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

[Guest]

8 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

Oh wow, they have? I'm curious to see what they're saying now because I stopped following them sometime ago when my tolerance for corn ran out.

Yeah I hadn’t checked their Facebook in a long time so I was very surprised to see the change.  It looks like it only changed a week ago and is still evolving. Here’s the new responses:

“Our top priority is to develop a diverse mix of content, characters and narratives in order to create a Hallmark experience where everyone feels welcome. We are listening to our viewership and appreciate your feedback. Thank you for being a fan of Hallmark Channel USA.”

“We are committed to establishing relationships with creative, including writers, producers, directors and actors to identify and develop stories that reflect the lives and experiences of all of our viewers.”

“We are diligently working on a comprehensive diversity and inclusion strategy and will unveil those plans as they emerge. We appreciate your patience and thank you for being a fan of Hallmark!”

The last one was just posted a few hours ago. 

[DanaMB]

I really liked Love Under the Olive Tree. I felt like the leads had great chemistry, flirty banter and even snark. I also liked the hint of the gay romance we got. Of course, it’ll be great when the day comes that they don’t just have to hint at these gay romances.  
 

Of course, we did have yet another stupid big misunderstanding. 🙄 Just let the man talk! Even after she knows she misinterpreted something he said years ago, here she goes again. Stupid.  
 

At least it didn’t take away my overall enjoyment of the movie. 

[TVFan17]

I haven't had a chance to watch Love Under the Olive Tree yet, but will watch it today. 

I have not checked Hallmark's Facebook page in what seems like a long while, so I have no idea what anyone has been saying about the most recent new or new-ish movies airing on HC or on HMM.  However, I saw a comment float by on Twitter that made me think there was something controversial in LUTOT.   Since I have not watched it yet, I am guessing that maybe there was a hint of a same-sex couple or something like that?  I can't think of anything else that would be controversial to Hallmark's audience unless there was something too risque or violent shown in the commercials.

(Edited to add:  Now I see DanaMB's comment above, about the hint of a gay romance!)

Anyway, I always thought that olive oil seemed like an iffy subject to hold viewers' attention unless the 2 leads at the center of the story had great chemistry.   However, if LUTOT had been kept in its originally planned Fall Harvest 2019 spot, it would have been sandwiched in between other Fall movies, and the general, consistent Fall theme of the event probably would have made up for some of the iffy elements (for me).

Is LUTOT even still Fall-ish at all, or did they strip away the Fall embellishments?

I will watch it in a few minutes...

Edited to add again:  I see that Hallmark has now included Love on Harbor Island (with Marcus Rosner and Morgan Kohan) in a promo.  I think I mentioned here before that LOHI is an acquired movie they just picked up (it wasn't theirs when it was in production).  It had two previous titles (Take Off to Love and Love at First Flight.  It's directed and written by Lucie Guest (who has acted in multiple Hallmark and Lifetime movies).  Another movie that Lucie directed -- Made for You, with Love -- has inexplicably had Hallmark's name attached to it since it was first in production, but it has never aired on Hallmark at all.  It aired on the W Network in Canada.  So LOHI will be Lucie's directorial debut on Hallmark -- though I am not sure if it is airing in August or in some other month.

Edited June 21, 2020 by TVFan17

[DanaMB]

22 minutes ago, TVFan17 said:

Is LUTOT even still Fall-ish at all, or did they strip away the Fall embellishments?

I remember they did mention it being Fall and thinking that this movie may have been intended to air during the Fall. I didn’t feel like it was Fall overkill, though. I didn’t notice an abundance of scarecrows or pumpkins. Or whatever else they use to decorate Fall movies. 

[ehall1052]

I just read a book that stated that Las Vegas had to outlaw olive trees because the pollen from them was so horrendous that it made people very sick. If you have an old olive tree in your yard, you have to keep it trimmed up to lessen the pollen. Who knew? And when I think of olive trees, Las Vegas would have been the last place I would have thought of having them.

[Kohola3]

12 hours ago, Koalagirl said:

I watched Love Under the Olive Tree last night and it completely failed to hold my interest.

All they did was swap olive oil for wine or chocolate. Same story, different kind of food.  Major snooze.

4 hours ago, DanaMB said:

Or whatever else they use to decorate Fall movies. 

Orange leaves wired to tree branches but only in the shots with the stars.  The rest of the background is all green.

[Koalagirl]

15 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

All they did was swap olive oil for wine or chocolate. Same story, different kind of food.  Major snooze.

Orange leaves wired to tree branches but only in the shots with the stars.  The rest of the background is all green.

You hit the nail on the head about the swap because I couldn’t put my finger on what really annoyed me until I read this!  I didn’t find the male lead at all appealing.  

[Luckylyn]

I thought the leads had chemistry and the movie held my interest. I found the male lead annoying sometimes at the beginning but I got over that.  I knew the misunderstanding was inevitable and rolled my eyes hard.  

