Hallmark Mysteries: Mysterious Small Town Hijinks Ensue - General Discussion

[Kitty Redstone]

16 hours ago, Starscream said:

Amy's dad (Robin Thomas) has been in a lot of stuff, but I'll always remember him as Prosecutor Burton "Death Row" Hawkins from the earliest episodes of Matlock.

Thank you!  He was in an episode of Murder, She Wrote, too, but I knew he looked familiar from somewhere else.  I haven't seen the early episodes of Matlock in awhile but METV should be back to showing them soon.

Anyway, the chemistry between Jill and Kristoffer is great, as is the father-daughter chemistry between her and Robin.

[AAEBoiler]

On 9/16/2019 at 10:38 AM, TVFan17 said:

And then that's it for the year as far as mysteries go!

You mean there's not a Christmas mystery movie planned for December? [\RalphWiggumVoice] That's unpossible.

Quote

... as is the father-daughter chemistry between her and Robin.

I keep watching Jill Wagner's dad in these Mystery 101 movies and think to myself, "would it kill you to shave every now and then?"

Edited September 20, 2019 by AAEBoiler
I don't know how people multi-quote from different posts

[roctavia]

Finally caught up on Mystery 101, I really like this cast and premise. 

The mystery was interesting and they introduced enough characters that you couldn’t guess immediately who was going to be the killer.

They also didn’t have our hero put herself in peril at the last second either, which is a nice change lately.

I liked the concept of the book fair  and how they are evolving the relationship with the detective. As others have said, they have great chemistry but also a good ‘ is this going to move forward or just friendship’ thing like when he asked her to get dinner and Bud invited himself along. Whatever it is, it’s working for me so far. 

Some of this did get a little convoluted with the extra dead guy in the car and the crazy fan girl stuff but I suppose it makes things less predictable.

5 hours ago, AAEBoiler said:

You mean there's not a Christmas mystery movie planned for December? [\RalphWiggumVoice] That's unpossible.

One of the Murder She Baked  movies was Christmas themed... I assume they aired it around Christmas but missed its original run. 

I would love some Christmas or other holiday mysteries!

[Kitty Redstone]

I'd also like Christmas or other holiday mysteries.  It would be really, really great if HMM wouldn't go Christmas 24/7 from the end of October to the beginning of January.  I wouldn't mind the Christmas movies at all if they kept it to daytime and prime time, and then went back to the regular schedule from 10PM to the early AM. 

Edited September 21, 2019 by Kitty Redstone

[TVFan17]

Kristoffer Polaha said (in his most recent interview with the Deck the Hallmark podcast) that there are 3 more Mystery 101 movies that could possibly happen if Hallmark sees evidence of people tuning in for last Sunday's new movie and this weekend's new movie.   So, if the ratings are decent and the viewer interest is there, these other 3 movies could go forward.

Interestingly, Kristoffer also told the DTH guys that he did not like the 2nd Mystery 101 movie (the one revolving around the play, which aired 3 months ago).  He was quite clear that he did not like it -- which was surprising to me, as I don't usually hear too many actors saying they didn't like a project they did that is so recent.  I might hear them say it many years after the project was made, but not a few months after it aired.

However, Kristoffer said that he really liked the 3rd installment and the 4th, which we are about to see. 

So I hope enough people watched last Sunday and will watch this Sunday to warrant the next 3 movies being made.  I think Hallmark has a hit on their hands with this series, and they'd be foolish to let it go.  Then again, they have made some questionable decisions in the past, so I don't put anything past them.

[MerBearHou]

Kristoffer and Jill are my favorite duo by far and I enjoy the Mystery 101 series.  I’m so surprised that Kristoffer “went there” by vocalizing his dislike for the 2nd film.  Hope that doesn’t upset his standing in the eyes of the Hallmark honchos.  I would love for this series to continue.  Wonder what he didn’t like about that one?  I’ll be tuning in tomorrow night and will do what I can to show support for more!

Edited September 22, 2019 by MerBearHou

[chitowngirl]

I wonder if airing against The Emmys is going to hurt ratings?

[Guest]

5 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

So I hope enough people watched last Sunday and will watch this Sunday to warrant the next 3 movies being made.  I think Hallmark has a hit on their hands with this series, and they'd be foolish to let it go.  Then again, they have made some questionable decisions in the past, so I don't put anything past them.

