joey" came to an end, Fonteyne didn't have much trouble landing other, more adult roles.

Specifically, Fonteyne went on to play Matt in three episodes of "Masters of Sex," had guest roles on "Bones" and "Mom," and landed another recurring role as the one and only Johnny Cash on "Sun Records." Though Fonteyne has continued to act, in an interview with Trainwreckd Society, he explained that his time on "Melissa & Joey" will always stand out to him. "I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of working with everyone on that set," he said. "I fortunately was already friends with Taylor Spreitler (Lennox) before booking the role so it was great working with a friend." Clearly, things have worked out for him since.