Hallmark Movies: Small Town Royalty Magically Celebrating Rekindled Love! - General Discussion

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

Honestly,I give the movie a 6/10. Story  seemed to stumble along, Rachel sidekick and antics tried to be funny.  Enjoyed the ghosts characters and loved the gown worn by Angelique,did anyone noticed her lovely drop  ear rings she wore?  If you missed it, give it a try, maybe you'll enjoy it more. 

[MissyPoo]

  

On 10/8/2024 at 5:38 PM, Maelstrom said:

As for these Hallmark threads, I'm sure the repetitive nature of the movies has lost some viewers/posters over time, but I like comfort viewing and sometimes these movies will surprise you.

 

On 10/9/2024 at 6:07 AM, norcalgal said:

I too notice there have been fewer and fewer posts here, and the bolded is the reason why I post less than in the past.

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.

On 10/9/2024 at 6:36 PM, Ele said:

That’s a good trio. I’ll add Ayres and Jeannotte to that list as well. 
 

Since Hallmark is launching their new Christmas movies starting week, what are everyone’s favorite ones to rewatch on Hallmark every year? 
Mine are Snow Bride, A Very Mix-Up, and The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. 
They are older but I think better quality than what is now shown. 
 

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. :-)

On 10/11/2024 at 5:03 PM, norcalgal said:

Ditto!  Both these are two of my all time Hallmark favorites.  Autumn and Antonio need to make another movie together. And you can’t go wrong with Danica giving math lessons!   😜

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!

 

 

[norcalgal]

5 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

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!

This speaks to the sad state of Hallmark movies in the last few years. While reading this list, I was able to easily recall the plot/actors in some of these movies, compared to lately, where they are all just a jumble. How many of you are like me in ease of recall of these older movies?

 

5 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

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!

I know for sure Autumn and Antonio did another movie (it wasn’t great), where she was engaged to one brother but ended up with the other brother.  I have a strong memory that Antonio and the guy cast as his brother did NOT look like  they were biologically related!  But did A&A make a third movie together…?

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, norcalgal said:

 But did A&A make a third movie together…?

They did.  A little more serious than Love At The Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

 

[Woopwoopkitty]

I'm hoping someone can help me find the title of this movie.  I watched it once but don't remember what its name was, and when that happens, I usually just go to IMDB and look up one of the actors I remember and back into it. In this case, I don't remember a single actor's name as none of the usual suspects was in it.

The movie had a mostly black cast. I was a woman who lives on a dairy farm and she had a white cowboy/horse trainer/horse whisperer neighbor and somebody was sending her secret love letters to her mailbox.  

Let me know if that sounds familiar.

 

Thank you Chitown for the answer.

Edited October 17 by Woopwoopkitty

[chitowngirl]

47 minutes ago, Woopwoopkitty said:

I'm hoping someone can help me find the title of this movie.  I watched it once but don't remember what its name was, and when that happens, I usually just go to IMDB and look up one of the actors I remember and back into it. In this case, I don't remember a single actor's name as none of the usual suspects was in it.

The movie had a mostly black cast. I was a woman who lives on a dairy farm and she had a white cowboy/horse trainer/horse whisperer neighbor and somebody was sending her secret love letters to her mailbox.  

Let me know if that sounds familiar.

14 Love Letters?

[Ele]

14 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

  

 

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!

 

 

A lot of those moves, especially the ones at the beginning of your post, are 10 or more years old. How the quality of movies have changed. I forgot about Window Wonderland and Holiday Engagement.

i forgot to add Nine Lives of Christmas to my list. Such a good movie.

[Chippings]

Hi -- Yes speaking of the older movies, I just saw Window Wonderland (2013) for the first time last week, and was so delighted.  First, there was Paul Campbell so very young; then, my fave Matty Finocchio in a secondary role (I hope this is a good career for him!); and Cameron Mathison as, oddly, the "inappropriate original boyfriend."  I noticed that it was written by the Dobrofskys, who usually do great work. Loved it all.

(Oh and should really speak of Naomi Judd, who was very cute in this but I remember died sadly a few years later.)  