I just checked the ratings and it looks good so far. The first movie is the second highest rated this year on HMM. There was a drop for the second movie but last weeks is the fourth highest. So far it’s the best performing series with more than one movie this year. 

[Starscream]

13 hours ago, Dani said:

I just checked the ratings and it looks good so far. The first movie is the second highest rated this year on HMM. There was a drop for the second movie but last weeks is the fourth highest. So far it’s the best performing series with more than one movie this year. 

Yeah, I don't know why Hallmark would be giving the Mystery 101 crew a hard time about ratings.  Hailey Dean and Morning Show are the stinkers, ratings wise.  I was surprised Darrow and Darrow had another movie considering the past ratings.

[Ashforth]

I'm watching tonight's new Mystery 101 after giving up on the Emmy's. I'm not going to spoil anything except to say that Jill/Amy's wardrobe is beautiful, even with the too-high stiletto heels for daytime. The loungewear/PJs she wore in an early scene in her hotel room looked comfy and stylish - not an easy combo.

[GaT]

3 hours ago, Starscream said:

Yeah, I don't know why Hallmark would be giving the Mystery 101 crew a hard time about ratings.  Hailey Dean and Morning Show are the stinkers, ratings wise.  I was surprised Darrow and Darrow had another movie considering the past ratings.

I think they're missing the ratings from the "Garage Sale" movies, I think those were the most popular.

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, GaT said:

I think they're missing the ratings from the "Garage Sale" movies, I think those were the most popular.

What I find interesting is that the August block of these movies performed exceptionally well but the entries that aired earlier in the year got nowhere near those ratings.  In fact, it appears as if there's a little bit of a lull in Jan. right after all the holiday movies. (Which is what makes the first Mystery 101's ratings quite impressive given that's when it aired.)

So I would be curious to see what happens next year.  Do they spread the movies out throughout the year or do start grouping some of the series in blocks as they do tend to do better when they run during simultaneous weeks.

[GaT]

I just watched the latest "Mystery 101" & I didn't guess who done it until the end, so it was nice to be surprised when I finally did.

[TVFan17]

Although Kristoffer Polaha has been saying that the movies are over "as of now," the guy who wrote the first 4 Mystery 101 movies -- John Christian Plummer -- said today on Twitter that he is writing more.  I don't know if he is writing one more or a few more, but I'm guessing it is a few.

If they make another 3 movies, though, I hope we don't have to wait until next September to see all of them.   But, at the moment, no mysteries have been filmed for 2020 (yet).  Everything that has been filmed is airing this year.  

So at some point between now and the end of November, there should be some mysteries for January and February in production, but I don't know which ones those will be other than the first movie in Jesse Metcalfe's Martha's Vineyard Mysteries series.

[Guest]

The new Mystery 101 is my favorite of the series so far. I thought they did a really nice job with the pacing and reveal. They really relied on the relationship between the leads to move the story rather than throwing in pointless red herrings. I should have guessed the murderer because they were the only who remotely fit the normal pattern but it was different enough I wasn’t sure. 

I feel Hallmark mysteries work best when the two leads are on more equal footing. I really like that they are dropping Travis trying to keep Amy out of the cases and that he seemed to view her as more of a partner by the end.

Out of all of the Hallmark mysteries of have seen Kristoffer Polaha is the most believable as a cop. 

I really liked the actor playing Amy’s ex. Hallmark needs to upgrade him to a lead in some movies. He was also the best part of A Brush With Love. 

Edited September 23, 2019 by Guest

[AnnaRose]

10 hours ago, GaT said:

I just watched the latest "Mystery 101" & I didn't guess who done it until the end, so it was nice to be surprised when I finally did.

I had a strong feeling about that person from the start - not really based on anything other than intuition - and when Travis picked up the photo and mentioned the six months thing, I felt pretty certain I was right.  But I really liked the way it all played out, and I loved the surprise reveal!  I didn't think they already knew too, so it was great to see how it was all resolved.

7 hours ago, Dani said:

The new Mystery 101 is my favorite of the series so far. I thought they did a really nice job with pacing and reveal. They really relied on the relationship between the leads to move the story rather than throwing in pointless red herrings. I should have guessed the murderer because they were the only who remotely fit the normal pattern but it was different enough I wasn’t sure. 

I feel Hallmark mysteries work best when the two leads are on more equal footing. I really like that they are dropping Travis trying to keep Amy out of the cases and that he seemed to view her as more of a partner by the end.