I didn’t mind the hint of a potential same sex romance between the friends.  It is not unusual for the friends of the leads to get a little romantic subplot of their own in Hallmark movies.  I was disappointed at how it was handled.  They implied something romantic was developing but the body language between to two men was so restrained.   Look how they kinda stiffly sit next to each other on the hayride.  The faces say spark, the body language says “not too close.”  The best friend’s body language with the female lead is more demonstrative than with the guy he’s supposed to be falling for.  Plus, when the male lead mistakenly thinks she’s dating her best friend his friend corrects him super vaguely in multiple scenes.   He just insists they aren’t a couple.  He never simply says “He’s gay” or ”He’s with me” which would have cleared things up much more clearly.  So there’s a hint of a romance there but the story contorts itself to avoid being explicit about it.  The only conclusion is that we’re supposed to think they are both closeted otherwise why would his friend not know about the guy his buddy is apparently interested in.  The female lead seems to know her friend is gay with her “I’m not his type” line but there’s no scene of him confiding in her he’s falling for anyone, but they did include a scene earlier of him saying he hadn’t meet anyone he was interested in yet.  So there’s representation but it’s somewhat regressive.  It’s okay to have gay characters, but it has to be hush hush.  I will say the actors did generate some chemistry despite the obvious restrictions placed on them.  I think being so coy made a bigger deal out of it than if they had just allowed the actors to have more natural interactions.  It’s clear to me that if they had been a heterosexual couple their b plot romance would have been less restrained.  They want the brownie points for representation but don’t want to actually commit  to it.  I am happy to see more progess from Hallmark.  I figure these frustrating baby steps are better than nothing and hopefully just the beginning of better representation in the future.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Luckylyn said:

So there’s representation but it’s somewhat regressive.  It’s okay to have gay characters, but it has to be hush hush.  I will say the actors did generate some chemistry despite the obvious restrictions placed on them.  I think being so coy made a bigger deal out of it than if they had just allowed the actors to have more natural interactions.  It’s clear to me that if they had been a heterosexual couple their b plot romance would have been less restrained.  They want the brownie points for representation but don’t want to actually commit  to it.  I am happy to see more progess from Hallmark.  I figure these frustrating baby steps are better than nothing and hopefully just the beginning of better representation in the future.

This one was filmed before the controversy and leadership change. It is very reflective of the old CEO’s formula. Hallmark is promising changes so hopefully there will real leaps coming soon. 
 

One of the interesting side effects from COVID is that there is going to be a clear demarcation of Hallmark Channel movies made before and after the Zola commercial. It’s going to be very clear very quickly if anything is actually changing. 

[TVFan17]

Well... despite more than a couple of people in the Hallmark family stating that Hallmark has to focus their movie-making efforts on Christmas now (to the point where Nikki DeLoach's Fall Harvest movie was apparently pushed to 2021, and 7 of Rick Garman's projects were pushed to 2021)......

Paul Campbell and Kimberley Sustad have reunited to shoot "Wedding Every Weekend" in Vancouver!  They are filming it right now.

I have no clue if Paul and Kimberley's wedding movie will be saved for a 2021 premiere, or if Hallmark will randomly throw it into an August or September slot this year.  I'm just happy to see that there is some filming activity happening in Canada once again.

Edited June 23, 2020 by TVFan17

[In2You]

It's not better than nothing. Either go in or don't bother. Tip toeing around people being gay in a movie doesn't fly in 2020. 

[Luckylyn]

Just now, In2You said:

It's not better than nothing. Either go in or don't bother. Tip toeing around people being gay in a movie doesn't fly in 2020. 

Exactly as someone said another thread Gay people can get married but can’t be shown explicitly in a TV movie.  It’s weird how restrictions on even a mild romance between same sex couples are still a thing.   Hallmark couldn’t even have them say they are dating. 

[Veronica]

On 6/23/2020 at 5:05 PM, TVFan17 said:

Well... despite more than a couple of people in the Hallmark family stating that Hallmark has to focus their movie-making efforts on Christmas now (to the point where Nikki DeLoach's Fall Harvest movie was apparently pushed to 2021, and 7 of Rick Garman's projects were pushed to 2021)......

Paul Campbell and Kimberley Sustad have reunited to shoot "Wedding Every Weekend" in Vancouver!  They are filming it right now.

I have no clue if Paul and Kimberley's wedding movie will be saved for a 2021 premiere, or if Hallmark will randomly throw it into an August or September slot this year.  I'm just happy to see that there is some filming activity happening in Canada once again.

According to this the wedding movie will air in August.  
That Twitter account has a lot of info about the filming schedule for Hallmark.

[TVFan17]

6 hours ago, Veronica said:

According to this the wedding movie will air in August.  
That Twitter account has a lot of info about the filming schedule for Hallmark.

 

Yes, it's airing soon!  The date for the movie is on the Hallmark website -- I think it just popped up overnight between Tuesday and Thursday.   It is subject to change, of course (as dates often change with Hallmark!!), but I saw it.  I posted about that movie (and other August Hallmark movies) on my own Twitter page yesterday morning. 