Then today, they're showing actually the first Hallmark movie that ever really caught my interest, A Royal Winter.  One of those filmed in Europe, very beautiful.  It was probably one of Merritt Patterson's first, and she certainly has become a staple.  But Jack Donnelly, whom I liked, has disappeared.  Great seeing Samantha Bond, though.  Her bio is certainly well beyond anybody else's in that piece.

Anyway, the oldies and goodies  It's great to see those from a decade or more ago.  There must be plenty of them, and we could use more from that period and fewer returning-home-to-save-pumpkin-farm-and-meet-high-school-boyfriend-s.  

[MissyPoo]

On 10/15/2024 at 9:05 AM, norcalgal said:

This speaks to the sad state of Hallmark movies in the last few years. While reading this list, I was able to easily recall the plot/actors in some of these movies, compared to lately, where they are all just a jumble. How many of you are like me in ease of recall of these older movies?

 

 

13 hours ago, Chippings said:

Anyway, the oldies and goodies  It's great to see those from a decade or more ago.  There must be plenty of them, and we could use more from that period and fewer returning-home-to-save-pumpkin-farm-and-meet-high-school-boyfriend-s.  

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).

  

On 10/15/2024 at 9:05 AM, norcalgal said:

I know for sure Autumn and Antonio did another movie (it wasn’t great), where she was engaged to one brother but ended up with the other brother.  I have a strong memory that Antonio and the guy cast as his brother did NOT look like  they were biologically related!  But did A&A make a third movie together…?

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.

On 10/15/2024 at 3:12 PM, chitowngirl said:

14 Love Letters?

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.

 

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

Haul Out The Holly is on Saturday night at 10PM EST.  Loved this one, lots of fun, check it out if you've missed this one.

[Featherhat]

I just watched Haunted Wedding because I was really interested to see how Hallmark did a Halloween movie. 

It was okay, I liked both the leads, the beginning with him proposing in an old asylum was cute (Mona would approve!) and Dominic Sherwood was good at differentiating both characters, which isn't always easy to do. I did think the middle sagged with unnecessary angst (although the way she kept mentioning her ex 2 days before her wedding would make a person wonder how committed she was).

I was hoping for a bit more spookiness or straying a little further from the genre norms but it was good to see them doing something *slightly* different. 

I wish they'd make more of October and November before Countdown to Christmas though, you'd think Thanksgiving would be perfect for their aesthetic but it doesn't seem like many have been produced recently. Or heaven forbid since Diwali usually falls in October/November produce a movie featuring that. 

 

[GeorgiaRai]

Ooooh! A Dwal'oween movie could be awesome!

There are several non-holiday Hallmark movies I really like (Wedding Every Weekend, Royal Matchmaker, 3 Ghosts, Fall in Vermont, Love on the Sidelines, etc.), but winter/Christmas/Hanukkahs are my favorites.  The season just lends itself to themes of returning home, secrets, reconnecting, community, financial stress, wish making, and (especially) magic in a way that appeals to me.  I look forward to Christmas in July, October Countdown to Christmas, the random Friday night Christmas movies throughout the year. 

Hallmark, Up, Lifetime, GAC, Netflix - if it can be described as "sweet", I'm there for it (don't care for steamy, raunchy, edgy, religious or outright comedy).  I guess I should move over to the Holiday TV Movies thread instead of here, but it's even less active.  Way less.  As in...deserted. 

[bankerchick]

3 hours ago, GeorgiaRai said:

 I guess I should move over to the Holiday TV Movies thread instead of here, but it's even less active.  Way less.  As in...deserted. 

It tends to get posts for a couple of weeks at Christmastime, but goes silent around New Years every year.

[anniebird]

Twas the Date Before Christmas was quite good. The story is a touch generic but  the two leads are both so charming it more than makes up for any flaws in the plot.

[Irlandesa]

Since we have a forum now, we probably could create a separate thread in here for Countdown to Christmas.  I bet we could even label it specifically for this year and maybe do a separate one next year. 

I kind of liked the movie last night as well.  The leads had good personality.