Out of all of the Hallmark mysteries of have seen Kristoffer Polaha is the most believable as a cop. 

I really liked the actor playing Amy’s ex. Hallmark needs to upgrade him to a lead in some movies. He was also the best part of A Brush With Love. 

I agree with you.  This last episode is my favorite, although I've enjoyed all of them.  I appreciate the variety in the situations and you're right about the two of them being on equal footing.  I haven't watched any other mystery series on Hallmark, but I've read enough cosy mysteries to know how problematic they tend to be/become with the amateur sleuth's involvement being too unbelievable and the typical cop/detective love interest trope.

I find Kristoffer Polaha very believable in this role, also. He's so natural, and has terrific chemistry with Jill Wagner.  I hope they make a bunch more of these.

[Kitty Redstone]

I also enjoyed last night's Mystery 101 and love the chemistry between the leads and the rest of the cast.  HMM is pretty great at assembling a likable cast of characters.

The two Seattle cops were not listed in IMDB as of last night but were both recognizable.  Usually I recognize people from Murder, She Wrote lol, so maybe the guy cop did an episode of that show when he was much, much younger?  The woman cop may have been in another HMM series.  The victim lawyer has been in several other series (Gourmet Detective, for one).  It's actually fun seeing all these people pop up in one series or another.

8 hours ago, Dani said:

I really liked the actor playing Amy’s ex. Hallmark needs to upgrade him to a lead in some movies. He was also the best part of A Brush With Love. 

He was in an Aurora Teagarden mystery as well (perhaps the most recent one?) and was good in that. Hopefully they'll give him more prominence on HMM.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Kitty Redstone said:

The two Seattle cops were not listed in IMDB as of last night but were both recognizable.  Usually I recognize people from Murder, She Wrote lol, so maybe the guy cop did an episode of that show when he was much, much younger?  The woman cop may have been in another HMM series. 

Lochlyn Munro and Tegan Moss

ETA: I just started watching the last Chronicle Mystery and she was the wife of the murder victim. 

Edited September 23, 2019 by Guest

[AnnaRose]

24 minutes ago, Dani said:

Lochlyn Munro and Tegan Moss

ETA: I just started watching the last Chronicle Mystery and she was the wife of the murder victim. 

Thank you for that!  I was trying to figure out what I knew the female cop from, and she wasn't listed as part of the cast on IMDB.  I think she looks familiar to me from Summer in the Vineyard which I watched earlier this year, although I can't remember who her character was.   She also played Fiona in two episodes of Dead Like Me, but I watched that many years ago and I can't think of who Fiona was either.

[Irlandesa]

7 hours ago, Dani said:

Lochlyn Munro and Tegan Moss

I too got the sense of who was the guilty party in this movie even though it wasn't an actor I recognized.  But then Lochlyn showed up who is in so many Hallmark movies with his whole shlubby cop demeanor and I was wondering if it could be him.  I figured he had to play a bigger part then just that because he was so recognizable to me.  (But then again, the lawyer who was killed in the beginning was also one I recognized right away and he was only there to be a side kill...i.e. not even the main murder.)

I will say that the actor who was the guilty part did a really good job when confronted. 

At the beginning I didn't think I was going to like this one as much since they did the whole "I don't like the person who might have been a love interest of yours in the past life" jealousy thing but again, this movie rose above it all when they both went to bat for the other one with their "exes."  Basically, they were being petty but then they realized their pettiness and decided to rise above with some maturity.  I liked that it wasn't simply something that was used to create tension and then went away with an explanation when the tension became unnecessary.

These two have the best mystery series chemistry since probably Hannah and Mike from Murder She Baked.

[Kitty Redstone]

21 hours ago, Dani said:

Lochlyn Munro and Tegan Moss

ETA: I just started watching the last Chronicle Mystery and she was the wife of the murder victim. 

Thank you @Dani!  Yes, that's why Tegan Moss looked so familiar!  And Locklyn Munro has been a very busy actor.  He's been in a number of things I've seen over the years, but his role as Fat Tony on Monk was the mind picture I had of him.  That was a fun episode.

[LexieLily]

On 9/24/2019 at 12:28 PM, Kitty Redstone said:

Thank you @Dani!  Yes, that's why Tegan Moss looked so familiar!  And Locklyn Munro has been a very busy actor.  He's been in a number of things I've seen over the years, but his role as Fat Tony on Monk was the mind picture I had of him.  That was a fun episode.

