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

[Irlandesa]

And a lot of the cast and crew are Canadians/Canada-based so there may not be as much red tape as other filming situations. 

[dubstepford wife]

It has to be so bizarre filming Christmas movies in July.  You get all bundled up in coats and plaid scarves, nestle in front of fireplaces, and fake drink hot chocolate when it's 70+ degrees outside.  Though I do remember that The Nine Lives of Christmas had Kimberly Sustad walking around in a miniskirt so ostensibly that one took place somewhere that had a warmer climate.  They might do more of that.

And ice skating.  Where do you even find an outdoor rink in July?  Or do they just have stock skating footage that they use again and again?

[TVFan17]

Both Hallmark and Lifetime are making progress with filming Christmas and non-Christmas movies in various parts of Canada, although I think that Lifetime has made a bit more progress in plowing through their 2020 Christmas slate than Hallmark has with their own slate because Lifetime already had at least a few things finished pre-pandemic.  And you can bet that both Hallmark and Lifetime will acquire/buy movies to add to their collections -- in fact, one of the movies that was announced last week as a Lifetime movie (though it was incorrectly said to be a Hallmark movie early in the year) is something that was acquired and filmed quite a while back. 

What I am finding is that although there is often an element of secrecy when these movies are filmed, and we will sometimes not hear much about them, that realllly seems to the case even more so this year.  For example, Keshia Knight Pulliam has been filming a Lifetime Christmas movie for a couple of weeks, and it has flown largely under the radar because the cast and crew are not really posting much in the way of photos. 

I am seeing that some of the movies that have not been officially 'claimed' by Hallmark, Lifetime or other networks have casts and/or crews who are freely sharing photos and Instagram Stories.  That includes Wind Song aka Kite Festival of Love (with Jessica Lowndes and Christopher Russell) -- a movie that I am certain Hallmark will acquire and air at some point, but it appears to not officially be theirs quite yet.  The photos from the shoot are bountiful, and no one involved with the production is admitting that it's a Hallmark movie.  That seems to be the key -- if they don't flat out say it's for Hallmark, they post photos with no issues.  But the people working on the actual confirmed Hallmark movies are being asked to take photos down.  Case in point...

...The mysterious case of Hallmark's Wedding Every Weekend -- which is supposed to be premiering next month, and is already shown in a promo for the Summer Nights event.  That one started out with Paul Campbell and Kimberley Sustad freely posting photos from the set.  And then, a couple of weeks later, the photos they posted from the set completely vanished from Instagram. 

Edited to Add:  One of the actors in Beverly Hills Wedding just removed a photo from his Instagram page as well.  That photo was posted only a couple of days ago, and now it's gone.

 

So, for right now, the official, confirmed Hallmark movies that have been filmed and wrapped in just the last month are:

Christmas Tree Lane aka Christmas Music Store (with Alicia Witt and Andrew Walker; filmed in Utah) -- the first Hallmark Christmas movie to be shot under the new COVID-19 guidelines, and it doesn't sound like it was a fun experience because of all the new procedures

Wedding Every Weekend (with Paul Campbell and Kimberley Sustad) - filmed in Canada

 

Currently filming for Hallmark, and/or just about to wrap up production are:

Beverly Hills Wedding (with Brooke D'Orsay and Brendan Penny; filming in Canada -- this one was originally supposed to star Andrew Walker when it was supposed to shoot earlier this year, but I guess the timing did not work out for him to do the movie when it was rescheduled)

Chateau Christmas (with Merritt Patterson and Luke Macfarlane; filming in Canada)

A Royal Holiday (with Laura Osnes, Aaron Tveit, Krystal Joy Brown and Victoria Clark; this one is filming in Connecticut)

On the 12th Date of Christmas aka Twelve Days to Love (with Tyler Hynes and Mallory Jansen; filming in Canada)

Deliver by Christmas (with Alvina August and Eion Bailey; yep -- filming in Canada again)

Neverbrides (a Fall Harvest movie with Chaley Rose and Nathan Witte; yep -- Canada again!)