 

[GeorgiaRai]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

Since we have a forum now, we probably could create a separate thread in here for Countdown to Christmas.  I bet we could even label it specifically for this year and maybe do a separate one next year. 

I kind of liked the movie last night as well.  The leads had good personality.

 

1. I thought about that, and some other Hallmark related threads, too.  I don't post much but love to read everyone's comments!

2. Was this the one with Amy Groening? I loved her in The Santa Summit and  other movies; I wonder if this was her first time as a Hallmark lead?  I was out late last night (which for me means after 8:00 - lol) so I'll have to catch this one on replay.

[anniebird]

1 hour ago, GeorgiaRai said:

2. Was this the one with Amy Groening? I loved her in The Santa Summit and  other movies; I wonder if this was her first time as a Hallmark lead?  I was out late last night (which for me means after 8:00 - lol) so I'll have to catch this one on replay.

I believe this is her first time as the lead and I fondly remember Robert Buckley as the cute glasses guy in The Christmas Contract.

[Notabug]

23 hours ago, anniebird said:

Twas the Date Before Christmas was quite good. The story is a touch generic but  the two leads are both so charming it more than makes up for any flaws in the plot.

I generally liked the movie, nice chemistry between the leads and some fun stuff.  However, by the end, as all the details were revealed; I found myself wondering about the entire premise and why TTB wrote it that way. We have Jesse, whose fiance, much loved by her family, has died of a tragic short illness during the past year since this is her first Christmas without him. Jesse's aunt, who hosts a major family daylong celebration on Christmas Eve decides to cancel the whole thing because Jesse, recently bereaved, doesn't have a date.  Who does that?  Why would her family not want to be with her on her first Christmas without her fiance?  Why would they be so obsessed with her love life that they insist she bring a date to a family holiday?  Otherwise, she was to spend the holiday alone. When you think about it, it makes Jesse's family seem like a bunch of a**holes.

I'm used to big lot holes in these films, but this one was not only huge but awful.

Edited October 20 by Notabug

[DanaMB]

4 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Since we have a forum now, we probably could create a separate thread in here for Countdown to Christmas.  I bet we could even label it specifically for this year and maybe do a separate one next year. 

I kind of liked the movie last night as well.  The leads had good personality.

 

This is a great idea. 

Although, I cut cable so not sure how I’m going to watch this year. Peacock only keeps the movies for two days it seems. 

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

1 hour ago, anniebird said:

I believe this is her first time as the lead and I fondly remember Robert Buckley as the cute glasses guy in The Christmas Contract.

Loved Robert Buckley as Major Lilywhite  in iZombie series that ran 2015-2019. 

[Kemper]

I loved "The Date Before Christmas" last night. Her family was ...as she said ... "A lot."  I don't know what the big mystery was about the dead fiancee; why we did not know this until almost the end. But....

For the most part it was fun, fizzy and light. And to me that was mainly due to the actors/actresses. They made this movie; more than the writing. This is what Hallmark used to do best. Casting. 

[bankerchick]

I've started to watch Holiday Crashers and I find Chris McNally's hair to be very distracting, in a bad way.  What the hell?  No guy who has a different suit/jacket (and boy, can he wear them!) for every occasion leaves his hair as if he's been in covid lockdown for 3 months.

[GeorgiaRai]

Robert Buckley will always be a One Tree Hill boy to me! I also liked him in The Christmas Contract, as well as The Christmas House movies

[Daff]

17 hours ago, Notabug said:

, doesn't have a date?  Who does that?

I got the impression that the parents/grands decided to cancel because the lead was bowing out this year, not because she didn’t have a “date”. They all probably didn’t feel like frolic and games. Really, they seemed more understanding than cold and unfeeling.

[Notabug]

1 hour ago, Daff said:

I got the impression that the parents/grands decided to cancel because the lead was bowing out this year, not because she didn’t have a “date”. They all probably didn’t feel like frolic and games. Really, they seemed more understanding than cold and unfeeling.

