A Christmas-themed, star-studded Hallmark cruise to the Bahamas will set sail in 2024. In a social media announcement, Hallmark Media told fans that they can immerse themselves in the Hallmark experience with celebrity meet-and-greets, a tree-lighting ceremony, and an ugly sweater contest.
“Jolliest vacation ever!” read the text on the cruise’s website. “Pack your bags for the vacation of a lifetime as you experience the magic of a Hallmark Channel Christmas with your favorite Hallmark stars on the beautiful Norwegian Gem. Join us as we indulge in all our favorite Christmas traditions during this ultimate holiday at sea!”
Hallmark cruise
Though Hallmark stars have gone on cruises with fans before — Andrew Walker and Paul Greene set sail in January 2023 — this is the first cruise sponsored by Hallmark itself.
“We hear time and time again that people want to immerse themselves in the world of Hallmark Channel Christmas movies and this venture is sure to bring our brand to life in a new, captivating way,” said Natalie Vandergast, Hallmark Media’s vice president of consumer products. “We are delighted to count down to Christmas 2024 aboard an adventure that will allow our stars and enthusiastic fan base alike to create everlasting memories together at sea.”
Fan response
Fans responded with enthusiasm on social media, though some said they would wait to see which celebrities will be joining the cruise before signing up.
“This would be awesome, not knowing who will be joining I will have to wait for the list.” wrote one on Facebook. “To see if it’s worth it.”
“Tell me Ryan Paevey is gonna be there!” wrote another.
The itinerary
According to an itinerary released by Hallmark Media, the cruise will set sail from Miami, Florida, on November 5, 2024. A day at sea will follow and the ship will arrive at Nassau, Bahamas on the 7th. After another day at sea on the 8th, the ship will arrive in Miami on November 9th.
Activities include:
Photo ops and behind-the-scenes panels with Hallmark celebrities
A Hallmark Channel wine-tasting
A tree-lighting ceremony
Christmas cookie decorating
An ugly sweater contest
Christmas carol-oke
The Norwegian Gem
Hallmark is collaborating with Sixthman, a company known for its themed cruises.
The company’s vice president of events, marketing & community told fans what they could expect.
“From sugar plums to reindeers, ornaments to caroling and so much more. Loyal fans will celebrate timeless Hallmark Channel Christmas traditions and create new ones with their families, a ship full of Hallmarkies, and Hallmark Channel’s holiday stars,” said Jeff Cuellar in a statement released by the network. “Leave your puffy jacket and grab your Christmas spirit and passion for Hallmark Channel Christmas movies as we set sail on the most heartwarming, holly jolly experience on the high seas.”
How to get on board
According to instructions from Hallmark, during the pre-sale signup period, guests can register to receive a booking appointment for a chance to reserve a cabin during the pre-sale. The first-round pre-sale signup deadline is July 16, 2023 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time, with the first round of pre-sale booking times beginning July 18, 2023. The final pre-sale signup deadline is July 19, 2023, at 11:59 pm Eastern Time, with remaining pre-sale booking times running through Public On Sale on July 21, 2023. On July 21, 2023, at 2:00 pm Eastern Time, bookings will be open to the general public.
For more information, visit the cruise’s website: hallmarkchannelcruise.com
Erin Krakow promises romance and ‘jaw-dropping’ drama in Season 10 of When Calls the Heart
In a recent interview, Erin Krakow said Hearties can expect jaw-dropping moments in Season 10 of When Calls the Heart.
“Season 10 is packed,” Krakow said during an interview with ET’s Deidre Behar. “We are truly leveling up the When Calls the Heart experience.”
When Calls the Heart Season 10
Season 10 of Hallmark’s longest-running original series will premiere on July 30. Fans have been waiting more than a year for new episodes of the show. When Calls the Heart typically premieres in February or March, but Hallmark put the series on the back burner while promoting two other new series, The Way Home and Ride.
As a consolation, the network announced that Season 11 of the series will begin filming this summer.
‘There will be some jaw-dropping’
Krakow, who stars as Elizabeth Thornton on the series, recently sat down with ET to talk about what Hearties can expect when When Calls the Heart premieres.
“There’s something for everyone,” Krakow said. “There will be some jaw-dropping.”
When Behar pressed her for details, Krakow responded that there will be some life-or-death moments.
“Spoiler alert: we don’t lose anybody,” she said. “…But it gets a little dicey for a second.”
Romance and wedding plans
The star also teased some romance coming up in Season 10. A trailer released by Hallmark Channel shows Dr. Faith Carter (Andrea Brooks) falling into the arms of Nathan Grant (Kevin McGarry).
Krakow also talked about Elizabeth and Lucas (Chris McNally) planning their wedding.
“There’s cake tasting and invitations and you know, talk of dress designs…all the good stuff,” she said.
Children
Rosemary and Lee will become parents in this season, and Krakow talked about how Rosemary has a little bit of anxiety about what kind of mother she will be.
Krakow also spoke about Jack (Hyland Goodrich) growing up a little more in Season 10.
“Little Jack has all these questions now about his father and that’s a new challenge for Elizabeth,” she said.
Guest stars and music
Krakow also spoke about some exciting guest appearances this season.
“We’re bringing in lots of exciting guest stars,” Krakow said. “…We don’t know if they’re good guys or bad guys.”
There will also be some music in Season 10.
“We have musical episodes…not a true musical but there’s music,” she said.
Season 10 of When Calls the Heart will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Sunday, July 30 at 9/8c.
Have a library card? You may be able to watch Hallmark for free
A partnership between Hallmark Movies Now and a popular library app will allow patrons to watch Hallmark for free. Hoopla Digital recently announced the launch of BingePass, a feature that allows users to access content from a premium collection. One of these collections includes the material available on Hallmark Movies Now, Hallmark’s streaming service.
This means Hallmark fans can watch every season of When Calls the Heart and Chesapeake Shores as well as more than 450 movies, all for free.
Hallmark for free
Hoopla Digital is an all-in-one app for public libraries that allows users to access books, magazines, comic books, movies, TV shows, and documentaries.
In a statement to PR Newswire, the company’s founder explained why they chose to partner with Hallmark.
“Our goal at hoopla is to provide the best content available to libraries and their patrons,” Jeff Jankowski said. “We pursued this partnership with Hallmark Movies Now to give access to this celebrated range of movies, specials and original series. As the needs of libraries evolve, we are too, to ensure the way library patrons consume content on hoopla meets demand. When we launched BingePass, we pledged to continue adding more diverse content and this new agreement with Hallmark Movies Now adds a beloved entertainment brand that is a natural for bingeing.”
New material
Hallmark Movies Now will add more than 450 movies to the platform this year alone, meaning BingePass users can watch Christmas films, romantic comedies, cozy mysteries, and TV series. All nine seasons of When Calls the Heart will be available, as well as all six seasons of Chesapeake Shores. The first seasons of Ride and The Way Home — new shows launched by Hallmark earlier this year — will also be available to stream.
As the cost of cable packages continues to rise, some Hallmark fans have subscribed to streaming services such as Hallmark Movies Now, Frndly TV, and Peacock to access their favorite content. Though these services are all cheaper than cable (FrndlyTV starts at $6.99 per month, for example), they are not free.
With BingePass, Hoopla users can access Hallmark content at no cost.
To see if Hoopla is available where you live, check with your local library.
A sequel, a series, and a film set in Scotland: Everything we know so far about Hallmark’s Christmas lineup
Summer may be in full swing but Hallmark Media has already started stockpiling material for its 2023 Christmas lineup.
Brennan Elliott, Lacey Chabert, Kevin McGarry, Tyler Hynes, Janel Parrish, and Erica Durance are among the stars who have filmed movies for the upcoming holiday season. Hallmark will also release an 8-episode series about Christmas starring Erin Cahill.
Here’s everything we know so far:
Haul Out the Holly Sequel
Lacey Chabert and Wes Brown are making a sequel to their successful 2022 Countdown to Christmas movie Haul Out the Holly. In the original, Chabert and Brown played childhood neighbors who are reunited when he is head of the neighborhood’s holiday decorating committee and she is a reluctant participant in the local festivities.
Marcus Rosner
Hallmark star Marcus Rosner will star in two Countdown to Christmas movies for Hallmark this year (that we know of so far). The films are titled Christmas in Maple Hills and Coupled Up for Christmas.
Another Hallmark veteran who will work on two movies for the company is Ali Liebert. The actress and director, who starred in the 2017 Countdown to Christmas movie A Gift to Remember, will direct Christmas in Notting Hill, a rom-com starring Sarah Ramos. Though the movie is set in London, it was filmed in part in Dublin.
Liebert posted a photo on Instagram from her stay in Ireland.
“when in Ireland… 🏰 beautiful stay at @kilkeacastle,” she wrote in the caption.
Liebert will also direct Time for Her to Come Home for Christmas, the sixth in a series of films based on a song written by Blake Shelton and his mother, Dorothy Shackleford. Shelton and his mother recorded “Time For to Come Home” in 2012. Dorothy Shackleford then wrote a novel with the same title.
Other movies in the series include:
Time For Me to Come Home For Christmas
Time For You to Come Home For Christmas
Time For Them to Come Home For Christmas
Time For Us to Come Home For Christmas
Time For Him to Come Home For Christmas
Cute couples
Tyler Hynes and Janel Parrish recently posted from the set of a movie for the 2023 Hallmark Christmas lineup. The movie, Never Been Chris’d, tells the story of lifelong friends best friends whose bond is tested when they’re reunited with their mutual high school crush.
When Calls the Heart’s Kevin McGarry and soap star Kim Matula will pair up in Christmas Goals, a hockey-themed movie.
Nikki DeLoach and Lucas Bryant recently finished filming A World Record Christmas. Hunter King and Benjamin Hollingsworth will star in The Santa Summit. The movie, which was filmed in Winnipeg, is about two strangers who are introduced by their friends during their hometown holiday celebration.