Jingle Bell Bride (with Julie Gonzalo and Ronnie Rowe; in Canada)

Aurora Teagarden Mysteries #14: Reunited and It Feels So Deadly (with Candace Cameron Bure and Niall Matter; in Canada)

 

 

Confirmed Hallmark movies supposedly starting production this week are:

Holly & Ivy (with Janel Parrish, Jeremy Jordan and Marisol Nichols -- filming in Utah)

A Christmas Tree Grows in Brooklyn (with Rochelle Aytes and Mark Taylor; in Canada)

 

 

Confirmed Hallmark movies filming soon/in the near future are:

When Calls the Heart Christmas 2020 (in Canada)

Cranberry Christmas (with Nikki DeLoach and Benjamin Ayres; in Canada)

The Christmas Bow aka The Christmas Concert (with Lucia Micarelli and Michael Rady; filming in Utah)

If I Only Had Christmas (with Candace Cameron Bure; in Canada)

 

If nothing else happens to halt or delay productions, Hallmark should be able to knock out a bunch of movie shoots in September and October, as they do every year (including whatever Kristoffer Polaha is filming in October).

So you can see that Canada allowing productions to take place is very important to Hallmark's filming progress (and Lifetime's too), although there was a Christmas movie Hallmark was supposed to film in West Virginia earlier this year, and I don't know if it was ever rescheduled after being halted.  

Some actors are already in Canada and can start filming more quickly (such as Paul Campbell).   Others are traveling from California or other states and have to do the 14-day quarantines before filming (including Luke Macfarlane, Chaley Rose, Candace Cameron Bure and Marilu Henner, Nikki DeLoach, director Ron Oliver, some members of the When Calls the Heart cast, etc.)

 

The titles I mentioned above are the things that are officially confirmed to be Hallmark, and that have actual filming dates.  Other announced Hallmark movies do not have specific filming dates yet (that I have seen).  And of course there are plenty of other titles floating around that may or may not end up being for Hallmark, or that do not have filming dates yet, but I'm focusing on just the officially confirmed Hallmark movies and where they are in various stages of production progress at this moment.

Edited July 21, 2020 by TVFan17

[TVFan17]

A new CEO has arrived!!  It's Wonya Lucas, who came from TV One, Discovery, TNT, CNN and more --

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/hallmark-channel-names-next-ceo-1303926

Excerpt from the article -

Quote

"Hallmark has been central to my life since I can remember, starting with those Hallmark Hall of Fame movies that were as enriching as they were entertaining,” Lucas said. “In some ways, my entire career has led me to this incredible opportunity to use the breadth of my experience and skills to evolve an iconic and beloved brand, a culture and a business. I am honored to link arms with the multi-talented leaders and their teams at Crown to build toward an exciting future.”

 

A press release, directly from Hallmark --

https://corporate.hallmark.com/news-article/wonyalucascrownmediafamilynetworks/

Excerpt -

Quote

Lucas’s approach is informed by her passion for storytelling and leveraging and building brands. She is an accomplished, transformative executive who brings to Crown Media a depth of media experience leading a wide range of organizations and business operations at multiple news and entertainment companies including Discovery, TNT, NPR and the Weather Channel, among others. She is adept at building, growing and managing successful, collaborative teams and has the ability to rally people and lead with energy and compassion.

 

Edited July 23, 2020 by TVFan17

[Jaded]

If I remember to I might have to go look at the Hallmark channels FB pages to see if any of the rabid fans have any thoughts about the new CEO.... 

Hopefully she'll be able to bring about some much needed changes.

Edited July 23, 2020 by Jaded

[In2You]

I hope with this new CEO comes real change in the stagnant content on Hallmark.

[TVFan17]

It will be interesting to see which bits of news and announcements come along in January.  Right now, based on last week's big press release that detailed the Christmas movies, mysteries, returning series, returning pet-oriented specials, etc., it seems like Hallmark is just trying to get through the rest of the year without any other major delays in production or new controversies popping up.  