Hallmark is trying to fill up August a bit so there aren't any gaping holes in it like there have been in recent months, so they are acquiring movies, as expected, though there are still some empty Saturdays in August in spite of the acquisitions.  But Wedding Every Weekend w/ Paul & Kimberley is actually an authentic made-for-Hallmark movie that was supposed to have gone into production several months ago and was delayed for obvious reasons.  At first I wondered why they were going forward with a wedding movie when their focus was supposedly going to be on Christmas movies -- but then the date for the movie popped up on the Hallmark website and it was clear they were going to use this wedding movie for their Summer Nights event.

 

Also, let me throw this in -- while there are a bunch of Christmas movies going into production soon, there have been no official confirmations yet about which network is getting them, despite what people may read from unofficial sources, blogs, Twitter accounts, etc.  I am positive that some of the movies will end up with Hallmark, of course, but Lifetime is in the game too, as are UPtv and others -- and they often share directors, producers, editors, writers, actors, filming locations, etc. -- so it's inevitable that, sooner or later, some of the Christmas movies to be filmed will end up with other networks as well.  

 

Edited July 3, 2020 by TVFan17

[In2You]

12 hours ago, Luckylyn said:

Exactly as someone said another thread Gay people can get married but can’t be shown explicitly in a TV movie.  It’s weird how restrictions on even a mild romance between same sex couples are still a thing.   Hallmark couldn’t even have them say they are dating. 

They're afraid conservatives will bitch. I remember a few years ago UP TV had a Christmas movie where the woman was trying hard to get this man to fall for her so she could get married to take over the family business. He told her he wasn't into her because he's gay and the folks over at It's a Wonderful Movie blog deemed the film not family-friendly and condemned it because of that. All because a character said he's gay. They felt it would corrupt their children. But two straight people can kiss.

[MerBearHou]

14 hours ago, Luckylyn said:

Exactly as someone said another thread Gay people can get married but can’t be shown explicitly in a TV movie.  It’s weird how restrictions on even a mild romance between same sex couples are still a thing.   Hallmark couldn’t even have them say they are dating. 

What’s interesting is that Hallmark doesn’t seem to have a concern hiring gay actors and actresses in leading romantic roles, but they have to play straight.  

I didn’t even give it a second thought in the ”Olive Tree” movie when two guys seemed to be more than just friends.  Both good fellows — it was a nice addition IMO.  

[Guest]

Some industry insiders are speaking out about Hallmark’s discriminatory practices. It’s a very frustrating read. I think I’m done with Hallmark Channel for now. 
Hallmark social media post sparks backlash over lack of diversity in its Vancouver productions

 

Quote

Local casting director Kris Woznesensky tweeted back, “Last time we worked for them no interracial couples were allowed? Why?”

“Also, why did the creative notes for black actors to be ‘less hood’? Do better.” He added.

Quote

Yogi Omar, Co-Owner of InspirationALL Talent Agency, first spoke to Global News on condition of anonymity in 2018. He is now going public — at what might be great risk to his professional career — because he said little has changed in nearly two years.

“A lot of my clients don’t want to work TV movies or for Hallmark anymore,” he said.

Omar said the first Global News report did shake up the industry, but said any changes were just token gestures and what was reflected on paper did not match what happened on set.

“Casting will just take them and when they get to set these extra three people, four extra people, they just get pushed to the side. They just get pushed to the back. They’re just not visible,” he explained.

 

[Kohola3]

3 hours ago, Dani said:

Some industry insiders are speaking out about Hallmark’s discriminatory practices. It’s a very frustrating read. I think I’m done with Hallmark Channel for now. 

Beyond disgusting since this kind of stuff goes on quite openly while at the same time they are putting out messages about BLM.  I just can't with these people.

[Veronica]

14 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

 

Yes, it's airing soon!  The date for the movie is on the Hallmark website -- I think it just popped up overnight between Tuesday and Thursday.   It is subject to change, of course (as dates often change with Hallmark!!), but I saw it.  I posted about that movie (and other August Hallmark movies) on my own Twitter page yesterday morning. 

Hallmark is trying to fill up August a bit so there aren't any gaping holes in it like there have been in recent months, so they are acquiring movies, as expected, though there are still some empty Saturdays in August in spite of the acquisitions.  But Wedding Every Weekend w/ Paul & Kimberley is actually an authentic made-for-Hallmark movie that was supposed to have gone into production several months ago and was delayed for obvious reasons.  At first I wondered why they were going forward with a wedding movie when their focus was supposedly going to be on Christmas movies -- but then the date for the movie popped up on the Hallmark website and it was clear they were going to use this wedding movie for their Summer Nights event.

 

Also, let me throw this in -- while there are a bunch of Christmas movies going into production soon, there have been no official confirmations yet about which network is getting them, despite what people may read from unofficial sources, blogs, Twitter accounts, etc.  I am positive that some of the movies will end up with Hallmark, of course, but Lifetime is in the game too, as are UPtv and others -- and they often share directors, producers, editors, writers, actors, filming locations, etc. -- so it's inevitable that, sooner or later, some of the Christmas movies to be filmed will end up with other networks as well.  