*high-five to a fellow Monk viewer*

[Happywatcher]

On 9/23/2019 at 3:43 PM, Dani said:

Lochlyn Munro and Tegan Moss

ETA: I just started watching the last Chronicle Mystery and she was the wife of the murder victim. 

In my head, Hallmark calls Lacey/Candace/Taylor/Alex/Jen... in LA. "Can you make a movie the next two weeks?  We have a murder [Christmas/Wine/Fall harvest] script." 

She flies into Vancouver, and jumps into a 32 pax bus. A few semi trucks with snow and Balsam Hill stuff and cameras follow. They go from house to house grabbing Canadian level C actors and crew. "Jump in, we are making a move."

[chitowngirl]

I’m 20 minutes into the new Ruby Herring mystery and WOW is the acting bad.

[GaT]

18 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

I’m 20 minutes into the new Ruby Herring mystery and WOW is the acting bad.

Yeah, I wouldn't call the leads charismatic. This is the second Ruby Herring movie, & I have absolutely no memory of the first, so I guess that pretty much sums it up for me.

[MerBearHou]

20 minutes ago, GaT said:

Yeah, I wouldn't call the leads charismatic. This is the second Ruby Herring movie, & I have absolutely no memory of the first, so I guess that pretty much sums it up for me.

A few minor improvements -- Ruby's wig wasn't as distractingly AWFUL as it was in the first one and they recast her dad -- the first dad was quite handsome and looked more like a potential boyfriend.  Kinda creepy in that way.  The new dad has a weird mouth that I couldn't stop staring at so not a total improvement IMO.

The case was fine and I thought it was interesting seeing Andrea Canning in a small TV announcer role -- she was a writer for this movie.  I like these mystery movies for Sunday night amusement so my standards are somewhat low. Mystery 101 is my favorite, followed by the defunct Murder She Baked movies.  I'm not excited about a matchmaker / detective series though with Danica and Victor -- may skip that altogether.

[rainsmom]

Just watched the most recent Ruby Herring movie. Good Lord, is there a place where I can petition to get those two hours back?

Ruby Herring is a STUPID name.

The two leads have NO chemistry. None.

The trope of "Police detective reluctantly work with the amateur detective who just happens to be a better detective than the entire police force combined" is TIRED. Really tired. And they don't do it well.

Edited September 30, 2019 by rainsmom

[chitowngirl]

5 minutes ago, rainsmom said:

The trope of "Police detective reluctantly work with the amateur detective who just happens to be a better detective than the entire police force combined" is TIRED. Really tired. And they don't do it well.

This is pretty much the setup in 90% of cozy mysteries. Somehow it works in book form.

[Happywatcher]

Had a really long drive for work today, fired up the Deck the Hallmark podcast with guest Jill Wagner from two weeks ago.

We had seen her on Wipeout, Blade, and Stargate, before. But her story was interesting.

She was supposed to run her family tire store, got her degree in business, but got 4 grand from her grandparents as a grad gift and went out to LA where a friend sent her to an audition where she got a pilot right off, but got let go for the series. After that it was action girl actress, punked, and wipeout.

Anyhow, her Grandmother asked if she could do a Hallmark because she loved them, Jill's agent called the channel....boom.

Lots of inside baseball, but she also said there were no firm plans for new Mystery 101s, and she didn't know the ratings for number 4, but she would be shocked if they don't get more.

She also said she and costar/friend Kristoffer Polaha were surprised the romance hasn't kicked up in the series yet. She said he is playing the series as a cop from a hard cop show like NYPD Blue  dropped into a Hallmark town

[Kitty Redstone]

Well, I actually liked last night's Ruby Herring.  I think the two leads have an easy chemistry and enjoyed watching them.  The man playing her dad looked more like her dad than Shawn C. from the previous movie.  And wow is Taylor Cole a beautiful woman.  The mystery itself was fine.  I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to cozies though.  Proof:  I'm apparently one of the few who doesn't mind Morning Show Mysteries.

[Happywatcher]

11 hours ago, rainsmom said:

The two leads have NO chemistry. None.

The trope of "Police detective reluctantly work with the amateur detective who just happens to be a better detective than the entire police force combined" is TIRED. Really tired. And they don't do it well.

They have 40% chemistry where they had 10% last time. And Taylor had better hair.