But in January or February -- which is normally when the annual Winter TCA Press Tour would take place -- the new CEO will have had time to get settled in and probably will have begun approving or rejecting new projects and development deals.  I don't know if there will actually be a Winter TCA event in the traditional sense (because I think COVID-19 will still be an issue), but I suspect that we'd still see one giant press release or a bunch of press releases to announce what's coming up in 2021.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

It will be interesting to see which bits of news and announcements come along in January.  Right now, based on last week's big press release that detailed the Christmas movies, mysteries, returning series, returning pet-oriented specials, etc., it seems like Hallmark is just trying to get through the rest of the year without any other major delays in production or new controversies popping up.  

But in January or February -- which is normally when the annual Winter TCA Press Tour would take place -- the new CEO will have had time to get settled in and probably will have begun approving or rejecting new projects and development deals.  I don't know if there will actually be a Winter TCA event in the traditional sense (because I think COVID-19 will still be an issue), but I suspect that we'd still see one giant press release or a bunch of press releases to announce what's coming up in 2021.

I don’t know if they can or will wait that long. The Hollywood Reporter story specifically mentions the new CEO making her mark on the remaining Christmas movies. Christmas is so high profile for Hallmark that I’m not sure they can wait to shake things up. 

[Irlandesa]

I think the most they'll be able to do is a tweak here and a tweak there.  The largest change this year will be with casting.  I'm curious to see what her philosophy is and what she'd like to do since she has such a background with non-fiction and fiction shows. I like that she mentioned watching the old Hallmark Hall of Fame movies. 

 

[TVFan17]

Conspicuously absent from last week's press release was any further news about Hallmark's supposed "sci fi drama" or sci fi soap" with a bigger budget.  By the time January's inevitable press releases come out, I want to see if that project is still in the works.  I thought for sure it would have been mentioned this month because news of it already leaked out, but that's got to be a January announcement (if it's still happening) unless it somehow starts filming before January.

Edited to add:  I also want a clearer definition of what the Hallmark Drama Channel is supposed to be -- is it essentially just a dumping ground for movies and TV series that used to air on the other 2 channels?  Or is it going to be a channel with its own original movies and series at any point (not counting the Christmas specials from last year)?  The previously announced original content for Hallmark Drama either has not aired yet or has not been filmed.  So, by January/February, I want to see if there are any new plans for that channel or if it falls by the wayside.

Edited July 24, 2020 by TVFan17

[Guest]

9 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I think the most they'll be able to do is a tweak here and a tweak there.  The largest change this year will be with casting.  I'm curious to see what her philosophy is and what she'd like to do since she has such a background with non-fiction and fiction shows. I like that she mentioned watching the old Hallmark Hall of Fame movies. 

 

I think your right. One advantage of the Hallmark formula has is that they can make tweaks very quickly. I don’t think will see significant improvements in quality but it’s pretty easy to add some diversity to the formula. Based on all the reports Hallmark had to work very hard to maintain that formula and removing a few restrictions should make a big difference. Just changing up the formulaic movie posters would be a big improvement. 

[kathyk24]

Hallmark Movie Channel is running a Signed Sealed Delivered marathon on Saturday afternoon for those who are sick of Christmas movies. I hope a Christmas Tree in Brooklyn is related to the Betty Smith novel which I loved when I was younger.

[MerBearHou]

10 hours ago, kathyk24 said:

Hallmark Movie Channel is running a Signed Sealed Delivered marathon on Saturday afternoon

By far, SSD is my favorite Hallmark series / movie / anything Hallmark. 

I am delighted and will have this channel on all day tomorrow.

Eagerly awaiting a new SSD movie -- love the characters and stories and there's a bit of unfinished business with Oliver and Shane.  

[In2You]

Hallmark did not need 3 channels. As is they don't do enough with Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. Why don't they do Christmas mysteries for one? During the holiday season it's basically an extra channel for the movies they can't squeeze in on the main channel. 

[mikeb]

In typical Hallmark scheduling change, my on-screen program guide shows Columbo on HMM from 7:00 AM - 9:00 AM today with SSD movies starting at 9:00 AM, but they are currently airing a SSD from 7:00 AM - 9:00 AM - maybe they decided to squeeze in another movie or are bumping one of the ones later today.   They had plenty of time to plan this, but guess couldn't resist last-minute change.

[MissyPoo]

18 hours ago, In2You said:

Hallmark did not need 3 channels. As is they don't do enough with Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. Why don't they do Christmas mysteries for one? During the holiday season it's basically an extra channel for the movies they can't squeeze in on the main channel. 