Luke Macfarlane returns
Luke MacFarlane — who starred in the 2022 movie A Magical Christmas Village — told the Hollywood Reporter that he recently finished making a Christmas movie for Hallmark.
“Talk about learning on the job,” he said. “You gotta know what you’re doing when you show up because there is not a lot of time. We shoot them in 15 days, and they tend to overshoot so that they have their bases covered.”
There is no title available yet for the movie, which allegedly co-stars Ashley Williams.
Great locations
Scott Wolfe and Lacey Chabert will star in A Merry Scottish Christmas, which is being filmed on location in Scotland. The actors, who played siblings for six seasons on the Fox series Party of Five, will once again play brother and sister.
Two movies for the 2023 Hallmark Christmas lineup were filmed in Connecticut. Mystic Christmas, which stars Patti Murin, was filmed at Mystic Aquarium and Olde Mystic Village.
The plot revolves around a marine veterinarian who takes a temporary job at Mystic Aquarium, only to run into an ex.
Lyndsey Fonseca and Michael Rady will star in a movie titled Where Are You Christmas. The movie was shot in New Haven, Connecticut.
Bethany Joy Lenz and Kristoffer Polaha wrapped on A Biltmore Christmas in January. The movie, which includes time travel in the storyline, was filmed at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.
Christmas series
Hallmark will also premiere a series of movies about a group of families who live in a cul de sac in Oak Bay, Oregon.
The location manager for the series, called Holidazed, gave details of the series to the Lake Cowichan Gazette, where part of the series was filmed.
“The production will be in eight episodes in which the first one explores all of the families, followed by episodes focusing on each individual family, and it all comes together in the final episodes,” Hamilton said.
Countdown to Christmas and Miracles of Christmas programming will premiere in October.
Hallmark CEO explains why Mystery 101 was canceled
The CEO of Hallmark Media recently explained why the company decided to cancel its popular Mystery 101 series. In an interview with The Sun, Wonya Lucas touched on why the hit series would not be making a comeback on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries.
Mystery 101
Fans were disappointed when Hallmark broke the news on its Facebook page in April 2023 that the series was finished.
“We loved making ‘Mystery 101’ and we’re so glad you enjoyed sleuthing along with us,” wrote the page administrator in response to a fan comment. “We want to let you know that our talented sleuths have solved the last mystery and are off the case. In the coming weeks and months there are exciting new mysteries on the way that we know you’ll love!”
In a post on Twitter, Kristoffer Polaha wrote, “Well kids, looks like the cat’s out of the bag. #Mystery101 has solved its last mystery.”
He went on to thank the fans and his co-stars.
“You are the most incredibly supportive fans ever!” he wrote. “We LOVE you! @JillWagner @robinthomas101 & I had the most amazing time entertaining you by bringing Travis, Amy, & Graham to life.”
The series debuted in 2019 with Mystery 101. Six more titles followed:
Mystery 101: Playing Dead (2019)
Mystery 101: Words Can Kill (2019)
Mystery 101: Dead Talk (2019)
Mystery 101: An Education in Murder (2020)
Mystery 101: Killer Timing (2020)
Mystery 101: Deadly History (2020)
In the series, Jill Wagner starred as Amy Winslow, an English professor with a knack for solving crimes. Polaha played a detective named Travis Burke. The two solved several cases together before becoming romantically involved.
Jill Wagner
In a March 2021 interview, Wagner talked about how much she adored Polaha, calling him “a great co-star.”
“…We get along really well, and I think more than anything, we have great on-screen chemistry,” she told TV Fanatic. “I think that’s really hard to find, and it’s not necessarily something you can always create just by casting two people, so I think Hallmark got really lucky with that.”
Surprise ending
Fans were shocked when Amy and Travis broke up during the final movie, Mystery 101: Deadly History. As soon as they split, there was an 11-month time jump that showed Travis arriving at the crime scene of a murder with his partner. He sees Amy there and it’s her finance who is the victim in the case.
In a red-carpet interview with The Sun, Hallmark CEO Wonya Lucas talked about why the network would not revive the series.
“Well, we hadn’t done it in a long, long time, right? And we just brought the mysteries back. So, we’re just looking at mysteries a little differently now,” she said.
She added, “We’ve created some new mysteries, in addition to some that we’ve had in the past. So, it’s just an evolution of our mysteries. We’re just doing a lot of new things.”
Andrew Walker, Kavan Smith, and Warren Christie to star in new Hallmark movies coming to TV in August
Six new Hallmark movies are coming to TV in August. Four original rom-coms will premiere on Hallmark Channel and two new dramas will premiere on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries.
Rachel Boston, who will headline the drama The More Love Grows with Warren Christie, shared a photo from the set of her new movie on Instagram.
“The More Love Grows!!! Loved making this movie with such a wonderful team!” she wrote in the caption. “Excited to share it with you soon – August 18.”
New Hallmark movies
The first of the new movies to debut is Making Waves, starring Holland Roden and Corey Cott. Roden stars as a music executive who travels to the Outer Banks to sign an up-and-coming band. But when she arrives, she finds out that the group is fronted by Will (played by Cott), her childhood summer sweetheart. As she tries to convince the band to sign with her company, she realizes she may still have feelings for Will.
Next up is Big River Sky: The Bridal Path, a sequel to the 2022 Hallmark movie Big River Sky. Emmanuelle Vaugier stars as Taylor, who has settled in Montana and is dating cowboy Boone (played by When Calls the Heart’s Kavan Smith).
A Safari Romance
Brittany Bristow and Andrew Walker will star in A Safari Romance, which was filmed on location in Africa. Bristow plays Megan, a Ph.D. candidate living in South Africa and working as a safari guide. An American theme park hires her to show around an executive designing an immersive safari experience (played by Andrew Walker).
According to a synopsis from Hallmark, “As they spend time together exploring the savanna to observe giraffes, elephants, and lions in their natural habitats, romance develops. Knowing that Tim will soon return home, Megan is afraid of giving her heart to someone who lives half a world away.”
The More Love Grows
In The More Love Grows, Rachel Boston plays Helen, whose husband asks for a separation just after they drop their daughter off at college. Thanks to a stray dog who enters her life and the friendship of a helpful veterinarian (played by Christie), Helen “rediscovers her strength and begins to forge a new path.”
Never Too Late to Celebrate
Alexa and Carlos PenaVega will star in Never Too Late to Celebrate. In the rom-com. Alexa plays Camila, a dentist too busy with work to relax and have fun. When she meets Javi (Carlos PenaVega), a substitute teacher at the school where her mother works, she takes him up on his offer to join the Spanish class he teaches on the side so she can finally learn the language of her late father.
Sparks fly as Javi helps Camila connect with her Mexican roots and urges her to mark her 30th birthday with a “double quinceañera” to honor her Hispanic heritage.
Napa Ever After
In Napa Ever After, Denise Boutté stars as a high-powered attorney who inherits her grandmother’s winery in Napa Valley. With the help of handsome local Alec (played by Colin Lawrence), she learns more about the grandmother she hardly knew.
Making Waves will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, August 5 at 8/7c.
Big River Sky: The Bridal Path will premiere on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries on Friday, August 11 at 9/8c.
A Safari Romance will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, August 12 at 8/7c.
The More Love Grows will premiere on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries on Friday, August 18 at 9/8c.
Never Too Late to Celebrate will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, August 19 at 8/7c.
Napa Ever After will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, August 26 at 8/7c.
Lacey Chabert and Scott Wolf reunite in new Christmas movie
Lacey Chabert and Scott Wolfe will headline a new Christmas movie for Hallmark. The actors, who played sister and brother in the Fox series Party of Five, will once again play siblings in Hallmark’s A Merry Scottish Christmas.
Chabert made the announcement in a post on Instagram.
“A dream come true!” she wrote. “I’m so thrilled to be reuniting with one of my dearest friends @iamscottwolf for a very special @hallmarkchannel #CountdownToChristmas movie! We are having so much fun filming #AMerryScottishChristmas and can’t wait to share it with you this holiday season!”
New Christmas movie
“We are so excited to reunite Lacey and Scott and know our viewers will fall in love with this movie,” said Lisa Hamilton Daly, executive vice president of programming for Hallmark Media. “The nostalgia of seeing Lacey and Scott together again on screen is going to be a special holiday treat for our viewers.”
For six seasons, Chabert and Wolf played Claudia and Bailey Salinger on Party of Five. The series, which also launched the career of Neve Campbell, featured a set of siblings forced to band together when their parents are killed.
Reunited
In a statement made through Hallmark, Wolf said he is thrilled to be working with Chabert again.
“Working with Lacey on ‘Party of Five’ was one of my favorite experiences ever,” he said. “Reuniting after all of these years to tell such a beautiful story together is a dream that I’m so glad is coming true.”
“Scott and I have talked for years about doing another project together. When we first read this story about these siblings at a crossroads, we both knew it was the perfect opportunity,” Chabert said.
A Merry Scottish Christmas
The working title of the new Christmas movie is A Merry Scottish Christmas. (As a working title, it can be changed at any time.) In the movie, Chabert and Wolf play estranged siblings who reunite to visit their mother in Scotland. It is only when they’ve arrived that their mother (played by Fiona Bell) reveals a family secret.
Countdown to Christmas
Hallmark begin airing round-the-clock Christmas movies during the holidays in 2009. Countdown to Christmas has become so popular that the network will typically premiere dozens of new movies during the period.
In 2023, Countdown to Christmas is expected to premiere in October.
Hallmark has not yet given a release date for A Merry Scottish Christmas. We will update this story as more information becomes available.
New Murder, She Baked movie has fans asking if Mike and Hannah are getting back together
Alison Sweeney, Barbara Niven, and Cameron Mathison are hard at work on a new Murder, She Baked movie. The stars have been posting from the set of A Zest for Death: A Hannah Swensen Mystery, which should be released this summer.