 

That Twitter account I linked has the dates of lots of (holiday) movies being filmed & not just Hallmark. There are several tweets about when what movie starts and if it is for certain networks. IIRC, they have several that don’t seemed tied to any particular network as of now, I guess those are the ones up for grabs which I’m will be good if there’s  another shutdown.  

18 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Beyond disgusting since this kind of stuff goes on quite openly while at the same time they are putting out messages about BLM.  I just can't with these people.

Hallmark had a BLM protest march by one of their sets.   I don’t know if the guy knows for sure that was a Hallmark set or just labeled it a Hallmark set. 

[TVFan17]

On 7/4/2020 at 5:49 AM, Veronica said:

That Twitter account I linked has the dates of lots of (holiday) movies being filmed & not just Hallmark. There are several tweets about when what movie starts and if it is for certain networks. IIRC, they have several that don’t seemed tied to any particular network as of now, I guess those are the ones up for grabs which I’m will be good if there’s  another shutdown.  

Hallmark had a BLM protest march by one of their sets.   I don’t know if the guy knows for sure that was a Hallmark set or just labeled it a Hallmark set. 

Oh, I'm definitely aware of that Twitter account and blog and have been for a long time!   I'm sure she is a lovely, wonderful person in real life, but I'm personally not a fan of her approach to giving out info at all.   I used to check her blog, but don't anymore.   I don't need to.   I don't follow her on Twitter, though some of what she posts ends up circling back to me anyway because we have a lot of the same Twitter followers.  Sometimes I'll be asked if something she posted is actually correct or not.   Just yesterday, in fact, someone asked me behind the scenes if a particular thing she posted was correct, and it was not, so I had to clear it up.   A lot of the info that is posted on that Twitter page and blog is based on guesses and assumptions about which movies are going to which networks, then passed off as facts.  

I could easily do that too.  I have all the same filming/production info, and know all of the places to look for that info too -- and I could post all of my guesses and assumptions and try to pass them off as facts.  I don't do that though.   It's not necessary.    Unfortunately, there are so many Christmas movies and non-Christmas made-for-TV movies floating around these days (not just for Hallmark), that blurting out random titles, details and names left and right can be a bit confusing and misleading for the average, casual fans of made-for-TV movies, if that info is not confirmed or official and if it ends up changing many more times after it's mentioned.  

So I take a different approach to dispensing info on Twitter.   But if that other site/Twitter page is where people want to get their info, go for it!    I'm not certainly not stopping anyone from getting followers.   Heck, I'm not even promoting my own Hallmark info-focused Twitter page.  I never promote it anywhere.   I just get followers through word of mouth, or just from retweets and what not.   I'm more concerned with the quality of the info than I am with how many followers I get, or with how many tweets I can crank out in the course of a day.

Edited July 6, 2020 by TVFan17

[Kohola3]

Aaaaaaaand for the 500th time this year, A Country Wedding.  For the love of all this is holy, open the Hallmark vault and FIND SOMETHING ELSE!

[Luckylyn]

I love A Country Wedding so I don’t mind, lol.  There are certain movies I never get sick of.

[TVFan17]

14 hours ago, Luckylyn said:

I love A Country Wedding so I don’t mind, lol.  There are certain movies I never get sick of.

It's one that has grown on me more in the years since it premiered!  If I recall correctly, initially it was included in Hallmark's June Weddings event -- but it was before they were really making as big of a deal about June Weddings as they have been in the last couple of years (pre-COVID-19).  In other words, back then they were not piling 4 or 5 wedding movies into June but they'd throw in maybe 3 or so. 

When I first saw the movie, for some reason it just didn't work for me.  Although I really like Autumn Reeser in general, I don't necessarily love each one of her movies equally, and I can't put my finger on why.  For example, I love A Bramble House Christmas and can watch it every year, but I could not care less about the grilling movie that she did with Marc Blucas a while back. 

I thought that a couple of the songs in A Country Wedding were catchy enough, but still... it didn't hook me.  However, over time and multiple showings on Hallmark, I found that I was starting to enjoy A Country Wedding more and more.  It wore me down!  lol  Autumn has said in the past that the concept of a Christmas sequel to the movie had been considered, but maybe they decided to scrap the idea.

 

Speaking of movies that grew on me over time... Charming Christmas, with Julie Benz and David Sutcliffe, is one of them.   It used to air on the main Hallmark Channel but has moved to the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel.  When Charming Christmas first premiered,  I remember thinking that David and Julie had some chemistry but that the movie wasn't as good as I'd hoped, and I didn't care much about the side stories because I just wanted the focus to stay on the main couple.  But, once again, over the years I have watched repeats of it and it won me over.  It's not a 'Top 5 favorite' or anything, and the whole movie is a bit crazy, but David and Julie really do have great chemistry and that's the main thing that pulls me in.  They're a great onscreen couple who probably deserved a better Christmas movie.  But I'll watch it if I encounter it (it was added to the HMM Christmas line-up this month, so I will try to catch it later in the week).  It reminds me of how disappointing it is that David Sutcliffe has given up acting to pursue a different path in life -- because it means his Hallmark days are certainly over. 