It's funny that's the case now. When Hallmark Channel premiered, it was 24/7 movies and then some sprinkling of daytime living shows. When they premiered HMM (at that time it was the Hallmark Movie Channel) that turned into the 24/7 movie channel while tv shows old and new took over the main channel. It seems like as they keep adding channels, streaming apps, radio channels, books, (and now wine) etc. they are just filling the IP pot. Like the drama channel, they just toss it out and see what happens. Maybe that will change this year but yeah it doesn't seem like there's much of a plan their for their add-ons. TBH, I missed the all movie all the time channels.

Edited July 25, 2020 by MissyPoo

[Scarlett45]

We are supposedly getting a new Hallmark movie August 1 Love is in the Air with Terrance Combs and Cindy Bugsby?

[Guest]

18 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

We are supposedly getting a new Hallmark movie August 1 Love is in the Air with Terrance Combs and Cindy Bugsby?

Yes. It’s listed as Romance In The Air. If nothing else it should have good scenery since it was filmed in Lake Tahoe. 

[TVFan17]

2 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

We are supposedly getting a new Hallmark movie August 1 Love is in the Air with Terrance Combs and Cindy Bugsby?

I think I've mentioned here before (but maybe not) that Romance in the Air an acquired movie -- Hallmark bought it, but it wasn't their movie from the beginning.  It needed a home.  It was filmed in Utah and in Lake Tahoe.  (I followed along with it when it was in production, which is how I know it was partially filmed in Utah!)  It had a working title during filming of "Love in the Air," which changed after Hallmark bought it (possibly because the title is too similar to the great Hallmark rom com "Love on the Air").   Romance in the Air is from the same company behind Timeless Love -- the acquired movie that recently aired on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel.

The next new one after that is Love on Harbor Island -- which also had a couple of different working titles before they landed on that one, and is also acquired.  However, when that one was filming, I got the sense that it was much more expected that Hallmark would take the movie eventually.  I think it was made with Hallmark strongly in mind, because Morgan Kohan is in their series When Hope Calls.  When Romance in the Air was filming, it seemed much less certain where it would end up.  I don't know if Hallmark would have taken/bought Romance in the Air if they weren't short on new content due to not being able to film for months, but I think there was always a solid chance they would take Love on Harbor Island.

Wedding Every Weekend (also premiering in August) is the only new one from the Summer Nights batch that was made for and by Hallmark from the beginning, so it's a true Hallmark original through and through.

Edited July 25, 2020 by TVFan17

[Suzysite]

14 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

We are supposedly getting a new Hallmark movie August 1 Love is in the Air with Terrance Combs and Cindy Bugsby?

I'm not sure if you meant Busby, or if I'm just not in on a running joke about how she bugs people.   She definitely does.

[Ashforth]

The choice of the new CEO is welcome: a woman of color with a lot of experience in executive management in a wide range of fiction and non-fiction television productions. Per the article linked above:

Quote

Lucas, who serves on the Peabody Awards' Board of Jurors and is the former vice chair of the national NPR board, comes to Hallmark after most recently serving as president and CEO of Public Broadcasting Atlanta, where she oversaw the city's NPR and PBS stations. Before that, she was CEO at Black-focused cable network TV One, where she spent a year on the job. Prior to that, Lucas was exec vp and COO for Discovery and Science Channel, where she oversaw strategy and operations. She joined Discovery Communications in 2008 as chief marketing officer after roles as GM of the Weather Channel Networks. She's also spent time at TBS, CNN and in brand management roles at Coke and Clorox.

Bonus: She was GM of The Weather Channel networks! She will know exactly how to handle the next Winter Storm Megan! LOL

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, Suzysite said:

I'm not sure if you meant Busby, or if I'm just not in on a running joke about how she bugs people.   She definitely does.

I did mean Busby. 

[DanaMB]

A Cheerful Christmas is on. First, stupidest movie title ever. Second, I remember deleting this crap off the DVR before the the second commercial break the first time. Now, seeing it again it feels like a satire of Christmas movies. The actress comes off as a complete moron.  So. very. bad. 