But fans have only one question: Will Mike and Hannah get back together?
New Murder, She Baked
In a recent Instagram post, Alison Sweeney shared a behind-the-scenes look at the new movie.
“Here we go again!! Back on set filming another #HannahSwensen with my friend @cameronmathison !! #setlife,” she wrote.
“Sooo exciting!” wrote one fan in the comments section. “I hope it’s a good one and Hannah and Mike find each other again for good ok?”
Another fan added, “Seriously though! They need a happy ending!”
The series
Hallmark has made seven movies in the Hannah Swensen series, which is also known as “Murder, She Baked.” Based on the cozy mystery books by Joanne Fluke, the movies include:
Murder, She Baked: A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery (2015)
Murder, She Baked: A Plum Pudding Mystery (2015)
Murder, She Baked: A Peach Cobbler Mystery (2016)
Murder, She Baked: A Deadly Recipe (2017)
Murder, She Baked: Just Desserts (2016)
Sweet Revenge: A Hannah Swensen Mystery (2021)
Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery (2023)
The breakup
In Carrot Cake Murder, Mike and Hannah broke up, much to the dismay of fans. Hannah began working on a cold case with Mike’s blessing. But as she uncovered more clues, Mike began relaying her discoveries to the police department. Though Hannah understands why he does it, she can’t help but feel betrayed.
“You have to give Mike credit that his instinct was to be in on it with Hannah and help her,” Sweeney said in an interview with TV Goodness. “It’s what he wanted to do, and it is a cold case. And so, she really thought that was the plan and then it would be no problem because the police, aren’t even able to investigate. It’s a dead end for them and the door was wide open for her.”
But Sweeney was quick to add that there is a path that Hannah and Mike can take that leads back to each other.
“I love developing stories where, as fun as it was for them to be together and they’re just crime-solving besties, this story of wanting to be together, of finding their way back to each other, and earning each other’s trust again, the tension and the romance and the grand gestures that they have to make to earn it back is, to be honest, my favorite part.”
She also added that the author of the series, Joanne Fluke, was very protective of the characters as well.
“I have to remind everyone that we are the keepers of someone else’s characters,” Sweeney said. “And Joanne cares very passionately about Hannah and everyone in Eden Lake. And these are the stories she tells.”
When Calls the Heart social media accounts shut down by disgruntled fans
Hallmark Media is considering taking legal action against disgruntled fans who have managed to shut down several Instagram accounts dedicated to its popular series When Calls the Heart.
In a post shared on Brian Bird’s account, the show’s co-creator confirmed that accounts for the series have been suspended by Meta, the company that runs both Facebook and Instagram.
“The issue is complex, but we are aware that someone is targeting and reporting fan accounts for reasons we will not speculate on here,” read the message, which was signed “The Heartie Admin Team.”
Social media accounts
Though Hallmark won’t comment on who is attacking the accounts or why, fans are saying it is the work of Hearties still upset over the death of character Jack Thornton (played by Australian actor Daniel Lissing).
Thornton was killed at the end of Season 6, shortly after his wedding to Elizabeth (Erin Krakow).
The next two seasons saw controversy as Elizabeth, who gave birth to Jack’s son after his death, was pursued by two different men. When she chose businessman Lucas Bouchard (Chris McNally) over Mountie Nathan Grant (Kevin McGarry), some Hearties were upset, claiming she made the wrong decision.
Why Jack fans are attacking social media accounts now, instead of say, immediately after he left the show, is unclear. Some fans have speculated that it is because Elizabeth and Lucas are expected to marry in Season 10.
“It’s been years since Jack’s been gone,” wrote one fan in the comments section of Bird’s post. “The actor who played him wanted out, and I guess they could’ve replaced him with another, but it was the writers’ choice to go in another direction. It’s just a TV program, for crying out loud! And goodness gracious! I can’t believe of all the pages on social media, Hearties are the least controversial/offensive fan base I’ve ever seen.”
Suspended accounts
According to Instagram, accounts can be suspended for not meeting “community guidelines.” These include only posting photos appropriate for all age groups and not promoting hate, violence, or terrorism.
Anyone can lodge a complaint against an Instagram account. Meta administrators will sometimes suspend an account until they can investigate further. Though account holders can appeal the suspension, it can take time to get the issue resolved.
Some Hearties have speculated that the accounts were attacked so they would be offline in the lead-up to the premiere of Season 10, which is scheduled for July 30.
Moving forward
A post by Star Watch Byline urged fans not to give up.
“If you know of any specific account names or own an account that is either a general #WCTH fan site or a #WCTH cast member fan site that has been removed by Instagram, please send us the name of the site so we can send a list to Hallmark Media legal to see if they can help recover the sites,” read a post. “They have been notified of the issue but would need account names if you wish them to be recovered.”
Brian Bird’s message also urged fans to remember that the When Calls the Heart community is strong.
“Especially in tough times, Hope Valley values teach us to come together in support of one another and the greater good. We will come together with our collective goodwill and sustained belief and delight in this show.”
Tributes continue to pour in for Treat Williams as new details emerge about his death
Friends, neighbors, and co-stars continue to pay tribute to the late actor Treat Williams, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in Vermont on June 12.
New details are emerging about what happened during and immediately after the accident that took his life, including the fact that he was responsive and conscious when first responders arrived.
Tributes
Barbara Niven shared a touching Instagram post featuring a photo of Williams and several other cast members from the series Chesapeake Shores.
“Treat lived large and savored every bit of life. He loved his craft and it was an honor to spend six years with him on Chesapeake Shores,” she wrote. “He truly was the patriarch of our family, both on and off the set. And he made it so much fun. He would suddenly break into a song from Grease or Hair as we were rehearsing a scene, and came in with horrible dad jokes every day to make the crew laugh. What an actor he was. I think he was this generation’s Spencer Tracy.”
“Thanks for always having my back, bud,” wrote Andrew Francis in a post on Instagram.
Memorial service
A memorial service was held for the actor on June 19 in Vermont, where he lived with his wife of 35 years, Pam Van Sant. According to US Weekly, friends and family, including his adult children Gill, 31, and Ellie, 25, gathered in an intimate ceremony. Williams was buried on June 20.
According to reports from the Vermont State Police, Williams was critically injured when a motorcycle he was driving collided with a car at 4:53 p.m. on June 12 in the town of Dorset. Williams and his wife, Pam Van Sant, have a farm about seven miles from the small town.
Williams was airlifted to the Albany Medical Center in New York where he later died from his injuries.
New details
According to a witness, Williams was alert and responding to questions immediately after the accident.
Local business owner Matt Rapphahn told reporters he saw the accident and called 911. When responders arrived, Williams was conscious.
“He was responsive to questions,” Rapphahn said. “I had my hopes pretty high that he was going to pull through.”
Police said a local man driving an SUV was turning left into an auto shop and crossed into the path of Williams, who was on his motorcycle. Williams was wearing a helmet. The driver of the SUV was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, according to the police.
Community in mourning
Members of the community where Williams and his wife live had kind words to say about the star.
“As a community, everybody is in shock. Even if they didn’t know him, they knew of Treat,” said Greg Cutler, the vice chair of the Manchester select board.
“He was just very easy to talk to,” Rapphahn said. “He was just like another guy, you know, and every experience I had with him was great. Just talk about movies, cars, motorcycles, music.”
Hallmark releases new posters for Season 10 of When Calls the Heart
Hallmark has released a set of When Calls the Heart posters ahead of the show’s Season 10 premiere. The posters feature individual characters from the series, including Erin Krakow as Elizabeth Thornton, Pascale Hutton as Rosemary Coulter, Kavan Smith as Lee Coulter, and Chris McNally as Lucas Bouchard.
“I read on the internet that season 10 is premiering July 30, so it must be true!” McNally wrote in the caption of his post on Instagram. “*spoiler it is* Thank you #hearties for your patience!”
Season 10
Hearties have been waiting anxiously for a return of Hallmark’s longest-running original series since Season 9 finished in May 2022. The show usually premieres in February or March but Hallmark delayed it this year to promote two new series, The Way Home and Ride.
But Hearties got some good news when Hallmark announced it would begin filming Season 11 of When Calls the Heart this summer.
“I am beyond excited for season 10 of When Calls the Heart to premiere July 30,” Erin Krakow said in a statement through the network. “This season is full of beautiful moments and exciting twists and turns. I can’t wait for the Hearties to see what we’ve created for them!
“And I’m so thrilled, proud and grateful to Hallmark that the show has been renewed for season 11. We have so many more stories to tell. With our amazing cast, crew, and brilliant writers, there will be no shortage of romance and new adventures for the residents of Hope Valley! Having the Hearties continue this journey with us has meant the world and we are thrilled to share what’s in store these next two seasons!”
Previews
A trailer for Season 10 showed Elizabeth (Erin Krakow) writing in her diary, narrating a scene that includes Rosemary (Pascale Hutton), Lee (Kavan Smith), Florence (Loretta Walsh), and Molly (Johannah Newmarch).
In the clip, Elizabeth explains that the town has fallen on hard times, but that the members of the community have come together to help each other.
“First, the coal mine was destroyed,” she says. “Then the oil wells dried up. And then we lost the foundry, and with it, the promise of new jobs. But in true Hope Valley fashion, Florence, Molly, and Minnie started a swap meet so that nothing would go to waste.”
In the new clip, Elizabeth tells Lucas, “It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come.”
She also speaks to Bill Avery (Wagner), telling him to seize the day. The trailer shows Minnie Canfield and Mei Suo before showing a very pregnant Rosemary smiling at Lee.
“We’re on a big adventure,” she says.
New posters
The stars of the show shared pics of the new posters on their Instagram accounts.
