A new Hallmark mystery is coming to TV. Family History Mysteries: Buried Past will premiere on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries in January 2023. The movie will star Niall Matter and Janel Parrish.
“What I’ve been up to,” wrote Parrish in an Instagram post, “and what a joy it was.”
New Hallmark mystery
In Family History Mysteries: Buried Past, Parrish stars as Sophie McClaren, a genealogist who is an expert at digging up the past and bringing families together. When her friend Jonathan (played by Morgan David Jones) urgently needs to find a bone marrow donor, it brings his twin brother (and Sophie’s old flame) Jackson (Niall Matter) back into her life. With Jackson’s help, Sophie must use her skills to track down the brothers’ long-lost birth father, a man they never even knew existed, in time to save Jonathan’s life. Ultimately, growing closer to Jackson on this search gives Sophie the push to finally explore the mystery of her own adoption.
The movie is based loosely on the Family History Mystery book series by author Brynn Bonner. It is being produced by Hallmark star Nikki DeLoach.
Hallmark has introduced several new mysteries this year, including Cut, Color, Murder, starring Julie and Ryan McPartlin; Francesca Quinn, PI, starring Mallory Jansen and Dylan Bruce; Nikki & Nora: Sister Sleuths, starring Hunter King and Rhiannon Fish; and Curious Caterer: Dying For Chocolate, starring Andrew Walker and Nikki DeLoach.
Janel Parrish and Niall Matter
Janel Parrish starred in movies for the Disney Channel and appeared in the TV shows Zoey 101, Pretty Little Liars, and Magnum, PI. She made her Hallmark debut in the 2020 Christmas drama Holly & Ivy.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the actress said her mother was thrilled when she got the part.
“My mom is Hallmark Christmas movies’ No. 1 fan,” she said. “It’s on all day, every day, no matter what we’re doing. She’d always ask me, ‘When are you going to do one?’ I’d said, ‘Whenever they call me, I will do one.’ So she’s over the moon about me doing this movie.”
She also starred in the 2021 Countdown to Christmas movie Coyote Christmas alongside Ryan Paevey.
Niall Matter has appeared in the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries as Nick Miller. He also starred in the Hallmark Channel movies “Stop the Wedding,” with Alan Thicke and Rachel Boston, and “Frozen in Love” with Rachael Leigh Cook. On Hallmark Movies and Mysteries, Matter played Ian in “Finding Father Christmas,” “Engaging Father Christmas,” and “Marrying Father Christmas.”