_________________________________________________________________

 

Oh!  I can't believe I forgot to mention this before!   Someone on Twitter told me that the movie Country at Heart (with Jessy Schram, Niall Matter and Lucas Bryant) -- which has been pulled from the Hallmark schedule twice in the past, before it was set to premiere -- is available in the HITZ On Demand options on Comcast.  So if you have Comcast, check the HITZ section.  Country at Heart is apparently there until mid-August.  The fact that it would go to Comcast's On Demand menu before airing on Hallmark is interesting.   I don't have Comcast, so I will just have to wait for it to eventually air on the Hallmark Channel.   From what I hear, the movie is not bad and it's not necessarily focused heavily on the romance angle, although there is a romance in it.

Edited July 6, 2020 by TVFan17

[mikeb]

I was wondering if anyone knows why the four Murder 101 movies starring Dick Van Dyke that originally aired around same time as Mystery Woman, Jane Doe, and McBride are never shown anymore.  They seemed to have disappeared before the Jill Wagner and Kristopher Polaha movies with same name were first broadcast, so guessing it is more than just wanting to avoid confusion with them.

 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, mikeb said:

I was wondering if anyone knows why the four Murder 101 movies starring Dick Van Dyke that originally aired around same time as Mystery Woman, Jane Doe, and McBride are never shown anymore.  They seemed to have disappeared before the Jill Wagner and Kristopher Polaha movies with same name were first broadcast, so guessing it is more than just wanting to avoid confusion with them.

 

It’s probably a rights issue. Hallmark used to own the distribution company but sold it in 2005. Maybe Hallmark decided they weren’t popular enough to pay for. 

Edited July 6, 2020 by Guest

[kirinan]

I discovered today that my cable company has started carrying Hallmark Drama. However, except for 9-11 p.m. each night, the entire schedule is filled with Little House on the Prairie, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, The Waltons, and Touched by an Angel (none of which were shows I ever went out of my way to watch, although I did watch The Waltons occasionally on its first run). For those of you who have had HD for a time, is this the way their lineup usually works--90% shows, 10% movies?   

[MissyPoo]

 

On 7/3/2020 at 8:39 PM, In2You said:

They're afraid conservatives will bitch. I remember a few years ago UP TV had a Christmas movie where the woman was trying hard to get this man to fall for her so she could get married to take over the family business. He told her he wasn't into her because he's gay and the folks over at It's a Wonderful Movie blog deemed the film not family-friendly and condemned it because of that. All because a character said he's gay. They felt it would corrupt their children. But two straight people can kiss.

Yeah that's one of the many reasons I stopped visiting that blog for info. The community was way too close-minded for my liking.

I think I remember that movie you mentioned, too. Married By Christmas. I was shocked to see it pop up over at the Hallmark app for their Christmas in July selections. https://www.hmnow.com/films/married-by-christmas  There is a possibility that scene may have been cut because Hallmark does cut some of their acquired movies. I noticed it with See Jane Date where they cut a love scene between Charisma C and Antonio S Jr.

2 hours ago, kirinan said:

I discovered today that my cable company has started carrying Hallmark Drama. However, except for 9-11 p.m. each night, the entire schedule is filled with Little House on the Prairie, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, The Waltons, and Touched by an Angel (none of which were shows I ever went out of my way to watch, although I did watch The Waltons occasionally on its first run). For those of you who have had HD for a time, is this the way their lineup usually works--90% shows, 10% movies?   

Yeah pretty much, at least during the week. They'll sprinkle in like one movie per day with a few more on the weekend but mostly it's the tv shows. I guess because they mainly have their classic movies on the drama channel, they don't show it on the main, but they really need a better rotation on the main channel. They have some fluffy romances of yore they can borrow from Pixl or the app vault. For instance I Do, I Do, I Do premiered on the main channel but they're re-airing it on drama. No idea why.

On 7/4/2020 at 5:49 AM, Veronica said:

That Twitter account I linked has the dates of lots of (holiday) movies being filmed & not just Hallmark. There are several tweets about when what movie starts and if it is for certain networks. IIRC, they have several that don’t seemed tied to any particular network as of now, I guess those are the ones up for grabs which I’m will be good if there’s  another shutdown.  

 

This is a good twitter page and site with some great info. Usually if there is something incorrect, she is good on updating it with the correct info since she follows different casts and crew pretty closely. I like that she posts for all special event and all year round holiday related shows and movies.