“It’s almost time #hearties!” wrote Natasha Burnett, who plays Minnie Canfield in the series. “See you Sunday July 30th!”
“Can. Not. Wait,” wrote co-star Johannah Newmarch.
Kavan Smith shared a photo of his poster with the caption, “ @erinkrakow told me I had to post!”
Nice one, Kavan.
Season 10 of When Calls the Heart will premiere on Hallmark Channel on July 30.
New Hallmark movie stars Eva Bourne of When Calls the Heart
New Hallmark movie
In a recent interview, Bourne said she was thrilled to be working with Hallmark again.
“I was super grateful for the opportunity, and I was excited that this was the script that I got to have the first leading role with,” she told the website Just Jared. “I had a lot of ideas swirling around in my head about all the things that would come with a lead, but to be honest, all of my worries, were completely gone once the second day came.”
In Make Me a Match, Bourne plays Vivi, a young woman who works for a matchmaking app despite her own unfortunate dating history. Vivi hires Raina (played by Rekha Sharma), an Indian matchmaker, to provide advice on how to improve their numbers. Raina suggests an unusual arrangement to teach Vivi her tactics: she will use her expertise to help Vivi find love, and Vivi can use what she learns through this process to help her company.
According to Hallmark, “As they embark on this matchmaking journey, Vivi meets Raina’s son, Bhumesh (played by Rushi Kota), and questions whether finding love is something one must take control of or allow to happen on its own.”
When Calls the Heart
Make Me a Match marks the first time Bourne has appeared on Hallmark since leaving When Calls the Heart in 2020. Bourne played Clara on the series for eight seasons. Fans were expecting her back in Season 9 but found out in a teaser for the season that Clara and her husband, Jesse (played by Aren Buccholz) had left Hope Valley to try homesteading in Montana.
The show’s producers didn’t give a reason for Clara and Jesse’s departure.
About the cast
In addition to Bourne, Make Me a Match stars Rekha Sharma, who has starred in the TV shows Star Trek: Discovery, Another Life, The Imperfects, and Roswell, New Mexico.
Rushi Kota, who plays Bhumesh in the movie, has appeared on Grey’s Anatomy, CSI: Vegas, and Ordinary Joe.
Make Me a Match will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, June 24 at 8/7c.
What Paul Campbell had to say about a sequel to Three Wise Men and a Baby
Paul Campbell recently weighed in on whether fans can expect a sequel to the hit Christmas movie Three Wise Men and a Baby. The actor, who co-wrote the script for the film with fellow Hallmark star Kimberly Sustad, said he had already broached the subject with the higher-ups at the network.
Three Wise Men and a Baby premiered during the 2022 Countdown to Christmas lineup on Hallmark Channel. Starring Paul Campbell, Tyler Hynes, and Andrew Walker, the comedy was an immediate hit. It became the most-watched movie on cable in 2022.
Three Wise Men and a Baby
In the movie, Campbell, Hynes, and Walker play three brothers who are so busy arguing with each other that they can’t even give their mother (played by Margaret Colin) the peaceful family Christmas she longs for. When Walker’s character finds an abandoned baby at the fire station where he works, he brings the child home to his mother. While they try to track down the baby’s parents, the brothers are forced to work together and even end up participating in some Christmas traditions they avoided in the past. (Cue the hilarious scenes where the three guys dress up as elves.)
A sequel
In a recent interview with TV Insider, Campbell said it is highly unlikely that there will be a sequel to the movie. The writer and actor said he asked network executives about doing another movie with the same characters.
He was told that Hallmark doesn’t do sequels.
“Hallmark has said many, many times over the years, they don’t do sequels,” Campbell said. “The problem is it’s really hard to tell a love story twice. And that movie is still a love story. It’s a story about brothers rediscovering their love for each other. We talked with the network early on about a potential sequel and they just said, ‘We love the movie. We’d love to sort of work with you guys again in another capacity, but it’s just not going to be in powers on this one.’ So, unfortunately, unless we get a miracle, I would say the chances are zero.”
The answer came as a shock to fans, who have been hoping to see a second Three Wise Men and a Baby movie.
Some fans pointed out that Hallmark does, in fact, do sequels. In 2022, the network premiered The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls. The film, which starred Treat Williams, Robert Buckley, and Jonathan Bennett, was a sequel to the original Countdown to Christmas movie The Christmas House.
There were also sequels to each movie in the popular Wedding Veil trilogy, which starred Lacey Chabert, Alison Sweeney, and Autumn Reeser.
But Campbell said chances of a remake are zero and that it would take “a miracle” to get a second movie in the works.
Hynes and Campbell
Campbell did say he would love to work with Tyler Hynes again.
“I’ll take Tyler Hynes any day of the week,” Campbell said. “I think he’s hysterical. I love him as a person and I feel like if we brought him in to cameo, he’d come in and do something really weird. He’d be on board to do something really, really strange.”
Stephen Huszar and Katie Cassidy found love while filming new Hallmark movie
Stephen Huszar and Katie Cassidy, who met while filming the new Hallmark movie A Royal Christmas Crush, are officially an item. The actress shared the news with her 2.7 million Instagram followers in a post featuring a photo of the pair.
“Welp, cats out of the bag… Happy Monday!” she wrote in the caption.
In an earlier post, she shared a photo from the set of A Royal Christmas Crush with the caption, “#PrinceCharming.”
New Hallmark movie
In A Royal Christmas Crush, Cassidy’s character Ava “accepts the opportunity of a lifetime” to work at the Royal Ice Hotel, which “leads her to a surprise whirlwind romance” with a prince (played by Huszar), according to a synopsis from Hallmark.
The romantic comedy is one of four new Hallmark movies set to premiere in July. The others include The Christmas Reboot, starring Vanessa Lengies and Corey Sevier; A Lifelong Love, starring Andrea Brooks and Patch May; and Aloha Heart, starring Taylor Cole and Kanoa Goo.
(For more details about July movies, click here.)
New romance
Cassidy, 36, and Huszar, 39, met while filming A Royal Christmas Crush. A source told People magazine that they are very happy together.
“They’re very much in love and just got back from a European trip in which they joined her family in Portugal, then headed to Spain and France, before hitting Monaco for the Grand Prix,” the source said.
Cassidy is the daughter of singer and TV star David Cassidy and fashion model Sherry Williams. Her breakout role was on the 2003 Lifetime TV series The Division. She has also appeared on the TV shows New Girl, 7th Heaven, Gossip Girl, Supernatural, and The Flash.
Cassidy starred in the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, as well as in the horror movies When A Stranger Calls and Black Christmas.
Stephen Huszar has appeared on the TV shows Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce, The Flash, iZombie, and Letterkenny.
He played Jake Killian in the Ruby Herring Mysteries series on Hallmark. In 2021, he joined the cast of the Hallmark series Chesapeake Shores. He has starred in the Hallmark movies Time After Time (2011), Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: A Bone to Pick (2015), Magical Christmas Ornaments (2017), Return to Christmas Creek (2018), My One & Only (2019), A Homecoming for the Holidays (2019), Time For Us to Come Home for Christmas (2020), Undercover Holiday (2022), and Love in Glacier National (2023).
A Royal Christmas Crush will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, July 8 at 8/7c.
Becca Tobin and Jake Epstein star in the new Hallmark movie The Wedding Contract
Becca Tobin and Jake Epstein star as a bride and a groom determined to get through the wedding planning process together in the new Hallmark movie The Wedding Contract. But things get complicated when both the mother of the groom and the mother of the bride offer their opinions. When the groom gets caught up in work commitments, the bride starts wondering if she should call the whole thing off.
New Hallmark movie
In the movie, Becca Tobin stars as Rebecca and Jake Epstein stars as Adam. Rebecca and Adam are very much in love and decide to get married but that’s when the trouble starts. As they begin to plan the wedding — and their life after the wedding — it becomes clear they have different priorities.
While Rebecca cares deeply about home and family, Adam is completely devoted to his work. Adam is not as connected to or as familiar with Jewish tradition as Rebecca. Adam is ambitious and is considering taking a job in LA for a promotion to vice president, while Rebecca really wants to build her life close to her family, her synagogue, and her rabbi (played by Michael Benyaer).
When both their mothers get involved in planning the wedding, the bride and groom become overwhelmed.
But when Adam begins to focus on work and Rebecca begins to wonder whether they should even be getting married, it is the meddling mothers-in-law who end up bringing the couple back together.
June Weddings
The Wedding Contract is one of four new wedding-themed movies to premiere on Hallmark in June. The others include Wedding Season, starring Stephanie Bennett and Casey Deidrick; Love’s Greek to Me, starring Torrey DeVitto and Yannis Tsimitselis; and Make Me a Match, starring Eva Bourne and Rekha Sharma.
Hallmark recently announced that four new movies will also premiere in July. For a complete list, click here.
About the cast
Becca Tobin starred as Kitty Wilde on the Fox television series Glee. She has also appeared on the shows Drop Dead Dive, NCIS: Los Angeles, and Mystery Girls. Tobin starred in the Hallmark movies A Song For Christmas (2017), Love at First Dance (2018), and Sister of the Bride (2019). In 2021, she starred in the Great American Family movie Christmas Is You.
Jake Epstein starred in the hit Canadian series Degrassi: The Next Generation as Craig Manning, a musician with bipolar disorder. He has also appeared in Star Trek: Discovery, Private Eyes, The Umbrella Academy, and Hudson & Rex.
In 2021, he starred in the Hallmark movie The Eight Gifts of Hanukkah with Inbar Lavi and Sheila Tyson.
The Wedding Contract will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, June 17 at 8/7c.
Beloved actor, father, and husband Treat Williams killed in motorcycle accident
Treat Williams, the beloved star of Hallmark’s Chesapeake Shores, was killed on June 12 in Vermont. The actor was riding his motorcycle when he was hit by a car, according to reports from the Vermont State Police and the Dorset Fire Department.
