Ryan McPartlin turns a stylist into a super sleuth in Hallmark’s Cut, Color, Murder
Hallmark Movies and Mysteries is known for its movies featuring unlikely sleuths. In the Aurora Teagarden series, a timid librarian (played by Candace Cameron Bure) always solves the crime. In Mystery 101, a professor of literature (played by Jill Wagner) always finds out whodunit.
In February, the network will premiere a new murder mystery in which a stylist must figure out who killed the judge in a local beauty pageant.
“We decided to make our lead female a hairstylist in a beauty salon, and I liked that idea,” said Ryan McPartlin in a recent interview with Digital Journal.
McPartlin wrote, produced, and co-starred in the movie, playing a detective named Kyle Crawford. Actress Julie Gonzalo plays Ali Bowden, a small-town beautician whose clients keep her informed of all the latest gossip. This knowledge comes in handy when the creator of the local beauty pageant is found dead, and everyone involved in the competition — including her sister — becomes a suspect.
Gonzalo and McPartlin work together to solve the crime and clear her sister’s name.
A dream come true
In an Instagram post promoting the movie, McPartlin talked about how grateful he was that the film was getting made.
“This has been another passion project that was years in the making,” he wrote. “@heatherjnyc & I never gave up on this story that @jfilardi @waltbecker3 and I created until all the pieces fell into place.”
Born in Chicago, 47-year-old McPartlin had a few bit roles before landing the part of Hank Bennett on the soap opera Passions. He went on to star in several TV series, including Hart of Dixie, Devious Maids, and Chuck.
He’s also made movies for Hallmark Channel and Lifetime.
In Cut, Color, Murder, he will be reunited with his Passions co-star Eva Tamargo, who played Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald on the show.
“Eva and I go way back,” he said.
Fun on the set
McPartlin said he was glad he got the chance to act with Gonzalo.
“I just had the best time, and I loved the cast,” he said
McPartlin says he plans on promoting the movie as much as possible on social media.
“I want the fans to have fun with ‘Cut, Color, Murder,’” he said. “I am already trying to figure out how to do a squares game in the same fashion that you do for the Super Bowl, so stay tuned for that.”
Cut, Color, Murder will premiere on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries on Sunday, February 6 at 9/8c.