[mikeb]

13 hours ago, kirinan said:

I discovered today that my cable company has started carrying Hallmark Drama. However, except for 9-11 p.m. each night, the entire schedule is filled with Little House on the Prairie, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, The Waltons, and Touched by an Angel (none of which were shows I ever went out of my way to watch, although I did watch The Waltons occasionally on its first run). For those of you who have had HD for a time, is this the way their lineup usually works--90% shows, 10% movies?   

Yes, although I think some weekends, they show more movies.   Hallmark Drama and UPtv channels are next to each other on my cable company and it is strange to see them sometimes both showing Little House on the Prairie at same time for multiple hours.

[EyewatchTV211]

I posted this in the Holiday movie thread, but I thought I would post it here, too, since I think this is news that would make many people happy. Some may be avoiding the holiday thread since it's only July.

According to Kimberley Sustad in an interview on the Bubbly Sesh podcast, a Nine Lives of Christmas sequel is in development.

[TVFan17]

Nikki DeLoach is on her way to Canada this week (driving), and she'll quarantine for two weeks before filming her new Christmas movie.  I know that a lot of people loved Two Turtle Doves last year, so it will be interesting to see what she is working on this time.

Nikki always reveals little nuggets of info when she appears on the Deck the Hallmark podcast, but I have been noticing that she and other Hallmark actors have recently been revealing more tidbits on the 3 main Hallmark-focused podcasts -- Deck the Hallmark, Hallmarkies Podcast and The Bubbly Sesh.  There was a time when Hallmark actors would not reveal anything about their upcoming projects, and now they are giving the podcasts exclusives and breaking news on those shows (even the podcasts that are not official Hallmark shows).

Edited July 8, 2020 by TVFan17
I had to come back to complete my thought!

[TVFan17]

I was trying to listen to the latest Deck the Hallmark podcast as I was doing other things, so I was only half-paying attention to their actual review of/discussion about the movie Romance at Reindeer Lodge with guest Andrew Walker.  However...

The part of the podcast that had my full attention was when Andrew was talking about his most recent experience with filming his upcoming Hallmark Christmas movie (in Utah), applying all the new COVID-inspired guidelines and protocols.  Honestly, it doesn't sound like he had a lot of fun, which is not typical of his usual shoots.  Both Andrew and his co-star Alicia Witt usually seem to be easygoing, happy-go-lucky people when filming their movies, and they hang out with their co-stars and laugh a lot.  But now that everyone has to stay apart and handle things in a different way on and off the set than what they were used to, I don't get the sense that they had much of a chance to connect or bond off camera.

Andrew also revealed that both he and his wife actually had COVID-19 earlier this year.  His wife was asymptomatic, while Andrew experienced some symptoms -- but nothing serious like other people have experienced.  So not only did he have the virus, but he was one of the first people back to work on a Hallmark movie under the new 'system.' 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2020 by TVFan17
typo

[TVFan17]

I'm not mad at this.  I don't know if they will pull off this number of new Christmas movies (because COVID is threatening to keep people trapped in California again, and I don't know if some actors who live here will be able to leave the state at a certain point), but I'm glad they are giving it the ol' college try.  This year has been awful and continues to be awful.  So I need a LOT of Christmas (not a little) this holiday season.

"Hallmark orders 40 new Christmas movies for 2020"

I just saw the list of some of the titles and some of the actors who will be starring in the movies -- there are familiar people, totally new to Hallmark people, some previous supporting actors taking lead roles, etc.  Lots of good stuff since there is no TCA this summer!

There are 23 Christmas movies planned for the Hallmark Channel (keep in mind that some of these will be acquired, and not specifically made for the network), including:
 

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It's time to unwrap one gift right now — a first look at Hallmark Channel's Christmas at Vienna, starring Sarah Drew and Brennan Elliott and shot on location. Check out this exclusive trailer, in which disaffected concert violinist Jess (Drew) journeys to Vienna for a performance, where she discovers musical and romantic inspiration.

There are plenty of familiar faces in the rest of this year's batch of movies. Candace Cameron Bure will wonder  If I Only Had Christmas, Tamera Mowry-Housley will attend a a Christmas Carnival, Lacey Chabert will be swept away in Christmas Waltz, Holly Robinson Peete is headed to Christmas in Evergreen 4, Rachael Leigh Cook will take a Cross Country Christmas, and Alicia Witt will stroll down Christmas Tree Lane. Meanwhile, Broadway vets Laura Osnes, Krystal Joy Brown, and Aaron Tveit will star in A Royal Holiday, Janel Parrish, Jeremy Jordan, and Marisol Nichols will anchor Holly & Ivy, and the When Calls the Heart cast — including Erin Krakow, Pascale Hutton, Jack Wagner, Kavan Smith, Chris McNally, Kevin McGarry, Paul Greene, and Andrea Brooks — will return for yet another Christmas in Hope Valley.

There is actually more new casting info and there are more movie titles than what this article names.  I am thinking they will edit this article or put out an article with the additional information that was left out (such as “Deliver by Christmas” starring Alvina August and Eion Bailey).