The actor leaves behind his wife, Pam Van Sant, and two children, Gill Williams, 31, and Ellie Williams, 24.
Treat Williams
Treat Williams made his film debut in 1975’s Deadly Hero. He appeared in the movies The Ritz and The Eagle Has Landed before landing the role of George Berger in the screen adaptation of the musical Hair. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance. He received another Golden Globe nomination for his performance in the 1981 movie Prince of the City.
His agent, Barry McPherson, told People magazine that the star will be missed.
“He was the nicest guy,” McPherson said. “He was so talented. He was an actor’s actor. Filmmakers loved him. He’s been the heart of Hollywood since the late 1970s.”
Chesapeake Shores
From 2016 to 2022, Williams starred as Mick O’Brien in the hit Hallmark series Chesapeake Shores, alongside Meghan Ory, Barbara Niven, and Dianne Ladd. He also had lead roles in the Hallmark movies The Christmas House and The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls.
When he wasn’t filming, the actor lived with his family in Vermont. In a 2020 interview with Southern Living magazine, the actor talked about how his home life resembled the lives of the characters he played for Hallmark. For example, he and his children would cut down their own Christmas tree every year.
“We go to a little, wonderful, vegetable market stand,” he said. “And then my son and I, we put it up. All the decorations come out into the living room, a bottle of wine gets set down on the table and we always put on the exact same album. It’s Frank Sinatra’s Jolly Christmas.”
Tragic accident
According to a report from the Vermont State Police, a Honda SUV was turning left into a parking lot when it collided with Williams’ motorcycle in the town of Dorset.
“Williams was unable to avoid a collision and was thrown from his motorcycle. He suffered critical injuries and was airlifted to Albany Medical Center in Albany, New York, where he was pronounced dead,” according to the statement.
Williams was wearing a helmet, police said.
Tributes
Fellow actors and directors have spoken out on social media about how wonderful Williams was to work with.
“Treat and I spent months in Rome filming “Once Upon a Time in America,’” actor James Woods tweeted. “It can be pretty lonely on the road during a long shoot, but his resilient good cheer and sense of humor was a Godsend. I really loved him and am devastated that he’s gone.”
“Treat Williams was a passionate, adventurous, creative man,” actor Wendell Pierce tweeted. “In a short period of time, he quickly befriended me & his adventurous spirit was infectious. We worked on just 1 film together but occasionally connected over the years. Kind and generous with advice and support. RIP.”
Hallmark CEO says more Signed, Sealed, Delivered in the works
The CEO of Hallmark Media says the company is working on a return of the hit movie series Signed, Sealed, Delivered.
“We’re pretty excited about that,” she told The Sun during a red carpet interview at a ceremony for the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame.
“I will tell you, the POstables are alive and well,” she said. “They send me notes, they send me pictures, every time I go to my office, they’re there….So, we are really listening to our fans and leaning into the fandom.”
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Signed, Sealed, Delivered premiered on the Hallmark Channel as a television series in 2014. Written by Martha Williamson — who also created the Touched by an Angel series — it starred Valerie Berinelli, Carol Burnett, Della Reese, Marilu Henner, and Valerie Harper.
After a successful first season, the show was changed from a 1-hour episode format to a 2-hour film format. Twelve films were released over the next seven years:
Signed, Sealed, Delivered For Christmas (2014)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: From Paris With Love (2015)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Truth Be Told (2015)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Impossible Dream (2015)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: From the Heart (2016)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: One in a Million (2016)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Lost Without You (2016)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Higher Ground (2017)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Home Again (2017)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Road Less Travelled (2018)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: To the Altar (2018)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Vows We Have Made (2021)
POstables
The movies follow four employees of the United States Postal Service’s Dead Letter Office. Oliver (played by Eric Mabius), Shane (played by Kristin Booth), Rita (played by Crystal Lowe), and Norman (played by Geoff Gustafson) take it upon themselves to track down intended recipients of undeliverable mail.
The series has developed a loyal following of fans who call themselves POstables.
Canceled series
POstables have been waiting anxiously since 2021 for a new movie in the series. Hallmark has canceled a number of its series in recent years — including Hailey Dean Mysteries, Mystery 101, and Picture Perfect Mysteries — leaving some fans to fear that Signed, Sealed, Delivered was also headed for cancellation.
Hallmark has dropped hints here and there about bringing the series back, but the statements Wonya Lucas made on the red carpet at the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame are the most definitive so far.
We will continue to follow this story and update it as soon as more information becomes available.
Why Skyler Samuels didn’t seek advice from Candace Cameron Bure for her role in new Aurora Teagarden movie
For her new role as Aurora Teagarden, actress Skyler Samuels spent hours studying the Hallmark mysteries starring Candace Cameron Bure.
“I watched a bunch of the original ones and just really studied Aurora and her world and tried to hone in on her traits and characteristics that really made her her,” Samuels said in an interview with TV Insider. “Then from there, I just reverse-engineered who I imagined she might have been when she was in her early to mid-20s, and that’s really where the fun of inventing the younger Aurora came from.”
New Aurora Teagarden movie
Samuels will play the librarian-turned-sleuth in a new Aurora Teagarden movie coming out on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. A prequel to the series that starred Bure, Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Something New shows a young Aurora, who has just graduated college and moved back in with her mom in the small town of Lawrenceton, Washington.
But instead of seeking out advice from Bure, Samuels relied on co-star Marilu Henner to help her bring the beloved character to life. Henner has portrayed Aida Teagarden, Aurora’s formidable mother, in every one of the mysteries.
“And so she was kind of our encyclopedia for a lack of a better word [for] the world of Aurora and tidbits with that crazy memory of hers,” Samuels said in an interview with Yahoo. “She really was able to fill us in on anything we didn’t know.”
The prequel
Hallmark premiered the first movie in the Aurora Teagarden mystery series in 2015. Based on the books by Charlaine Harris, the series consisted of 18 movies:
Aurora Teagarden Mystery: A Bone to Pick (2015)
Real Murders: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2015)
Three Bedrooms, One Corpse: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2015)
The Julius House: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2016)
Dead Over Heels: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2017)
A Bundle of Trouble: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2017)
Last Scene Alive: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2018)
Reap What You Sew: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2018)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: The Disappearing Game (2018)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: A Game of Cat and Mouse (2019)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries:n Inheritance to Die For (2019)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: A Very Foul Play (2019)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Heist and Seek (2020)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Reunited and It Feels So Deadly (2020)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: How to Con a Con (2021)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Til Death Do Us Part (2021)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Honeymoon, Honeymurder (2021)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted By Murder (2022)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Something New
In the new Aurora Teagarden movie, Skyler Samuels stars as Ro, who has just graduated from college and returned to Lawrenceton. While applying for grad school programs and trying to settle on a thesis, Ro works as a teacher’s assistant in a crime fiction class. She also waits tables at the local diner.
In her free time, she discusses cases with her friend, a local police officer named Arthur (played by Evan Roderick), and helps her friend Sally (played by Kayla Heller) plan her wedding.
But when Sally’s groom fails to show up for the rehearsal dinner, Ro and Arthur set out to find him. They find the groom but also discover a dead body, and Sally’s fiancé becomes the prime suspect in the case.
The new Aurora
In recent interviews, Samuels said she felt a responsibility to the fans of the series to portray Aurora in a way they found familiar.
“It was our goal to make something that felt familiar but also exciting to the old audience,” she told Yahoo.
She also said it was fun to play the character before she had become a skilled detective.
“The one thing that I love watching as an audience member is imperfect people,” Samuels told TV Insider. “It’s just not interesting if people are too put together or too polished. It’s fun to see people be human and a little rough around the edges. When we meet Aurora as an adult, she’s pretty polished and she’s good at solving her mysteries and crimes. She’s in her stride.”
“I thought it would be really fun to just embrace the version of her where she’s not good at this stuff yet. She’s still definitely figuring it out, and you’re watching her stumble into her superpower of being this gumshoe mystery solver and how that love and obsession develops for her.”
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Something New will premiere on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries on Friday, June 9 at 9/8c.
Popular Hallmark movie franchise moving to Great American Family
The popular Hallmark movie franchise The Christmas Waltz is moving to Great American Family. The network, which was started by former Hallmark CEO Bill Abbott, announced it will produce a second movie in the series, Paris Christmas Waltz.
Filmed on location in Paris, the movie stars Jen Lilley and Matthew Morrison (of Glee fame). It will premiere later this year.
Hallmark movie
The Christmas Waltz premiered on Hallmark during the 2020 Countdown to Christmas lineup. The movie starred Lacey Chabert as Avery, a woman who breaks off her engagement shortly before her storybook Christmas wedding. Though she is devastated, she decides to attend the ballroom dancing lessons she booked to prepare for the reception. Sparks fly between Avery and her handsome instructor (played by Will Kemp). But their relationship is put in danger when Avery’s former fiancé decides he wants her back.
The movie was written by husband-and-wife team Michael and Janeen Damian. Michael Damian, who is best known for his role as Danny Romalotti on The Young and the Restless, has collaborated with his wife on 17 original movies with his wife, including Falling for Christmas and Irish Wish.
Paris Christmas Waltz
In Paris Christmas Waltz, Jen Lilley plays Emma, a woman who gives up her job right before Christmas so a colleague who has a family can keep his.
While she tries to figure out her next step, she meets Leo, a professional dancer (played by Matthew Morrison). When he gets the opportunity to perform in Paris, he invites Emma along for the adventure.
The movie will “sweep viewers into the magic of the city’s most iconic destinations,” according to a press release from Great American Family.
The Great Migration
Bill Abbott left Hallmark in 2020. In June 2021, he announced he had partnered with Dallas-based Hicks Equity Partnership to buy two cable networks in a deal Bloomberg estimated at $90 million.
