Hallmark’s new TV series, The Way Home, will premiere in January, and the network already believes it has landed on a story that will resonate with fans.
“We know the compelling, heartfelt journey of the Landry women and the series will draw in viewers and is sure to become a new fan favorite,” said Laurie Ferneau, senior vice president of development at Hallmark Media.
The Way Home is the first new Hallmark has introduced since 2016, when it premiered the family drama Chesapeake Shores. The series will star Andie MacDowell, who previously headlined Hallmark’s TV series Cedar Cove.
New TV series
In The Way Home, MacDowell will star as Del Landry, the matriarch of the Landry family and a pillar of the community in her small Canadian farming town. According to a synopsis from the network:
“She and her daughter Kat have been estranged from each other following tragic events that left their family forever changed and prompted Kat to move away. When Kat unexpectedly returns many years later with her teenage daughter whom Del has never met, the three generations of women embark on an enlightening journey to find their way back to each other and learn important lessons about their family’s past.”
The series is being written by the mother-daughter team Heather Conkie and Alexandra Clarke. The pair, who wrote the script for the Disney Channel movie Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars, have also collaborated on the award-winning series Heartland.
Canceled shows
In recent years, Hallmark canceled all but one of its TV shows, much to the disappointment of fans. In July 2021, the network announced the show Good Witch would finish at the end of Season 7. Shortly before filming began on Season 6 of Chesapeake Shores, Hallmark announced it would be the show’s last. The network also canceled its lifestyle program Home and Family.
Fans have already said on social media that they are reluctant to commit to a new Hallmark show because they are afraid it will be canceled.
When Hallmark released a video trailer of the new show, which will also star Chyler Leigh and Sadie Laflamme-Snow, some fans wrote they wouldn’t watch it.
“Every time we get interested in and devoted to a series it gets canceled,” wrote one fan in the Facebook comments section.
“No more series for me,” wrote another. “I just start watching then they cancel them.”
But Hallmark is hoping other viewers will take to the family drama.
“The Way Home is a passion project and I am beyond happy to see this special series brought to life here at Hallmark, and so beautifully,” said Lisa Hamilton-Daly, executive vice president of programming at Hallmark Media.
The Way Home will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Sunday, January 15 at 8/7c.