[methodwriter85]

Aaron Tveit and Laura Osnes? My musical loving heart!

Edited July 26, 2020 by methodwriter85

[MerBearHou]

4 hours ago, DanaMB said:

A Cheerful Christmas is on. First, stupidest movie title ever. Second, I remember deleting this crap off the DVR before the the second commercial break the first time. Now, seeing it again it feels like a satire of Christmas movies. The actress comes off as a complete moron.  So. very. bad. 

One of the worst of all Hallmark Christmas movies IMO.  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  Inane women characters which drive me nuts.  And nope, I didn’t stick with it to see if it somehow got better.  

PS:  I truly appreciate that we’re allowed to speak our minds about Hallmark here — respectfully, of course.  Some of the sites on FB seem to discourage anything that is less than totally positive about a show, movie, plot, actor or actress.  It seems almost Stepford-like!

Edited July 26, 2020 by MerBearHou

[TVFan17]

5 hours ago, DanaMB said:

A Cheerful Christmas is on. First, stupidest movie title ever. Second, I remember deleting this crap off the DVR before the the second commercial break the first time. Now, seeing it again it feels like a satire of Christmas movies. The actress comes off as a complete moron.  So. very. bad. 

This is yet another one of Hallmark's acquired movies -- except this acquisition can't be blamed on COVID-19 shutting down all filming of new movies, as they picked it up last year.  It didn't hold my interest at all when I tried to watch it.

Anyway, I only point out that it's an acquisition because the acquired movies seem to be very hit-and-miss.  You never quite know what you'll get.  lol  Sometimes the acquired movies are pleasant surprises, and sometimes it's easy to see why no other networks wanted them.  That's why this year's Summer Nights event is unpredictable -- 2 out of 3 movies are acquired, and one of those acquired movies is something that Hallmark might not have picked up in a normal year, with no pandemic-related shutdowns keeping them from filming.

The holiday season is probably going to be chock-full of acquisitions between Lifetime and Hallmark if they each can't get enough of their own productions filmed to meet their promises of "over 30 new movies" and "40 new movies," respectively.

Edited July 26, 2020 by TVFan17

[WhyAmIHere]

On 7/24/2020 at 10:46 PM, In2You said:

Hallmark did not need 3 channels. As is they don't do enough with Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. Why don't they do Christmas mysteries for one? During the holiday season it's basically an extra channel for the movies they can't squeeze in on the main channel. 

I have wondered the same thing - why no Christmas mysteries on the Movies & Mysteries channel?  That seems like a missed opportunity.   Mystery 101 is the only mystery series I watch and I would love to see a Christmas installment. 

[MissyPoo]

On 7/26/2020 at 5:04 AM, Suzysite said:

I'm not sure if you meant Busby, or if I'm just not in on a running joke about how she bugs people.   She definitely does.

That's funny. I thought it was just me that felt this way. I can't get into her acting and now this name will stick with me when I see the channel announce her name. Funny, she didn't bother me in Lucky in Love but maybe because she was a side character.

On 7/26/2020 at 7:26 AM, DanaMB said:

A Cheerful Christmas is on. First, stupidest movie title ever. Second, I remember deleting this crap off the DVR before the the second commercial break the first time. Now, seeing it again it feels like a satire of Christmas movies. The actress comes off as a complete moron.  So. very. bad. 

 

On 7/26/2020 at 11:55 AM, MerBearHou said:

One of the worst of all Hallmark Christmas movies IMO.  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  Inane women characters which drive me nuts.  And nope, I didn’t stick with it to see if it somehow got better.  

PS:  I truly appreciate that we’re allowed to speak our minds about Hallmark here — respectfully, of course.  Some of the sites on FB seem to discourage anything that is less than totally positive about a show, movie, plot, actor or actress.  It seems almost Stepford-like!

Okay, now I'm going to have to watch this one. It sounds delightfully horrendous and I've been watching some entertaining bad ones on Lifetime lately. Hallmark needs to chip in now. :-D

And I agree. I was part of some FB ones in the past and whoo boy. If you didn't kneel upon the alter of all that is Hallmark, the pitchforks would come out in that nasty nice way which is super creepy. Differing opinions and thoughts are most appreciated.