The networks began airing content in September. Many actors known for their work with Hallmark began appearing in films and programs for Great American Family, including Jen Lilley, Trevor Donovan, Jessica Lowndes, and Danica McKellar.
In April 2022, Candace Cameron Bure made headlines when she announced she would be moving to Great American Family.
“I’m very excited to develop heartwarming family and faith-filled programming and make the kind of stories my family and I love to watch,” Bure said in a statement through the network.
Great American Family has not yet announced a premiere date for Paris Christmas Waltz. We will update this story as more information becomes available.
New Hallmark movie Love is Greek to Me showcases the beauty of Santorini
A new Hallmark movie starring Torrey DeVitto will premiere this weekend. Love is Greek to Me was filmed on location on the island of Santorini.
In an Instagram post from the set, DeVitto told fans how much she enjoyed filming in Greece.
“I cannot say enough wonderful things about this experience and the people I got to work with,” she wrote in the caption. “Can’t wait to share this project with you all! #LoveIsGreekToMe.”
New Hallmark movie
In Love is Greek to Me, DeVitto stars as Ilana, who accompanies her boyfriend, Mike (played by Yannis Tsimitselis), to Greece to attend his sister’s wedding.
To Ilana’s relief, Mike’s large Greek family welcomes her with open arms. Mike then surprises her by proposing at the same lighthouse where his father proposed to his mother.
His well-meaning mother, Athena (played by Marina Sirtis), gets so excited she goes overboard trying to plan the wedding. Ilana becomes overwhelmed by her mother-in-law’s attempts to find the perfect dress and book a church.
Ilana starts to wonder if she and Mike are meant to be together after all.
June Weddings
Love is Greek to Me is one of four new wedding-themed movies to premiere on Hallmark in June. The others include Wedding Season, starring Stephanie Bennett and Casey Deidrick; The Wedding Contract, Becca Tobin and Jake Epstein; Make Me a Match, starring Eva Bourne and Rekha Sharma.
Hallmark recently announced that four new movies will also premiere in July. (For a complete list, click here.)
About the cast
Torrey DeVitto plays Dr. Natalie Manning on the NBC shows Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago P.D. She got her start on the series Dawson’s Creek and had parts on Drake and Josh, CSI: Miami, One Tree Hill, Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries, and Army Wives.
She has starred in the Hallmark movies Best Christmas Party Ever (2014), If I Had to Be You (2015), Write Before Christmas (2019), The Christmas Promise (2021), Rip in Time (2022), and Twas the Night Before Christmas (2022).
Yannis Tsimitselis has starred in several television shows in Greece, as well as the movies Bachelor, Bachelor 2, Bachelor 3, and The Black Bachelor.
Love is Greek to Me will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, June 10 at 8/7c.
Four new Hallmark movies coming to television in July
Four new Hallmark movies will premiere on Hallmark in July. A drama, a romantic comedy, and two Christmas movies will have their debut, as Hallmark airs its annual Christmas in July lineup.
Katie Cassidy, who co-stars in A Royal Christmas Crush with Stephen Huszar, shared a photo from the set of the movie on Instagram.
“#PrinceCharming,” Cassidy wrote in the caption of the pic, which showed her kissing Stephen Huszar on the cheek.
New Hallmark movies
In A Royal Christmas Crush, Katie Cassidy plays a woman who gets the opportunity of a lifetime to work in an ice hotel. Her new job leads to a surprise whirlwind romance with the most important guest of all, the Royal Prince (played by Huszar).
Next up is The Christmas Reboot, starring Vanessa Lengies and Corey Sevier. Lengies plays a woman whose Christmas wish comes true. She gets the life she always dreamed of except for one small thing: she is no longer married.
Andrea Brooks will star in the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries drama A Lifelong Love. The When Calls the Heart star plays a woman who is trying to reunite her grandfather with his long-lost love. She teams up with her college friend (played by Patch May) to create a book about the experience.
Finally, Taylor Cole and Kanoa Goo will star in Aloha Heart. Cole plays a conservationist who travels to Hawaii for her friend’s destination wedding. While staying at a boutique hotel, she gets to know the owner (played by Goo). He is trying to make his business more competitive but resists her efforts to help. When he finally agrees to follow her advice, he realizes he has romantic feelings for her.
Christmas in July
Hallmark recently released a trailer for its Christmas in July lineup. During the programming event, which got its start in 2012, Hallmark will air Christmas-themed movies including Three Wise Men and a Baby, Haul Out the Holly, and We Wish You a Married Christmas.
Schedule:
A Royal Christmas Crush will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, July 8 at 8/7c.
The Christmas Reboot will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, July 15 at 8/7c.
A Lifelong Love will premiere on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries on Friday, July 21 at 9/8c.
Aloha Heart will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, July 29 at 8/7c.
Two friends pair up to survive wedding season in new Hallmark movie
Stephanie Bennett and Casey Diedrick play friends who pair up to get through wedding season in a new Hallmark movie premiering this weekend.
In Wedding Season, Bennett plays Trish, a single woman who keeps insisting she doesn’t need a wingman for the upcoming weddings of her three best friends.
She eventually agrees to accept help from her best friend, whose brother Ryan (played by Diedrick), is back in town. Trish and Ryan have a romantic history making their simple arrangement a little more complicated.
New Hallmark movie
In the movie, Trish is preparing to write a magazine article about how weddings impact friendships. She agrees to take her best friend’s brother as her date to the weddings.
As she spends time with Ryan, she realizes she may still have feelings for him. Before she can tell him, Ryan gets an opportunity of a lifetime and needs to leave town.
“With everything at stake and emotions running high, the friends take a hard look at what their priorities are and realize that true love is worth fighting for,” reads a synopsis from Hallmark.
June Weddings
Wedding Season is one of four wedding-themed movies premiering on Hallmark in June. Also premiering are:
Love’s Greek to Me, starring Torrey DeVitto as Ilana, who is asked to be the maid of honor at the wedding of her Greek boyfriend’s sister in Santorini. To her surprise, her boyfriend (played by Giannis Tsmitselis) proposes and she is left dealing with his over-enthusiastic mother, Athena (played by Marina Sirtis).
The Wedding Contract, starring Becca Tobin and Jake Epstein as a couple planning their wedding. Their big day and their future are put in jeopardy when Adam (Epstein) lands a new ad campaign, and their mothers meet for the first time.
Make Me a Match, starring Eva Bourne (who played Clara on When Calls the Heart) as Vivi, a woman with a substandard romantic history who works at a data-driven matchmaking app. Once she discovers that the success rate for matches at her company is low, she hires Raina (played by Rekha Sharma), an Indian matchmaker, to provide advice on how to improve their numbers.
About the cast
Stephanie Bennett has appeared on the television shows iZombie, UnREAL, Supernatural, Lucifer, and Shadowhunters.
She has starred in the Hallmark movies The Nine Lives of Christmas (2014), Valentine in the Vineyard (2019), Lonestar Christmas (2020), The Nine Kittens of Christmas (2021), and Christmas Class Reunion. She also appeared in the 2014 episode of Signed, Sealed, Delivered titled “Dark of Night.”
Casey Diedrick starred opposite Emily Osment in the 2021 Countdown to Christmas movie A Very Merry Bridesmaid. He has also appeared in the TV shows In the Dark, Driven, and Now Apocalypse.
Wedding Season will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, June 3 at 8/7c.
Hallmark releases preview of 2023 Christmas in July lineup
The second best time of the year is right around the corner. Hallmark has released a teaser for Christmas in July, its month-long holiday programming event. The 30-second clip shows scenes from some of Hallmark’s most popular Christmas movies, including Three Wise Men and a Baby, A Holiday Spectacular, Haul Out the Holly, and We Wish You a Married Christmas.
Hallmark released the clip on its Twitter page.
“Attention team Kringle!” read the message that accompanied the video. “#ChristmasinJuly is coming soon! Indulge in candy cane ice cream and iced hot chocolate as we bring you a spectacular month of beloved holiday movies.”
Christmas in July
Hallmark has been running Christmas movies during the month of July since 2012. The programming event has become so popular that the network even creates new movies to premiere during Christmas in July.
In 2021, Hallmark debuted Crashing Through the Snow, starring Amy Acker and Warren Christie, during Christmas in July. Last year, three new movies had their debut during the event, including My Grown-Up Christmas List, starring Kayla Wallace and Kevin McGarry, Campfire Christmas, starring Tori Anderson and Corbin Bleu, and Christmas in Toyland, starring Vanessa Lengies and Jesse Hutch.
Countdown to Christmas
In an interview with E! News, a Hallmark exec said the summer movie event gets audiences ready for the end-of-year holiday season.
“We are always discussing more ways to make our programming events special,” said Randy Pope, senior vice president of programming and development. “We like to look at Christmas in July as a gift to our viewers who are excited for Countdown to Christmas. It’s a sneak preview of what’s to come starting in October.”
Hallmark has not announced whether any new movies will premiere during this year’s Christmas in July event. However, the network has already finished at least three Christmas movies since January, including A Mystic Christmas, A Biltmore Christmas, and Christmas Goals.
Lacey Chabert and Will Kemp reunite in new Hallmark movie The Dancing Detective: Deadly Tango
Lacey Chabert and Will Kemp will once again put their dancing skills to use when they reunite in the new Hallmark movie The Dancing Detective: Deadly Tango.
Chabert has been posting regularly about the movie on her Instagram, sharing photos and even videos from the set.
“Good morning from Malta!” she wrote in one post. “I’m really enjoying filming in this beautiful place. Very thankful for this experience!”
New Hallmark movie
Chabert plays a no-nonsense detective named Constance Bailey. According to a synopsis from Hallmark, Constance “insists on doing things her way, which usually means doing everything alone. She gets results, but her inability to keep a partner is holding her back in her career.”