I was military police. I was never an MPI (detective) or CID (major felony detective). I did work with/for them on some investigations. 90% of real robberies and murders are checklist crimes. Crime scene, look for obvious lies by people involved with the victim, check their bank account, phone, and credit card...

In addition, crime detective stories need a lead we can identify with, either Ruby the scrappy consumer reporter who wants the crime beat, or Dr Watson.

Adding this before I head out for a long drive...

The point I am trying to make is that real investigation is about following guidelines and rules. Insurance adjusters with subpoena and warrant powers and the same or better interview skills. When they have an actual stranger murder (or rape) they consult with specialists in profiling or insects or something. 

We had what the CID thought was a stranger rapist hitting overseas military bases, one of which was the area I worked. The system kicked into high gear, including literally cutting the doors he jimmyed open out of the walls, frames and all, and crating them up and sending them to the main crime lab, skipping the regional one. Just so that everyone would now what sort of tool to watch for on auto stops and suspicious person stops.

That is what solves crimes. It also makes for a boring drama.

Edited October 1, 2019 by Happywatcher
adding more

[TVFan17]

I definitely think there is still room for improvement in the Ruby Herring series, but I think that this second movie was an improvement over the first one.  I guess I would have liked a more interesting story line/murder case than the one we got, and I wish the villain had been a tad more villainous (because I have seen that person as a villain on Lifetime before, and it was fun!) -- but, again, I thought it was better than the first Ruby Herring movie.

I didn't notice any out-of-the-ordinary bad acting.  Taylor was pretty much being Taylor -- that's her acting style in most movies.   I think the chemistry between Taylor and Stephen Huszar could be a bit better, but it was better than in movie #1.   (Honestly, I am more worried about the chemistry between Danica McKellar and Victor Webster in the upcoming MatchMaker Mysteries movie on Sunday, as I fear they won't have any.)

I think that Hallmark should go on and do a 3rd Ruby movie (since they often seem to order these movies in groups of 3) and see if they can improve a bit more.  I mean, it's no Mystery 101 to me, but I don't think Hallmark should abandon Ruby just yet.   It's not terrible, but it's not quite "there" yet, if that makes sense.  It needs a little more tweaking.

Anyway, the second installment in the Picture Perfect Mysteries series (with Alexa & Carlos PenaVega) is filming soon, so it looks like Hallmark is starting to prepare the mystery line-up for 2020.

Edited October 1, 2019 by TVFan17
typo

[TVFan17]

"Gourmet Detective #5 - Roux the Day" has been officially confirmed, and pre-production begins next week.  The movie will air in "early 2020," according to Dylan Neal.   

Dylan says:

Quote

I have been sitting on this news FOREVER. It's been almost a year since Becky and I got the order to write a new Gourmet Detective. I know I told you all that we had been cancelled and it was true - we were done! Then, like a phoenix from the ashes... well, here we are again. The script has been done for months and now we finally get to start pre-production next week. Gourmet Detective: Roux The Day (movie number 5 if you're keeping count) will be coming to your screens in early 2020 on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel. Becky, @brookeburns22 and I, along with everyone involved with these productions would like to thank you all for your dedication to this franchise, as it's your repeated viewing of these movies that has brought it back to life.

Everyone who has read this script feels it's the best one yet and I'm inclined to agree. Get ready for a cajun infused murder mystery, with all the banter and jousting you love between Henry and Maggie with just enough twists and turns to keep you guessing right until the very end. Plus, keep an eye out for the return of Henry's dad - the one and only @boxleitnerbruce!

More news to come but get ready for Roux The Day in 2020!

Edited October 1, 2019 by TVFan17

[Starscream]

I thought Ruby Herring 2 was a huge improvement on the first one and I think the chemistry between the two leads is fine.  They're no Wagner and Polaha, but I can't think of any other current pairing on HMM that is really much better.  Morning Show and Hailey Dean are abysmal in that regard (Kellie Martin has more chemistry with Viv Leacock than the guy playing her new fiance).   

The real failing with Ruby Herring is the supporting cast of characters.  Ruby's family was DOA in the original movie and the newsroom crew isn't much better.  I think Derek and her new bff were the only decent choices.  If they can bolster the supporting cast better, I think the series could be perfectly good.

[Kitty Redstone]

9 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

"Gourmet Detective #5 - Roux the Day" has been officially confirmed, and pre-production begins next week.  The movie will air in "early 2020," according to Dylan Neal.   