22 hours ago, WhyAmIHere said:

I have wondered the same thing - why no Christmas mysteries on the Movies & Mysteries channel?  That seems like a missed opportunity.   Mystery 101 is the only mystery series I watch and I would love to see a Christmas installment. 

On top of that, they hide the christmas mysteries they've made in the past on the app and never show them on the channel. I agree, though, that would be pretty smart to make special christmas versions of their current mysteries shows like they did with the Murder She Baked series;.

[kirinan]

Sorry for the late notice, but I just saw on my cable station's program guide that at 9 p.m. ET tonight (Friday 7/31) Love on the Air (the REAL one, with Alison Sweeney and Jonathan Scarfe) is on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. Usually I forget to check that station, but I'm so glad I did tonight! I know there are a lot of lovers of LotA in this thread.

[TVFan17]

On 7/15/2020 at 4:31 PM, susannot said:

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

Oh, Hallmark is not letting a Christmas season go by without a movie from Ryan.  He is in Vancouver right now, in quarantine, as he prepares to shoot his next Hallmark Christmas movie!

 

Also in quarantine in Vancouver now -- but I'm not sure if she is in Ryan's movie because there are a bunch of movies to be filmed -- is Erin Cahill.  The timing of her quarantine and Ryan's quarantine is suspicious, though!

Bethany Joy Lenz recently said that she is going to do a Hallmark Christmas movie this year too (after not doing one for them in 6 years), but I don't think she is in quarantine yet, so her shoot must be happening later.

 

Edited August 1, 2020 by TVFan17

[Chippings]

Well, 'Romance in the Air' is nearly over, and it's pretty darn vapid  Nobody has the slightest energy ..  Mister Chippings just called out to the hero "Go for the brunette!".  But, we just had the Love Interest Comes With Flowers, But Sees Lady With Other Suitor trope at 20 minutes after the hour -- it usually comes later.  We have been at Tahoe many times, and it's a joy to see it.  But otherwise, very dull.

Oh, and also I see that both Busby and Coombs were born in the same year, she reads older than he.  But the minimal eye liner does help youthify her.    

[Luckylyn]

I was so bored during Romance in the Air.  The leads had no chemistry.  I agree that it lacked energy.  It felt like the actors were going through the motions.  They really need to do better with casting.  I can forgive cliches and a slow story if the leads have a big spark and bring energy to their performances. The right pair can elevate the tropes.

[carolibra]

There was a thousand times more chemistry in the promo for Wedding Every Weekend than there was in the entirety of Romance in the Air. 

20 hours ago, Chippings said:

Mister Chippings just called out to the hero "Go for the brunette!". 

Agreed!

[Cherpumple]

On 8/1/2020 at 10:27 PM, Chippings said:

Oh, and also I see that both Busby and Coombs were born in the same year, she reads older than he. 

I have this impression with other movies too, and I think it's because we're so used to seeing Hollywood pair older men with younger women (sometimes decades younger) that it can feel jarring to see a couple of the same age. It happened to me when I watched Write Before Christmas recently. There was an "older" couple in it as side characters, and even though the actors were only born one year apart, the woman seemed a lot older to me. But to be fair, the man was played by Grant Show, and my brain still sees him as the '90s hunk from Melrose Place!

[dubstepford wife]

4 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

I have this impression with other movies too, and I think it's because we're so used to seeing Hollywood pair older men with younger women (sometimes decades younger) that it can feel jarring to see a couple of the same age. It happened to me when I watched Write Before Christmas recently. There was an "older" couple in it as side characters, and even though the actors were only born one year apart, the woman seemed a lot older to me. But to be fair, the man was played by Grant Show, and my brain still sees him as the '90s hunk from Melrose Place!

I think this is changing though.  When I watched "Virgin River" on Netflix, I initially scoffed at the main couple.  Martin Henderson (main couple man) is eight years older than Alexandra Breckenridge (main couple woman) and I thought the age difference was distracting.  I also never watched Grey's Anatomy so I didn't have an image in my head of him as a young, sprightly surgeon -- he just seemed like a middle aged (albeit very fit middle aged) guy who was kind of obsessed with a very youthful looking 30-something woman.  He still looks great of course, and when you're talking about late 30s/mid 40s it's less of a big deal than an early 20s woman with a late 30s man, but still, I noticed. 