When the CEO of a global ballroom company is murdered on the eve of a major company event, Interpol sends Detective Bailey to investigate. To go undercover, she must pose as a ballroom dancer. The only problem is she has two left feet.
She is forced to team up with charismatic and free-spirited British dancer and actor Sebastian Moore (Will Kemp), who poses as her husband. Though he has good instincts for solving crimes, everything he knows about detective work he learned from television. As he teaches Constance about ballroom dancing, she teaches him the realities of investigating a case.
But as the list of suspects grows, Constance must learn to trust her partner if she is ever going to solve the murder.
Reunited
This is the third movie Lacey Chabert and Will Kemp have made together. In 2019, they starred in Love, Romance & Chocolate together. They also showed off their ballroom dancing skills in the 2020 Countdown to Christmas movie The Christmas Waltz.
Chabert was candid about the difficulty she had learning to ballroom dance. (Though we can all agree she nailed it.)
“Having so much fun learning to dance,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “It’s such a challenge!!!!”
Kemp, on the other hand, has had a long career as a dancer. He attended the prestigious Royal Ballet School in England before joining Matthew Bourne’s dance company Adventures in Motion Pictures. During an appearance in Swan Lake, Kemp was spotted by the head of Paramount Studios. He appeared in a commercial for Gap and then snagged a role in the 2004 movie Van Helsing.
The Dancing Detective: Deadly Tango will premiere on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries on Friday, June 2 at 9/8c.
Seriously? Entire cast of Ride goes on Facebook Live ahead of series finale but still no word on Season 2
The stars of Hallmark’s rodeo show Ride did a Facebook Live appearance ahead of the Season 1 finale but one major question was left unanswered: Will there be a Season 2?
Nancy Travis, Beau Mirchoff, Jake Foy, Sara Garcia, Tiera Skovbye, and Tyler Jacob Moore all answered questions about their characters and the show’s various storylines. But the Friday afternoon appearance ended without any announcement about Season 2.
Not that fans didn’t ask.
“Praying you have season two coming out love this show,” wrote one fan in the comments section.
“As soon as we have more information, we’ll be sure to post it on our FB page,” wrote the page administrator for Hallmark Channel. “Thank you for reaching out.”
Canceled or renewed?
Fans have been speculating for weeks as to whether the series would be renewed. Some have even suggested the current strike by The Writers Guild of America could affect production.
But Hallmark has not commented at all, except to say an announcement will come soon.
Ride
Ride premiered on Hallmark Channel on March 26. It was the second of two new series to premiere on the network in 2023. The Way Home, which starred Andie MacDowell and Chyler Leigh, had its debut in January.
In Ride, Nancy Travis stars as Isabel McMurray, the matriarch of a rodeo dynasty. Isabel, who lost both her husband and her oldest son to bull-riding accidents, is struggling to decide whether she can afford to hold on to her family’s Colorado ranch.
Her son Cash (played by Beau Mirchoff) wants to become a professional bull-rider to raise money for the ranch, but Isabel is terrified something will happen to him. Instead, she connects with a wealthy family that may be interested in buying the land from her.
In addition to Travis and Mirchoff, the show stars Jake Foy as the family’s youngest son, Tiera Skovbye as former rodeo queen Missy, the widow of Isabel’s oldest son, and Dylan Neal as the patriarch of the family interested in buying the ranch.
Fan reaction
Fan reactions to the series have been mixed. Some say it’s the perfect new show for Hallmark and a great alternative to the TV show Yellowstone.
“It’s like Yellowstone without the swearing and murder,” one wrote on Facebook.
Others struggled to get interested in the storyline.
“Too many characters,” another wrote. “Too much going on. The back stories are hard to follow.”
Ratings
Ratings for Season 1 of the series have varied greatly from week to week. Episode 1 brought in around 1.3 million viewers. Episode 9, on the other hand, had around 830,000 viewers.
Hallmark’s other new series, The Way Home, had between 1.3 and 1.7 million viewers per episode.
The Season 1 finale of Ride will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Sunday, May 28 at 9/8c.
Hallmark gives fans a first look at new Aurora Teagarden
Hallmark has released photos of the mystery Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Something New. The film will star newcomer Skyler Samuels in the title role, with Marilu Henner reprising her role as Aida Teagarden, Aurora’s mother. Rounding out the cast is Kayla Heller as Aurora’s friend Sally and Evan Roderick as her friend Arthur.
New Aurora Teagarden
The Aurora Teagarden movie series, which is based on the books by author Charlaine Harris, premiered in 2015 with Aurora Teagarden Mystery: A Bone to Pick.
Actress Candace Cameron Bure played the role of Aurora “Ro” Teagarden, a librarian with a fascination for true crime who solves murders in her small hometown.
There have been 18 movies in the series, including:
Aurora Teagarden Mystery: A Bone to Pick (2015)
Real Murders: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2015)
Three Bedrooms, One Corpse: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2015)
The Julius House: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2016)
Dead Over Heels: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2017)
A Bundle of Trouble: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2017)
Last Scene Alive: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2018)
Reap What You Sew: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2018)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: The Disappearing Game (2018)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: A Game of Cat and Mouse (2019)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries:n Inheritance to Die For (2019)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: A Very Foul Play (2019)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Heist and Seek (2020)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Reunited and It Feels So Deadly (2020)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: How to Con a Con (2021)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Til Death Do Us Part (2021)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Honeymoon, Honeymurder (2021)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted By Murder (2022)
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Something New
In the new Aurora Teagarden movie, Skyler Samuels stars as Ro, who has just graduated from college and returned to Lawrenceton. While applying for grad school programs and trying to settle on a thesis, Ro works as a teacher’s assistant in a crime fiction class. She also waits tables at the local diner.
In her free time, she discusses cases with her friend, a local police officer named Arthur (played by Evan Roderick), and helps her friend Sally (played by Kayla Heller) plan her wedding.
But when Sally’s groom fails to show up for the rehearsal dinner, Ro and Arthur set out to find him. They find the groom but also discover a dead body, and Sally’s fiancé becomes the prime suspect in the case.
About the cast
Skyler Samuels shared the news of her new role on Instagram. In a post that included a photo of her with Tegaarden’s trademark auburn locks, she wrote, “Surprise…I’m the new Aurora. … So excited to be joining the mysterious and fun world of Aurora Teagarden. Let the mystery solving begin!”
Skyler Samuels got her start on TV working for the Disney Channel. She had roles on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, That’s So Raven, and The Wizards of Waverly Place.
She has also appeared on the TV shows American Horror Story: Freak Show, The Rookie, and Scream Queens.
Samuels recently starred in and executive produced the television movie The Gabby Petito Story. She also starred in Lifetime’s Switched Before
Evan Roderick starred as Officer Nick Anastas in the TV series Arrow. He appeared in the Hallmark movies Garage Sale Mystery (2018), A Tale of Two Christmases (2022), and Autumn in the City (2022).
Kayla Heller played Tegan Wickhem in the TV series Superman & Lois and Selena Durov in The Order. She has also appeared in the Hallmark movies The 27-Hour Day, Good Morning Christmas, and SnowComing.
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Something New will premiere on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries on Friday, June 9 at 8/7c.
Jesse Hutch and Lily Gao star in the Hallmark movie The Love Club: Sydney’s Journey
The Hallmark movie The Love Club: Sydney’s Journey will premiere this weekend as part of the network’s Memorial Day lineup. The movie, which stars Lily Gao and Jesse Hutch, is part of a series originally released on Hallmark Movies Now.
The Love Club movies follow four women who make a pact always to help each other out when they have relationship trouble. The first film in the series, The Love Club: Nicole’s Pen Pal, starred Brittany and Bristow and Marcus Rosner. It premiered on Hallmark Channel in February.
Bristow starred as Nicole, a newly engaged interior designer who starts to wonder if she should be with her mystery college pen pal, whose letters she has kept. When she calls on the Love Club for help, they help her track down her pen pal (played by Marcus Rosner) in a mountain lodge. According to a synopsis from Hallmark, “Along the way, Nicole encounters romance, comedic imposters, female bonding, and plenty of mishaps until ultimately, the letters help lead her to her true love.”
Hallmark movie
The Love Club is one of two new series introduced by Hallmark that feature a group of friends who help each other in matters of the heart.
In 2022, Hallmark introduced the first of The Wedding Veil movies. Starring Lacey Chabert, Alison Sweeney, and Autumn Reeser, The Wedding Veil followed a group of college friends who reunite every year in a different city. During a trip to San Francisco, they discover an antique wedding veil that is rumored to bring true love to its owner.
In the first movie, Lacey Chabert’s character finds true love. In the second movie, The Wedding Veil Unveiled, Autumn Reeser finds her soulmate. In the third, The Wedding Veil Legacy, it’s Alison Sweeney’s turn to fall in love.
The movies were so well received that Hallmark made three more in 2023: The Wedding Veil Expectations, The Wedding Veil Inspiration, and The Wedding Veil Journey.
The Love Club: Sydney’s Journey
In The Love Club: Sydney’s Journey, Lily Gao stars as Sydney, a food blogger and former track star who still holds a torch for her college boyfriend. When she runs into him unexpectedly, she finds out he will be running in a Valentine’s Day 10k. She signs up for the run and then calls on her friends from the Love Club to help get her ready.
But when she is paired up with a local restaurant owner (Jesse Hutch) for the run, she finds she might be chasing after the wrong man.
About the cast
Lily Gao has appeared on the TV shows The Handmaid’s Tale, Letterkenny, Second Jen, Transplant, and Chapelwaite. In 2022, she starred in the Great American Family movie Catering Christmas alongside Daniel Lissing and Merritt Patterson.
Jesse Hutch played Luke Bailey on the Hallmark series Cedar Cove. He has also appeared on the shows Heartland, Arrow, Once Upon a Time, Smallville, and Batwoman.