 

Here is a more detailed rundown of what's coming up on the Hallmark channels (if there had been a Summer TCA this year, we would have learned all of this info there):

https://itsawonderfulmovie.blogspot.com/2020/07/hallmarks-2020-christmas-movies.html

Edited July 16, 2020 by TVFan17

[susannot]

No Ryan Paevey?  OK, I'll take Jeremy Jordan.😻

[Scarlett45]

On 7/5/2020 at 12:42 PM, Kohola3 said:

Aaaaaaaand for the 500th time this year, A Country Wedding.  For the love of all this is holy, open the Hallmark vault and FIND SOMETHING ELSE!

I like that one but it does get old. 

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, susannot said:

No Ryan Paevey?  OK, I'll take Jeremy Jordan.😻

A Royal Holiday? Will they sing!! Jeremy Jordan has to sing!!

[Guest]

 

19 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

A Royal Holiday? Will they sing!! Jeremy Jordan has to sing!!

Jeremy Jordan is in Holly and Ivy with Janel Parrish. Laura Osnes and Aaron Tveit are staring in Royal Holiday. I hope they all sing. 

[Scarlett45]

3 minutes ago, Dani said:

 

Jeremy Jordan is in Holly and Ivy with Janel Parrish. Laura Osnes and Aaron Tveit are staring in Royal Holiday. I hope they all sing. 

Oh I misread. Based on the cast it sounds like a musical!

[Irlandesa]

Holly Robinson Peete likely won't be the lead of Christmas In Evergreen as she's kind of the one regular character but it usually focuses on a new duo. 

But that's an improvement.

[Guest]

9 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Holly Robinson Peete likely won't be the lead of Christmas In Evergreen as she's kind of the one regular character but it usually focuses on a new duo. 

But that's an improvement.

That’s been the case in the past but the announcement only lists Holly and Rukiya Bernard as the stars. Of course they could announce a lead later but bringing a background character to the forefront seems like a possibility. I’d love to see Rukiya as the lead. 

Edited July 16, 2020 by Guest

[Guest]

A Hallmark representative confirmed the LGBTQ rumor to the Daily Beast. 
 

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“Of those 40, I can confirm that we will include LGBTQ storylines, characters and actors. We are in active negotiations and look forward to announcing more details when we can.”

 

Edited July 16, 2020 by Guest

[TVFan17]

3 hours ago, susannot said:

No Ryan Paevey?  OK, I'll take Jeremy Jordan.😻

Someone asked about Ryan on Twitter.   My feeling is that Ryan will pop up in one of the movies that hasn't been announced yet.  Hallmark still has other titles to reveal, and Ryan is too popular to not cast him in a Christmas movie -- unless he chooses to not be in one.

It was bizarre that they left Danica McKellar out of the news and announcements as well, because not only is she supposed to have at least 2 more mysteries coming up, but she does a Christmas movie every year.  So I'm guessing her Christmas project will be announced later too, but she has been one of the main faces of Hallmark for the last 5 years -- so it was odd that she was not even mentioned in Hallmark's news. 

 

By the way, also confirmed today is that Chaley Rose will star in a Fall Harvest movie called Neverbrides with Nathan Witte.  I knew about it over the weekend, so I was glad to see Hallmark officially confirm it before people started mistakenly assuming she was doing a Christmas movie (which seems to be an ongoing issue when there are so many movies in production at the same time -- it's easy to make that mistake). 

Edited July 16, 2020 by TVFan17

[redpencil]

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Jeremy Jordan is in Holly and Ivy with Janel Parrish. Laura Osnes and Aaron Tveit are staring in Royal Holiday. I hope they all sing. 

I loved Aaron Tveit in Brain Dead (I loved that silly show, still sad it got canceled), and he didn't even sing really. Hope they both do here though.

[Luckylyn]

8 hours ago, redpencil said:

I loved Aaron Tveit in Brain Dead (I loved that silly show, still sad it got canceled), and he didn't even sing really. Hope they both do here though.

I’ve been crazy about Aaron since I saw Brain Dead.  I got to see him on Broadway in Moulin Rouge last year.  He’s fantastic.  I hope he gets to sing.  I never got to see Jeremy in Newsies because he was off the night I took my Mom for her birthday.  I’m glad about the new additions to Hallmark.

I’m also happy to see Hallmark is moving towards more inclusivity.  

[TVFan17]

Aaron Tveit -- like Andrew Walker -- is a COVID-19 survivor, correct?   (Hallmark actor Jack Turner also had the virus and has recovered nicely.)  I'm happy to hear more and more stories about the people who survived and/or are all back to normal now.  I know that's not the case for everyone, unfortunately, but there needs to be some kind of hope in the situation.

I never saw Brain Dead, so I think my most recent knowledge of Aaron was his performance in Grease Live on Fox (a few years ago.  I didn't love him in the role of Danny Zuko, to be honest, but I didn't blame him.  I blamed the people in charge of Casting.  I thought he was talented, but not the right guy to play Danny.  It's all subjective though, and I'm sure other people loved him in that role.  (Did he ever play Danny on Broadway?  Or only in the Fox special?)