And when I look at Hallmark's leading couples most of them seem to be approximately the same age.  The men of the channel are mostly in their 30s or early 40s, same as the women.  Older dudes like Treat Williams are family patriarchs and grandfathers, not put in a winter-spring romance with someone half their age.  

[TVFan17]

11 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

I have this impression with other movies too, and I think it's because we're so used to seeing Hollywood pair older men with younger women (sometimes decades younger) that it can feel jarring to see a couple of the same age. It happened to me when I watched Write Before Christmas recently. There was an "older" couple in it as side characters, and even though the actors were only born one year apart, the woman seemed a lot older to me. But to be fair, the man was played by Grant Show, and my brain still sees him as the '90s hunk from Melrose Place!

He'll always be "Jake" to me.  Although I think I saw Grant Show on a daytime soap before he ever ended up on Melrose Place, his time on Melrose Place was more memorable, as he worked his way through the women on the show -- breaking hearts and bed-hopping all the while.  I miss that show -- in its original version, not the reboot.  It was good, soapy fun.  Although I watched 90210 as well (where Jake charmed Jennie Garth's character), I always preferred Melrose Place because it was full of shenanigans.

I was surprised and delighted when Grant ended up in a Hallmark movie last year -- which turned out to be one of my favorites of that specific batch of new holiday movies.

Edited August 3, 2020 by TVFan17

[Kohola3]

On 8/1/2020 at 10:27 PM, Chippings said:

Well, 'Romance in the Air' is nearly over, and it's pretty darn vapid 

Holy cow, what a stinkeroo.  On IMBD, 99% of the ratings were 1 out of 10.  

[In2You]

Those folks at It's a Wonderful Movie are probably crying over Hallmark announcing their first gay romance.

[Chippings]

3 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Holy cow, what a stinkeroo.  On IMBD, 99% of the ratings were 1 out of 10.  

Wow, I guess my 'vapid' was 'way too polite !

Nice scenery, though.

 

[Callietwo]

I watched Romance in the Air with low expectations because I really dislike Bugsby so much, while I was reorganizing my bedroom and it helped having the distraction since neither the movie nor the actors bugged me.   The storyline of

Spoiler

pawning off the old boyfriend on her friend was ridiculous.  

And the actor that played her boyfriend was duller than dishwater, which made him perfect against Cindy.  

[mikeb]

10 hours ago, BradyBunchFan said:

It’s interesting that UPtv is showing Wedding Daze from 2004 on Friday, August 14th, because that was originally a Hallmark Channel movie.

I just saw a commercial on UPtv for MYSTERY WOMAN marathon on Sunday, August 16th, which first aired on HMM about 15 years ago as well and has been repeated multiple times a year on HMM ever since.  Some rights must be expiring that Hallmark is not renewing.

Edited August 5, 2020 by mikeb

[BradyBunchFan]

13 hours ago, mikeb said:

I just saw a commercial on UPtv for MYSTERY WOMAN marathon on Sunday, August 16th, which first aired on HMM about 15 years ago as well and has been repeated multiple times a year on HMM ever since.  Some rights must be expiring that Hallmark is not renewing.

Mystery Woman airs on there a lot.

[Veronica]

I liked Love on Harbor Island. Was it originally supposed to be an October movie that they moved up?  It was more fallish than most of their fall movies. The fall movies usually have 2 to 4 trees with orange leaves they move from scene to scene, and a coupe of pumpkins and the rest of the background is as green as it can be. I know the guy in charge of putting ads in the island’s paper/magazine/whatever said the next one would be out in a few weeks and mentioned it coming out in November. 

I can’t wait for the Deck the Hallmark guys to review it. I’ve been listening to their podcasts as I walk my dogs. I went back to their very first podcast after Christmas in July ended. They hated the balloon moon but love Busby because she comes on their show. 

