MissyPoo

This was on my wishlist as well, but I had to tap out early. I usually look forward to Taylor Cole's movies, but this felt like another one of those roles where the lead reads in the early 20s rather than mid-30s (what the character was supposed to be). And the townspeople turned me off early. It felt like one of those assimilation plots, which I don't mind if it isn't bashed over my head and done well, but this felt forced.

Oh! Thanks for mentioning this. That's the only 'Time to Come Home' movie I've seen and I liked the amnesia angle they took with the story. When I saw Alison Sweeney, I thought it was another one of those 'add a Hallmark reg' moments and later found out she previously starred in one of her own. We so need more male leads that give the smoldering "I'm going to sop you up with a biscuit" look and the "I would do anything for this woman" look because the chemistry was chemistrying here and Hallmark needs more of that! The newer ones tend to lean more toward the big extravagant mansions (I love Long Lost Christmas, but the mother's house could have had its own block!). The older movies tended to have more realistic everyday homes (especially the movies in the late 90s on Lifetime and early 00s on Hallmark). Christmas Choir comes to mind, but Hallmark doesn't show that anymore (sadly). Window Wonderland had a more realistic apartment for Wynona Judd's character. I was watching Fir Crazy and noticed how more 'rustic' the parent's home looked. Even the homes in Pumpkin Pie Wars were pretty cozy and realistic instead of lavish mansions. Same thing with Corky Sherwood-Forrest's home in Trading Christmas. I loved that house so much. So flippin' cozy and that guest/writing house out back is my living dream. I'm in between with the house in Miss Christmas. It's homey but can lean a bit on the farmhouse mansion-y side of things.

It's basically HMN, just rebranded with the new name and some added shows/movies (that may eventually make their way to their YouTube channel for free at times).

I'm actually surprised to hear she was on a soap. I tried watching the Italian summer movie with the ice cream with her in it because it looked super cute and she only had like two expressions. The male lead was seriously carrying the movie while she was struggling. I haven't watched soaps in years, but I imagine one needs a bit of dramatic chops to pull off roles there! Corporate and business-wise it does make sense, but they have to be smart about it instead of just throwing younger and newer actors in there and hoping for the best. As an aside, I've seen many of my fave IPs sacrifice their long-standing viewers in hopes of attracting new ones to replace them, and they always fall on their face, alienating everyone until they have to zip back to what worked originally. But by then, it's too late, and they're floundering, wondering what went wrong and where everyone went. I like the idea @Featherhat had about bringing in new, younger actors while keeping their current stable. Someone else on another forum brought up a good point: what 20-year-old is moving back to their small town to inherit the farm and fall in love with the town doc who spends his free time setting up for the Christmas pageant? And yeah, pretty spot on. There was a movie sometime ago with Teri Polo, I think it was called Love, Again which was actually pretty good. They could do more movies like that with older divorced characters, second chance romances, first love later in life, etc., with the older stable as one couple with the younger actors coming to play the newer couples. Pixl used to do dual couple stories all the time. They could really work it; just when money and budgets and shareholders are concerned, shortcuts and rash decisions seem to take priority, sadly. Ngl, I'd love to see some more of these movie mixes myself. I love the cutesie farms and bookstores (and I'm a sucker for the publishing/writer-themed ones), but a little mixup wouldn't hurt.

That makes a lot of sense for sure then. (And I missed the lawsuit doc, thanks for posting it). They listed a few fan favorites there. Articles always mentioned how Hallmark and Lifetime cast people recognizable to a lot of its viewers who grew up watching them in previous stuff. They'd be throwing that away if they were rehauling mostly everyone in their stable. Most viewers aren't even looking for the age ranges of the actors, anyway. Just winding down with cute, cozy movies.

Oh fun! I'll go with faves, although some of them have disappeared. Fave Hallmark Lead Actresses Heather Hemmens Autumn Reeser Tamera Housley Katrina Law Julie Gonzalo Alicia Witt Krystal Joy Brown Taylor Cole (which is funny because she used to be on my least fave list)