He starred in the Hallmark movies Let It Snow (2013), Harvest Moon (2015), and Christmas in Toyland (2022).
The Love Club Weekend Lineup:
Hallmark will air all four movies in the Love Club series this weekend.
The Love Club: Sydney’s Journey will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, May 27 at 8/7c.
On Monday, May 29, Hallmark will air all four Love Club movies back to back:
2/1c The Love Club: Nicole’s Pen Pal
4/3c The Love Club: Sydney’s Journey
6/5c The Love Club: Lauren’s Dream
8/7c The Love Club: Tara’s Tune
A Hallmark Christmas movie with ties to Mystic Pizza is in the works
A Hallmark Christmas movie is being filmed in Mystic, Connecticut. A Mystic Christmas, which features businesses throughout Old Mystick Village, will also star someone from the 1988 movie Mystic Pizza.
Chris Regan, whose family owns the property where much of the filming took place, told a local news station about the connection to the Julia Roberts movie. The landmark shopping center has been used in several Christmas movies, including Lifetime’s A Very Nutty Christmas (2018).
Hallmark Christmas movie
In Mystic Christmas, an animal expert gets a call for help from an old friend and ends up taking a job that puts her in the path of an ex at Christmas, according to the Tumblr account for SleepyKittyPaws (also known as Ho! Ho! Holiday Viewing). It stars Patti Murin and Dan Albertson.
The movie was filmed at various locations in Olde Mistick Village, a shopping center designed to look like an 18th century New England village.
Several other Hallmark Christmas movies have already been filmed in locations around the U.S. and Canada.
Filming began on A Biltmore Christmas in January. In the romantic comedy, Bethany Joy Lenz plays Lucy, a screenwriter who lands the job of a lifetime when she’s hired to write the script for a remake of the beloved holiday movie His Merry Bride, which was filmed at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina.
As Christmas approaches, Lucy travels to the Biltmore Estate for research. She joins a guided tour of the house and finds herself drawn to a beautiful hourglass on display. When she accidentally knocks it over, she finds herself transported back in time to 1947 as the cast and crew prepare to film His Merry Bride. Lucy does her best to navigate an unfamiliar place as a woman out of time, charming some and raising suspicions of others.
Kevin McGarry recently finished making Christmas Goals, a hockey-themed movie, in British Columbia. The movie, which is set in Idaho, also stars The Bold and The Beautiful star Kim Matula.
Mystic Christmas
Olde Mystick Village shared photos on its Facebook page of crews shooting scenes for Mystic Christmas. Scenes for the movie were also shot at the Mystic Aquarium.
Patti Murin has starred in the Hallmark movies Holiday for Heroes (2019), Love on Iceland (2020), To Catch a Spy (2021), and In Merry Measure (2022).
A release date has not yet been given for Mystic Christmas.
Mountain views and not a Spanx in sight: Nancy Travis weighs in on the perks of starring in Hallmark’s epic rodeo series Ride
Nancy Travis loves being part of Hallmark’s rodeo series Ride. In a recent interview, the actress touched on all the things she enjoys about being part of the show. High on the list are the location (they shoot on a working ranch in Alberta), her co-workers, and the show’s storylines. But wardrobe tops it all.
“Oh my God, I just want to say, what I love, love, love about this part is it’s completely Spanx-less,” Travis told People magazine. “It’s such a joy to just work in jeans and shirts, and it can be dirty and don’t have to be pressed. So Isabel has maybe a dozen pairs of jeans. But it’s sort of like cowboy boots. I mean, once you have a pair that fits, that’s the pair you wear over and over again. And the more worn in, the better they are.”
Nancy Travis
A native of Queens, Travis worked on Broadway before landing her breakout role in the 1987 box office hit Three Men and a Baby. She went on to star in the movies Internal Affairs (1990), Air America (1990), Passed Away (1992), Chaplin (1992), So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), Greedy (1994), and Fluke (1995).
Travis has also appeared on the TV shows Almost Perfect, Becker, Last Man Standing, and The Kominsky Method.
Ride
Ride premiered on Hallmark Channel on March 26. In the show, Travis plays Isabel McMurray, the matriarch of a rodeo dynasty. Isabel, who lost both her husband and her oldest son to bull-riding accidents, struggles to decide whether she can afford to hold on to her family’s Colorado ranch.
“Every actor craves big stakes, and it comes down to what are you willing to fight for and how are you going to fight for it and what matters,” Travis said in an interview with The List. “For Isabel, her family matters. Even though the ranch is her big focal point and passion in her life, and the family is very much a rodeo family, and that’s a very big factor in their lives, she’d take a bullet for her family and will claw somebody’s eyes out to protect them. That’s what drives her.”
Learning on the job
Travis said she had a lot to learn when she took on the role of Isabel.
“I had no prowess when it comes to horseback riding,” she told People. “The most complex horseback riding I had ever done is maybe on a trail ride where I’m on some very old horse that just follows the one in front of it and carousels.”
New episodes of Ride air on Hallmark Channels on Sunday evenings. Check your local listings for start times.
Cindy Busby uncovers romance and history in new Hallmark movie Love in Zion National: A National Park Romance
Cindy Busby will star in the new Hallmark movie Love in Zion National: A National Park Romance. In the film, she plays Lauren, a museum curator who is in a race to find a treasured Anasazi vase.
In a Facebook Live appearance to promote the movie, Busby talked about special the park is to Lauren, who spent a lot of time there with her mother when she was growing up.
“Zion holds a very special place in Lauren’s heart,” Busby said. “She knows that this adventure…would be something her mother would take to heart.”
New Hallmark movie
Love in Zion National is part of a series produced by Hallmark Channel to showcase the beauty of America’s national parks. Love in Glacier National, which starred Ashley Newbrough and Stephen Huszar, premiered earlier this year.
In Love in Zion National, Busby plays Lauren, the assistant curator at the Denver Museum of Natural History. She is thrilled when the museum receives a donation from a wealthy benefactor of three Anasazi wedding vases. However, the benefactor’s nephew (played by Bourke Floyd) is challenging the donation, saying the valuable pieces should stay in his family’s collection.
Lauren develops a theory that there is a fourth vase and becomes determined to track it down so that the entire set can be returned to the Pueblo Nation.
Cindy Busby
In her Facebook Live appearance, Busby talked about how confident Lauren is that she can find her way around the park. But that confidence is misplaced and she soon finds herself lost.
She is found by park ranger and native Puebloan Adam Proudstar (played by David Gridley). Though at first he is skeptical about her motives for finding the vase, he soon begins to trust her motives. He even introduces her to his grandmother, who grew up in the park and knows where to look for the vase.
About the cast
Cindy Busby is a Hallmark fan favorite, having appeared in two different series for the network: Cedar Cove (as Rebecca Jennings) and When Calls the Heart (as Marlise Bennett). She has also starred in the Hallmark movies A Godwink Christmas: Meant For Love, Heart of Down Under, Wedding March 5: My Boyfriend’s Back, Chasing Waterfalls, Romance in the Air, and Marry Me in Yosemite. She also starred in Joy for Christmas, which premiered on Great American Family (the new network started by former Hallmark CEO Bill Abbott) in December 2021.
David Gridley starred in the movie The DUFF (2015) and appeared on the TV shows Pretty Smart, The Last Ship, and Team Kaylie.
In a recent interview, he talked about how much fun it was to shoot Love in Zion National: A National Park Romance.
“One of the big things that got me excited about the movie was the fact that it was shooting in Zion,” he told the website Just Jared. “I’d never been to that part of the country before, so that was a big, big draw for me. Then just being part of telling the history of the Anasazi people and being able to do research on that to understand their lifestyle.”
Love in Zion National: A National Park Romance will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Saturday, May 20 at 8/7c.
A new face is joining the cast of When Calls the Heart
When Calls the Heart is getting a new cast member. Actor Billy Christos Jr. has been posting photos to Instagram from the set of Hallmark’s hit series.
“Hello my name is Toby. I’m on the set of my new TV show. Can you guess the show?” he wrote in a post.
Apart from his character’s name — Toby — Christos didn’t share much information. Some fans have speculated that since he is a child, Christos will be one of the students at Hope Valley’s school.
A new face
Christos has had roles in the TV shows Peacemaker and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. He will also appear in the soon-to-be-released series Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
The actor wasted no time sharing photos from the Hope Valley set.
“My very first day on the set of When Calls the Heart and I was sharing a scene with this acting legend,” he wrote in the caption of a photo with Jack Wagner, who plays Bill Avery in the series.
“I loved hanging out with one of the nicest guys in Hope Valley, the Mayor,” he wrote in the caption of a pic with Ben Rosenbaum, who plays Mike Hickam.
He also shared pics of himself with Johanna Newmarch (Molly Sullivan), Amanda Wong (Mei Suo), and Erin Krakow (Elizabeth Thornton).
In one sweet post, he shared a photo of the set with the caption, “Sometimes when I’m on the set of @wcth_tv and I look around, it feels magical with a lot of history and a lot more stories to unfold…”
When Calls the Heart
When Calls the Heart is Hallmark’s longest-running original series. The show, which is based on the novels by Canadian author Janette Oke, follows the small mining community of Hope Valley. It premiered on Hallmark Channel in 2014 and soon developed a loyal following.
In a recent interview, Erin Krakow said she feels so fortunate to be a part of the series.
“People have asked me over the years, do you ever get bored playing the same character on a show that has been around for this many seasons? And the answer is really no,” she told TV Fanatic. “I mean, one because I just have a great time with our cast and crew. But, two, because Hallmark and our writers and showrunners over the years have given me a great gift in that Elizabeth has never become stagnant. It isn’t repetitive. It’s a real honest depiction of a woman going through these various chapters in her life.”
Season 10 of When Calls the Heart will premiere on Hallmark Channel on July 30.