If that was the case, why didn't someone else in the family step up to make sure Jesse had an option other than to stay alone at home?  Her own mother called her with the news that the big family party was cancelled, why didn't she offer Jesse an alternative.   Jesse's mother and stepfather as well as her brother and sister in law seemed perfectly capable of hosting something so she'd have somewhere to go.  If no one was in the mood for frivolity, then plan to attend a church service or work at a soup kitchen or sit down to a quiet family meal.  As it was, Jesse made it clear that she had really been looking forward to the event, but it wasn't until she told her mother that she was bringing a date that the party was back on.

I agree the family seemed close and all were very concerned about Jesse in the film itself but, the entire premise didn't fit the narrative.  Have the aunt sprain an ankle or end up with a major plumbing issue or something else to cause the party to be in doubt.  

[norcalgal]

1 hour ago, Notabug said:

If that was the case, why didn't someone else in the family step up to make sure Jesse had an option other than to stay alone at home?  Her own mother called her with the news that the big family party was cancelled, why didn't she offer Jesse an alternative.   Jesse's mother and stepfather as well as her brother and sister in law seemed perfectly capable of hosting something so she'd have somewhere to go.  If no one was in the mood for frivolity, then plan to attend a church service or work at a soup kitchen or sit down to a quiet family meal.  As it was, Jesse made it clear that she had really been looking forward to the event, but it wasn't until she told her mother that she was bringing a date that the party was back on.

I agree the family seemed close and all were very concerned about Jesse in the film itself but, the entire premise didn't fit the narrative.  Have the aunt sprain an ankle or end up with a major plumbing issue or something else to cause the party to be in doubt.  

Although I agree that the premise for canceling didn’t make sense, I still enjoyed this movie. It was fun, charming and heartwarming. Things I liked:

little by little, a family member figured out Jessie and Bryan weren’t really boy/girlfriend (so they didn’t seem oblivious or ignorant about a family member they supposedly know well)

there was a plausible explanation for why the dating app matched Jessie and Bryan

the family Christmas Olympics (LOVE the idea of traditional family holiday games)

when Jessie and her family found out about Bryan’s company/the eviction, they didn’t go OTT nutso but did give him a chance to explain 

Things I didn’t care for:

Bryan didn’t tell Jessie about his company’s plan for the candle shop right away, especially when she seemed sympathetic hearing how his company transforms buildings into affordable housing 

the family still had the “how well do you know your partner” event as a game, given years long partners would always have the advantage and wouldn’t the same questions come up every year?!

it’s weird the stepdad didn’t have a single family member from his side come over.     Is the Chamberlain family truly the only family he has? 

And to the person who posted about Chris McNally’s YIKES! hair on Crashing Christmas, spot on!  I only saw the preview but didn’t think the style complimented him.

back to ‘Twas the Date Before Christmas: the movie said it was based on a true story, so I wonder who the IRL couple are, and how much of the movie followed their real life 

[geekgirl921]

On 10/15/2024 at 3:03 AM, MissyPoo said:

  

 

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!

 

 

One of my favorites was on the other channel this weekend! Angel of Christmas. It's a really good one, that I wish they would show more. Then on the regular channel was My Norwegian Holiday, Christmas Getaway, Christmas in Montana, A Crown for Christmas. Now a bad first weekend though I agree it started much too early. Not that I watch the movies on Great American Family but they started even earlier. 

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

Anyone catch Scouting For Christmas last night??? I caught the last 40 minutes or so, seemed like the 2 leads were interested in each other,but were afraid to be truthful about their feelings?  The daughter stole every scene she was in. She was the best part of the movie. Maybe there will be a sequel where the ex husband gets with the nutty scout mother,lol????

[bankerchick]

On 10/20/2024 at 5:14 PM, norcalgal said:

when Jessie and her family found out about Bryan’s company/the eviction, they didn’t go OTT nutso but did give him a chance to explain 

This has to be a Hallmark first.  Usually we would have seen her pack up and head back to the city, refusing to take his calls.

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

Anyone catch  A Biltmore Christmas last night ? I've seen it numerous times since it came out last Christmas and it  always hits it out of the park, 10/10. This one is a Hallmark Christmas movie Hall Of Fame winner.  Ending always gets me.  