Wow, that's definitely a blast from the past! I remember Hallmark used to show that 24/7 back in the early days. Nice to see some of my faves shown. My DVR is plentiful and happy right about now. :-) I really enjoyed this one. I liked the chemistry between Tamera and Carlo and I even enjoyed the bonus that she had two guys after her at one point (seemed slightly thrown in, but it was one of my fave tropes so I ate it up). I liked the West Side Story joke as well. This was my first new movie of the year and it didn't disappoint for me. Agree with both of you guys. I remember seeing the casting director credited in so many movies and her removal explains the leads they've been trying to push lately (like Hunter King, just why?). It's also funny she didn't mention any of the leading men like James Denton and Victor Webster who are still getting leading roles and deemed hunks with no issue. Paul Campbell (one of my faves) is even up there. And interestingly enough, Allison Sweeney is even older than Lacey, I believe, but didn't get mentioned. They just need to stop writing ingenue parts for their actors and let them be more natural. There are a ton of stories and approaches they could be using while still keeping the tropes and coziness in the movies (the same thing they could have done with their book line, which they also flubbed). The VP also needs to check the audience demo because clearly she doesn't know the highest age range for the channel's fans.

So true (and I love what Chippings said about both movies. The cast was on point and WW had me rolling throughout the movie). I can't even recall the recent ones that I did see, even if I liked it (I know there was a Bethany Joy movie where she was in Paris this year but I can't for the life of me remember the name). Comparing the more recent slate of actors to the previous is a vast difference. I must admit, I did struggle on some faves here because my brain loves to delete information and memories as a hobby, but a few faves came back to me as I started to remember (like Bramble House Christmas, The Perfect Christmas Present, Bride For Christmas, Memories of Christmas, and Magical Christmas Ornaments). Yep, I believe it was called I Do, I Do, I Do where she was engaged to Antonio but ended up with Shawn (who I remembered was a kidnapped kid from Starhunter 2300 turned Hallmark dude for a while). Hallmark hyped their return up at the time on Facebook and people were so mad because they didn't end up together. I feel like Glenbrooke was Hallmark's way to apologize. But yeah, they did a third. Antonio and Autumn's movies Speaking of Love at the Thanksgiving Parade, the Chicken Soup For the Soul streaming channel has it to watch for free on Youtube as well Youtube movies. They also have the Good Witch movies too and some other older Hallmarks. I notice they are also streaming Princess Caraboo which I loved when I was younger. This movie was so good. One of my faves. I wish the actress would do more. Her Christmas movie is on my top fave list.

I haven't posted in a minute, partly because I lost my site password (ha!), and tbh I haven't been watching much Hallmark lately since, like Sense and Sensibility. Nothing sadly caught my interest. I have to say I'm excited for their Countdown to Christmas movies. It's been a rough year (I lost my mom), and I really need the cozy movies. I wish I could share my watchlist with her like I used to do around this time when they announced the upcoming releases. I agree! I love the older movies. I'll probably be camped out on their third channel where all the good oldies are being shown. They also have a live Roku channel where they show only the older stuff. You and the other posters listed some of my faves! Snow Bride, A Very Merry Mix-up, Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Christmas Secret, 12 Gifts of Christmas, Royal Christmas, Crown for Christmas, A Princess for Christmas, A Season For Miracles, Just in Time For Christmas, Trading Christmas, the Mrs. Miracle movie with Kaylee/Jewel Staite, Best Christmas Party Ever, The Christmas Choir (though they haven't aired this in many years), The Christmas Card, I'm Not Ready For Christmas, Window Wonderland, Hitched For the Holidays, Naughty or Nice, A Nutcracker Christmas, Let It Snow, A Holiday in Harlem, Christmas on My Mind, The Bridge, Hats Off to Christmas, Holiday Engagement...and some others! That's not even counting the older faves I watch on Lifetime, Uptv, and on demand. :-) I believe they did twice! The first one he wasn't the one she ended up with (after Hallmark advertised their reunion which was kind of meh of them. But the second one, they did a cute Christmas one together where she was an heiress and he was a fireman, if I remember correctly. A Glenbrooke Christmas I think it was named? It wasn't too bad!

TBF, it seems like this was pretty close to the book it was based on. Minus a mention of abuse which they may have left out/changed so it didn't become super somber and, of course, the main character's writing genre). I haven't read the book yet, but I plan to soon to see how what was changed from the book to adaptation. The book blurb:

I'm probably the only one here who was looking forward to and eventually enjoyed Caribbean Summer but it's cool because I hadn't enjoyed a Hallmark movie in a long time so I was glad to see something that brought a smile to my face. Loved Heather's dresses so much that I added some to my "To Make" design pile for the summer. The added twist was nice to see for a change from the normal boy meets girl, gets mad and then gets back together again. I wouldn't mind a sequel since I'd love to see how things worked out between the lead couple and their friends. And Hughes's voice was so melt-worthy. I could listen to him read a phone book and still be dreamy eyed. Will watch this one on my future summer watch list.