Edited August 9, 2020 by Veronica

[TVFan17]

7 hours ago, Veronica said:

I liked Love on Harbor Island. Was it originally supposed to be an October movie that they moved up?  It was more fallish than most of their fall movies. The fall movies usually have 2 to 4 trees with orange leaves they move from scene to scene, and a coupe of pumpkins and the rest of the background is as green as it can be. 

I can’t wait for the Deck the Hallmark guys to review it. I’ve been listening to their podcasts as I walk my dogs. I went back to their very first podcast after Christmas in July ended. They hated the balloon moon but love Busby because she comes on their show. 

When Love on Harbor Island first appeared on Hallmark's schedule, it was set to air in the summer.  That could have just been to fill a void in case they didn't have anything else ready to premiere during the summer.   If they'd had a lot of other new Summer Nights movies ready to air, maybe they would have held onto this one until Fall Harvest.  

The two previous titles of this movie did not indicate anything fall-related.  It was filmed in the fall last year, so that probably helped in terms of it seeming more fall-ish, but it seems like fall was not supposed to be the focus.  At the time it was filmed it wasn't officially a Hallmark movie yet (though I think it was expected they'd pick it up), so I wonder if the 'fall look' of the movie would have been different in some way if it had been Hallmark's production from the beginning. 

Some of Hallmark's fall movies are exploding with fall decor in the indoor scenes, but the actual, real foliage and trees in the background of outdoor scenes are green, as you said.  If I am remembering correctly, I think that Love, Fall & Order (from last year) showed fall decorations inside a courtroom, which was hilarious.

Edited August 9, 2020 by TVFan17

[MerBearHou]

On 8/3/2020 at 2:39 AM, Cherpumple said:

I watched Write Before Christmas recently. There was an "older" couple in it as side characters, and even though the actors were only born one year apart, the woman seemed a lot older to me.

I just had a chance to watch “Write Before Christmas”.  I really, really liked it — Chad MIchael Murray is such a relaxed actor who had great chemistry with Torrey DeVitto.  My gosh, she is stunning.  Loved the cello aspect and I read about her proficiency as a violinist.  I would watch this one again whenever it repeats.

Back to my quoted point above — totally agree — the woman (Lolita Davidovich) matched with Grant Show seemed like she should be his mom and I was so surprised that she was actually only born one year before Grant.  It was her white face makeup, I think, and her big hairstyle.  I did like their storyline very much.

[DanaMB]

3 hours ago, Veronica said:

I liked Love on Harbor Island. 

I did, too. Nothing original, but still enjoyable. Better than last week’s that barely kept my attention. In fact, that one is on right now (I am catching the last 39min) and I feel like I never saw these scenes that’s how bored I was. Unless I deleted it before it was finished? I honestly can’t remember. 😂

[Ashforth]

On 8/2/2020 at 4:36 PM, Luckylyn said:

I was so bored during Romance in the Air.  The leads had no chemistry.  I agree that it lacked energy.  It felt like the actors were going through the motions.  They really need to do better with casting.  I can forgive cliches and a slow story if the leads have a big spark and bring energy to their performances. The right pair can elevate the tropes.

This is on now and I'm going to stick to it until the bitter end (countdown: ten minutes to go!) It's bad. It's bland enough that it isn't downright offensive, but holy cow, would it kill whoever produced it to have an actual storyline? The worst part is the pushy, obnoxious best friend, with her unsolicited opinions and advice.

Oh good grief, the big city boyfriend juts said, "I guess we were never in love." He's not upset that she's dumping him, because he is actually in love with the best friend, who seems to have no choice but to get into a relationship with him.

Edited August 9, 2020 by Ashforth

[AAEBoiler]

On 8/3/2020 at 7:27 PM, Chippings said:

Nice scenery, though.

Yeah but it felt to me like 80%of this movie was filmed on a green screen. Most scenes just looked ... off.

[mikeb]

Predictable backlash to Hallmark including lesbian wedding in upcoming Wedding Every Weekend, but I don't see them backing down unless ratings completely tank. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/hallmark-movie-feature-lesbian-wedding-not-everyone-s-celebrating-n1236279

[Irlandesa]

Does anyone know if this was filmed specifically for Hallmark or if it was a pickup?

The ads have me intrigued, though.