[Ms Lark]

On the Halloween track: 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost. From last year: Entitled, snarky flapper ghost inhabits mansion  inherited by young woman. Fun ensues. (Derivative of Ghosts, but I love Ghosts, so yeah!)  I thought maybe I missed the rerun, but it's scheduled on Hallmark Family (um, ugh?) next Monday at 7pm. I really like this one, especially the ghost.

I find that most Hallmark stuff is "fall asleep during one, wake up in the middle of another and you can't tell the difference!" They're really good when you're recovering from surgeries, injuries, hospital stays, etc. Yep.

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

Yes, that was a good Halloween movie, loved that opening  scene back in the 20's  with the girls dancing around having fun doing The Charleston!!!!

[Nacos for Rufus]

I didn’t think I’d like that one from the trailer, but I thought it was really good! Much better than the recent one with the ghost hunter couple, if we’re talking ghost movies.

[Nacos for Rufus]

Lacey Chabert and Holly Robinson Peete as too old? Yikes, if true. I didn’t realize there was an age limit on finding love…

Too expensive I could understand, but too old is nonsense.

[Featherhat]

9 hours ago, Nacos for Rufus said:

Lacey Chabert and Holly Robinson Peete as too old? Yikes, if true. I didn’t realize there was an age limit on finding love…

Too expensive I could understand, but too old is nonsense.

I can see why they're interested in the "next generation" of big name Hallmark actresses for the same reason every studio is always looking for the next big name to make money out of. The current popular leading ladies (and men) won't be around for ever. 

That said I don't think they should be kicked off Hallmark and there's certainly room for a variety of stories and ages. The can always adjust the story so it's not always a 40/50 something finding true love for the first time ever but more love after divorce or married couples dealing with stuff. 

Interestingly if you look at some of the newer Hallmark leading ladies like Janel Parrish and Kim Mantula they're both 36 so not a million miles behind Lacey Chabert, who can definitely play younger, as can they.

I think it might be difficult for Hallmark to recruit a 20 something with name recognition to lead the channel because many of those will want to try their luck elsewhere before committing to a career as a "Hallmark actor" which still has something of a stigma attached I think, although not as much as previously. 

Also if Hallmark is worried about its aging demos and wants to attract a younger audience why is it scaling back diversity and leaning more into straight white people and the same handful of plots again?  

 

[MissyPoo]

On 10/21/2024 at 1:06 PM, geekgirl921 said:

One of my favorites was on the other channel this weekend! Angel of Christmas. It's a really good one, that I wish they would show more. Then on the regular channel was My Norwegian Holiday, Christmas Getaway, Christmas in Montana, A Crown for Christmas. Now a bad first weekend though I agree it started much too early. Not that I watch the movies on Great American Family but they started even earlier. 

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. :-)

On 10/21/2024 at 4:31 PM, One4Sorrow2TooBad said:

Anyone catch Scouting For Christmas last night??? I caught the last 40 minutes or so, seemed like the 2 leads were interested in each other,but were afraid to be truthful about their feelings?  The daughter stole every scene she was in. She was the best part of the movie. Maybe there will be a sequel where the ex husband gets with the nutty scout mother,lol????

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.

10 hours ago, Nacos for Rufus said:

Lacey Chabert and Holly Robinson Peete as too old? Yikes, if true. I didn’t realize there was an age limit on finding love…

Too expensive I could understand, but too old is nonsense.

 

1 hour ago, Featherhat said:

I can see why they're interested in the "next generation" of big name Hallmark actresses for the same reason every studio is always looking for the next big name to make money out of. The current popular leading ladies (and men) won't be around for ever. 

That said I don't think they should be kicked off Hallmark and there's certainly room for a variety of stories and ages. The can always adjust the story so it's not always a 40/50 something finding true love for the first time ever but more love after divorce or married couples dealing with stuff. 

Interestingly if you look at some of the newer Hallmark leading ladies like Janel Parrish and Kim Mantula they're both 36 so not a million miles behind Lacey Chabert, who can definitely play younger, as can they.

I think it might be difficult for Hallmark to recruit a 20 something with name recognition to lead the channel because many of those will want to try their luck elsewhere before committing to a career as a "Hallmark actor" which still has something of a stigma attached I think, although not as much as previously. 