 

I wonder how far in advance some of these specific Christmas movies were cast.  I know that Hallmark does a lot of last minute casting, but they have to line up some of the actors way in advance -- especially if those actors are busy with other jobs, or are more high-profile. 

Broadway is, of course, shut down for the rest of the year, so it makes me wonder if Hallmark swooped in and contacted a bunch of those actors to try to get them into movies while they are still available, or if they had some of them in mind for roles even pre-pandemic.  Laura Osnes, Patti Murin and Kristin Chenoweth have all appeared in recent Hallmark movies, so maybe Hallmark wanted to continue tapping into the Broadway well anyway -- and now it just so happens that the Broadway folks need to work!  Perfect timing.

Edited July 16, 2020 by TVFan17

[kirinan]

Another Brain Dead fan here doing a happy tap dance because Aaron Tveit will be in a movie this year. The first thing I ever saw him in was a Law & Order: SVU episode, where he played a junkie trying to get clean so he could help bring down a basketball coach who abused kids. He was SO good that his performance stayed with me for a long time. Then I saw a couple of things he sang in, was blown away by his talent, and followed him to Brain Dead. I don't even care what the Hallmark movie's about; I'm there, and I hope there's singing, too.

[mikeb]

I did not see it, but read that in last night's 30 Rock reunion special, one of the characters Toofer has been working writing Christmas movies for Hallmark but was tired of it mostly because Hallmark was paying him in Christmas ornaments.

Edited July 17, 2020 by mikeb

[TVFan17]

Has anyone been listening to Deck the Hallmark's recent series of Christmas in July shows, with different Hallmark actors and actresses appearing as guests to discuss/review other Hallmark Christmas movies that they're not in?  They had Nikki DeLoach on to chat about Magical Christmas Ornaments.  They had Andrew Walker on to discuss Romance at Reindeer Lodge (not surprisingly, all 4 men thought that Nicky Whelan was appealing and they'd like to see her in more Hallmark movies).  The most recent one is with Kristoffer Polaha discussing Matchmaker Santa.   They tried something like this during the holiday season too, and I think The Bubbly Sesh also does the same kind of thing every now and then.

On the Deck the Hallmark shows, while the guests/actors are polite about the other movies and they do point out positive things, they also don't hesitate to mention things that bothered them too.  If I'm not mistaken, I think that Nikki felt there wasn't enough "magic" in "Magical Christmas Ornaments."  Andrew was bothered by the over-the-top decorations in "Romance at Reindeer Lodge."  And Kristoffer thought the tree lighting ceremony in "Matchmaker Santa" looked like a crime scene because of the law enforcement in attendance. 🤣

It's a really good idea.  It puts a fresh spin on reviewing Christmas movies to have other Hallmark Christmas actors reviewing them too.  I somehow think that this kind of thing wouldn't have happened 2 years ago.  I'm not sure Hallmark actors would have felt as comfortable and free to point out negative things in other movies (even though they are still being as nice as possible when they point something out that they don't like).  But Hallmark-focused podcasts are picking up a lot of steam now, and there is really no Hallmark-specific place for these actors to talk about various Hallmark movies other than on podcasts.  All 3 of the main Hallmark-focused podcasts have been doing really well lately, in terms of keeping the content rolling in (despite the shortage of new movies to cover) and also getting news/scoops from the actors on their upcoming work.

 

Speaking of news and scoops... I noticed that Kristoffer replied to someone's comment on Instagram to say that the will be filming his next Hallmark project in October.  He did not specify whether this would be the next Mystery 101 installment (since there are apparently 3 scripts ready to go for that series), OR possibly a Christmas movie (since Christmas movies film well into the first half of November).  He was not one of the ones named as having a Christmas movie in the press release that Hallmark put out a couple of days ago (he was only mentioned in regards to Mystery 101), but that doesn't mean much.  They didn't mention Danica either -- for anything -- but I'm sure we'll see her in a Christmas movie if she is willing to do one and go through the whole 2-week quarantine process, new guidelines, etc.

 

Edited July 17, 2020 by TVFan17

[DanaMB]

https://www.out.com/television/2020/7/16/hallmark-channel-will-include-lgbtq-stories-2020-holiday
 

We’ll see...

[Kohola3]

Where will they even film? The Canadian border is closed to US citizens due to our botched handling of Covid. Parts of CA are talking about another total shutdown because of the rapid rise in cases. 

I think we had better resign ourselves to watching all reruns this season.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Where will they even film? The Canadian border is closed to US citizens due to our botched handling of Covid. Parts of CA are talking about another total shutdown because of the rapid rise in cases. 

I think we had better resign ourselves to watching all reruns this season.

A lot of Christmas movies are filming right now. They film so quickly that a good number should be able to be completed in time. The Canadian border isn’t closed just restricted. Film crews can and are traveling there. It requires a two week quarantine so I imagine there are going to be a movies filmed back to back to back for as long as they can get away with it.