Very nice to see Heather Hemmens back with a new movie and Rachelle Lefevre on my screen again. I haven't watched Hallmark since last xmas since their latest movies looked so bland and uninteresting. I'm excited to finally see some that peak my interest! Adding these to my watchlist. The Caribbean and a french seaside town. I'm so there.

Fashionably Yours! I loved Kat Graham in that but I wish they had a better script to move the story along as it was muddled a bit along the way. Sheryl Lee Ralph was fabulous in that one also. KG is supposed to be having a new Netflix romcom with the fella from Umbrella Academy but they keep moving the date. Last I saw, it had a Sept release. Still waiting eagerly for that one. I really liked her Holiday Calendar movie with Gregory Peck's grandson. I'd love to see Christina Milian leading more movies but she's staying booked and busy for other brands lately. Hallmark seems pretty low on her radar. Haha my mom and I quote this movie all the time. I'm dying hearing the character's voices in my head. Such a classic movie. Not so fun fact: there was a gender swapped version of this WYWS on Uptv about a year or so ago. I can't remember the name but I dipped out of that one so fast because it was cringey and never got better from the opening. Just...ugh. I'm a huge fan of the 90s/early 00s romcoms (and coms) and would love to see a resurgence of those types of movies on streaming/tv with new stories since we lost its theatrical appearances. Some of my faves are: Romy & Michele's High School Reunion Ever After French Kiss You've Got Mail Only You Sabrina '95 The Truth About Cats and Dogs Kate & Leopold Under the Tuscan Sun My Big Fat Greek Wedding Dinner With Friends (not a romcom but a GREAT drama) Loser Someone Like You Green Card (I was obsessed with this movie as a kid!) Three Men and Little Lady One Fine Day The Mirror Has Two Faces Before Sunrise/Sunset P.S. I Love You The Lake House Monster-in-Law I'm probably leaving some faves off but this is the gist of the ones that were on repeat for me. What stands out is how many were written with an original premise in mind and were often done on a low but creative budget. If Hallmark is to follow the way of these types of movies, they definitely have to get away from the Hallmark tenderizer a bit to make some better written content. Early Hallmark movies used to do knock-offs of big theatrical releases (A Crush On You, Eve's Christmas, Wedding Daze, etc.) so they are capable of doing more than just the big city bad/small town good story tropes. They just need to let the writers breathe a bit. Speaking of, I miss some of those oldie Hallmark movies, too. They had different types of stories from disaster movies, to epic mythological adaptations, mysteries, dramas, and romances. I find myself watching my tapings/DVDs of those more than their newer movies. (i.e. Finding a Family, The Edge of the Garden, Elevator Girl, Flower Girl, Little John, Firelight, Wedding Daze, Just Desserts-this is a little smexy for a Hallmark entry today) Straight From the Heart, The Last Cowboy, Smooch, Ordinary Miracles, etc.) I was so surprised to see him in another role around that time where he played Michael Vartan's (yum) best friend in It Had to Be You and he was serious while still being funny. Hallmark used to show this on rotation in the early days before they made their own movies and I thought it was a bit slow back in the day but have come to really appreciate the humor and slow burn romance between the leads. I also liked the chemistry between the secondary (with Rispoli and Olivia d'Abo). It's free to watch on YT if anyone is interested. See Jane Date is another cute one that I believe is free on rotation on the Roku Channel.

My introduction to Ashley Williams is the complete opposite of Hallmark. Lifetime and Nora Roberts's Montana Sky. She was mostly serious and barely smiled, so when I saw her in October Kiss, it was a bit of a shock since I was so used to her cowgirl character. If anyone is curious to see a different side of her, definitely check out MS also for a good suspenseful story with some romancey and dramatic familial elements.

I'm not DanaMB and I hope they don't mind interjecting here, but Christmas on 5th Avenue is based on Sarah Morgan's contemporary romance book Miracle on 5th Avenue. I happened to catch It Happened on 5th Avenue some years ago while scrolling through TCM around this time and I enjoyed it. I don't have TCM this year but I'm happy to see it's on HBOMax. I'm definitely giving it a rewatch. Thanks for the heads up!