Also if Hallmark is worried about its aging demos and wants to attract a younger audience why is it scaling back diversity and leaning more into straight white people and the same handful of plots again?  

 

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.   

 

 

[Featherhat]

Some of the men were also mentioned in the lawsuit:

 

Quote

“The talent (in reference to Lacey Chabert, Elizabeth Mitchell, Catherine Bell, Alison Sweeney, Autumn Reeser, Kelly Martin, Nikki Deloach, Rachel Boston, Brennan Elliott, Cameron Mathieson, Paul Greene, Eric Close [as to acting, not directing], and Terry Hatcher) keeps getting older and we need to find replacements for them.”

 

https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25248682/perry-hallmark-lawsuit.pdf

There's quite an age range between the actors mentioned here as well. 

Hunter King was mentioned specifically as someone they wanted: 

Quote

“Our leading ladies are aging out. We need to find new talent to take their place.” “I want young people like Hunter King” (who at that time was in her mid-20’s)"

I think the actresses mentioned are too old to play the ingenue so why not write stories that makes sense for their ages? I also don't think Hunter King particularly works in ingenue parts either for that matter. One of the "newer" actors in Janel Parish who is 36 next week, although she can definitely play younger but one of the best things about "Haunted Wedding" was that they were already together and instead of the meet cute it was the cute proposal and (mostly) outside forces causing the problem. That works for any age. 

One actor they've given a chance to as a new leading lady, Amy Groening from last week's movie is nearly 35 so it seems they're going 6-10 years younger than Lacey for some of the potential new "queens". 

[MissyPoo]

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.

Edited October 24 by MissyPoo
Additional thought added. :-)

[Jaded]

1 hour ago, MissyPoo said:

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?).

She and Michelle Stafford especially together were two of the biggest scenery chewers on Y&R. I only watch occasionally now and sadly Michelle is still there chomping away....
-

Edited October 24 by Jaded

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

I'd like to see Bruce Campbell in more Hallmark movies,the guy may be old ,but he's got a lot of loyal fans.  

[Acmeproducts]

Alison Sweeney just did her 30th hallmark with Same Time Each Year.

She looks great. She’s lost some weight.

[Irlandesa]

I don't usually defend corporations and maybe they're in the wrong with the firing of the casting director but I don't think wanting to find new talent to replace or "replace" their current stars is all that terrible.  I doubt they'll stop working with some of their bigger stars but they likely aren't going to want all their movies to star actors in their 50s and 60s which is what will happen as their current regulars age and they don't find actors in their 20s or 30s to develop their own Hallmark following. 

[MissyPoo]

15 hours ago, Jaded said:

She and Michelle Stafford especially together were two of the biggest scenery chewers on Y&R. I only watch occasionally now and sadly Michelle is still there chomping away....
-

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!

2 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I don't usually defend corporations and maybe they're in the wrong with the firing of the casting director but I don't think wanting to find new talent to replace or "replace" their current stars is all that terrible.  I doubt they'll stop working with some of their bigger stars but they likely aren't going to want all their movies to star actors in their 50s and 60s which is what will happen as their current regulars age and they don't find actors in their 20s or 30s to develop their own Hallmark following. 

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.

 

Edited October 25 by MissyPoo
Another additional thought added. :-D

[Kemper]

I agree that  the network could have it both ways - keep the really popular fan favorites. The issue is that many of the new actors/actresses just don't click. It could be the fault of the storylines, but the older cast could usually make the movie worth watching. At the end of the day, if a couple is fun or interesting ..... people (meaning me) will watch. It really does come down to Who we are watching; not "What" in most cases. "Most" being the operative word.

Edited October 25 by Kemper

[Badsamaritan]

I do understand the need to cultivate younger actors but as others have said, they could do that in a way that doesn't alienate their current stars and audience. Because let's face it - the age of the Hallmark audience is not 20-something young women. They could always start screen testing newer actors as supporting cast in movies with their stars. 'Twas the Date Before Christmas is a perfect example because Amy Groening has been supporting in a lot of their past movies, like last year's The Santa Summit. It's really hard to find actors that will be able to carry movies and I really don't care to watch them try to learn onscreen. I haven't found one new actor or actress this past year that I thought could carry the Hallmark crown, but I do remember supporting cast that I liked, such as Luisa D'Oliveira who played the friend on HM Mystery's To All a Good Night as well as Sally in the Aurora Teagarden movies. They could also look at past tv shows that were canceled that had decent actors and see what they're up to now. Honestly, you can't throw a rock without hitting an aspiring actor somewhere so it feels like laziness and a lack of creative thinking on Hallmark's part. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[Featherhat]

7 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I don't usually defend corporations and maybe they're in the wrong with the firing of the casting director but I don't think wanting to find new talent to replace or "replace" their current stars is all that terrible.  I doubt they'll stop working with some of their bigger stars but they likely aren't going to want all their movies to star actors in their 50s and 60s which is what will happen as their current regulars age and they don't find actors in their 20s or 30s to develop their own Hallmark following. 

Absolutely the need to develop new stars and I think it's unclear from the lawsuit whether the Lisa Hamilton Daly wanted to replace them right away or was simply recognising that the current favourites won't be around forever. A lot of people are running with the former, especially because some of those mentioned don't have Christmas movies this year or are significantly down on the amount they've been in recently. But it doesn't say they want to scrap them immediately. 

I do think trying to fit a 40 something in a role most suited to a 20 something doesn't work but as I said, it's not hard to come up with scenarios for people in their 40s and 50s along side the "new class". 

@MissyPoo is right that traditionally they've recruited from recognisable faces to each generation and I think Janel Parish, Skyler Samuels, Hunter King, Amiee Teegarden etc are an attempt to do that.  Amy Groening has "come through the ranks" as a supporting player now given her shot. Whether they become popular remains to be seen. 

I also don't think we can talk about this without mentioning the fact that Hallmark has gone back on it's December 2023 commitment to more LGBT+ diversity and in terms of holidays there's one Hannukah movie and less POC in leading roles than two years ago. No Kwanzaa movies, no Lunar New Year movies, no Diwali movies (got a bee in my bonnet about this one, would be so awesome to do). They're also playing it safe with less movies with interesting premises like Round and Round or Biltmore Christmas etc. 

Ok fine, if that's what you think will sell this year but it doesn't jive with trying to get younger viewers. Or with what they actually promised. 

https://www.gaytimes.com/films/hallmark-announces-plans-to-feature-more-lgbtq-holiday-films-in-2024/

[Orcinus orca]

16 minutes ago, Featherhat said:

I also don't think we can talk about this without mentioning the fact that Hallmark has gone back on it's December 2023 commitment to more LGBT+ diversity and in terms of holidays there's one Hannukah movie and less POC in leading roles than two years ago. No Kwanzaa movies, no Lunar New Year movies, no Diwali movies (got a bee in my bonnet about this one, would be so awesome to do). They're also playing it safe with less movies with interesting premises like Round and Round or Biltmore Christmas etc. 

And it never came close to fulfilling most of it - it has become GAF under a different name. 

Which I why I am done with it.  They can take their Balsam Hill commercials and go pound sand.

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, Featherhat said:

Ok fine, if that's what you think will sell this year but it doesn't jive with trying to get younger viewers. Or with what they actually promised.

I wonder if they're counting stuff they're creating for Hallmark+.  I don't but I could see them incorporating everything they produce into one bucket.

 

 

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

On 10/24/2024 at 11:31 AM, Jaded said:

She and Michelle Stafford especially together were two of the biggest scenery chewers on Y&R. I only watch occasionally now and sadly Michelle is still there chomping away....
-

Speaking of all that scenery chewing  going on over at Y&R,  I thought Victor Newman(or is it really Neumann?) had that all to himself,lol ? 

[Acmeproducts]

17 minutes ago, One4Sorrow2TooBad said:

Speaking of all that scenery chewing  going on over at Y&R,  I thought Victor Newman(or is it really Neumann?) had that all to himself,lol ? 

Phyllis and a few others also chew scenery.