Yay!!!! I'm so happy they're coming back.  I'd be even happier if they gave Emma Fielding another chance, too.

[roctavia]

15 hours ago, Kitty Redstone said:

Yay!!!! I'm so happy they're coming back.  I'd be even happier if they gave Emma Fielding another chance, too.

Agree! I like the Gourmet Detective ones a lot and Emma Fielding was at least a little different setting, plus archaeology adventures interest me...

We'll see how the new mysteries go, but the match maker/ photographer/crossword puzzle maker? are much less interesting occupations to get wrapped up in murder mysteries...

Gourmet detective is fun since the roles are flipped and it's not just the detective guy and meddling want to be sleuth lady, but the woman actually gets to be the detective.

[Kitty Redstone]

56 minutes ago, roctavia said:

Agree! I like the Gourmet Detective ones a lot and Emma Fielding was at least a little different setting, plus archaeology adventures interest me...

We'll see how the new mysteries go, but the match maker/ photographer/crossword puzzle maker? are much less interesting occupations to get wrapped up in murder mysteries...

Gourmet detective is fun since the roles are flipped and it's not just the detective guy and meddling want to be sleuth lady, but the woman actually gets to be the detective.

Agreed!  I also like that the roles are flipped and just really enjoy the chemistry between Dylan and Brooke. 

Yes, for whatever reason it's easier to suspend disbelief when an archaeologist is investigating a murder than a crossword editor or matchmaker. 

Speaking of, I'll probably skip the matchmaker mystery.  One, I don't like Patty whatshername.  Two, the commercials don't make the movie look all that entertaining. 

[rainsmom]

1 hour ago, Kitty Redstone said:

Speaking of, I'll probably skip the matchmaker mystery.  One, I don't like Patty whatshername.  Two, the commercials don't make the movie look all that entertaining. 

Word.

There's that moment where he says something like "It's an important job" and she counters with "Matchmaking isn't an important job?", and I'm like "NO, no, it is not. You are a money-grubbing fame whore."

That's when I realized I probably shouldn't watch it.

[roctavia]

1 hour ago, rainsmom said:

Word.

There's that moment where he says something like "It's an important job" and she counters with "Matchmaking isn't an important job?", and I'm like "NO, no, it is not. You are a money-grubbing fame whore."

That's when I realized I probably shouldn't watch it.

I'm sure I'll end up watching it, since the only new mysteries I avoid are the Aurora Teagarden (Can't watch CCB), but I can't say that I'll like it :P 

But, it is at least some new faces, so that part will be nice. And they usually are better if you go in with very low expectations.

[Irlandesa]

So I started watching the new Ruby movie.  Scenery is gorgeous.  Wig is much better.  But I'm so bored so I'll FF to the end to find out who did it even though I don't think I even know the characters.

The worst part---

On 9/30/2019 at 3:18 PM, MerBearHou said:

they recast her dad -- the first dad was quite handsome and looked more like a potential boyfriend.  Kinda creepy in that way.

But that "kinda creepy" chemistry was the best part about the original movie, IMO.  And now that's gone so what is left now that the unintended incest vibes are gone?

All right, I'm at the end and Taylor Cole/Ruby looks different at the end of the movie than she did at the beginning.  Did Ruby get plastic surgery mid-movie?

ETA:  Is the blonde anchor in the Ruby movie an actual reporter from Dateline?

4 hours ago, Kitty Redstone said:

Speaking of, I'll probably skip the matchmaker mystery.  One, I don't like Patty whatshername.  Two, the commercials don't make the movie look all that entertaining. 

I don't like Patti either but I do like Danica, Victor Webster and Bruce Boxleitner so I will definitely watch.

[Kitty Redstone]

Is Victor Webster usually in regular Hallmark Channel movies?  I know Danica is, and Bruce Boxleitner seems to do both Hallmark and HMM.

Yes @Irlandesa that's Andrea Mitchell (I think is her name) from Dateline/NBC.

[Irlandesa]

Just now, Kitty Redstone said:

Is Victor Webster usually in regular Hallmark Channel movies? 

He hasn't been in a mystery movie yet, as far as I know, but I do think at least one of his holiday movies has ended up on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries.  His non-holiday fare has been on regular Hallmark.

[Was-MArsenault]

I wonder when the new Signed, Sealed, and Delivered movie is coming out.

[TVFan17]

3 hours ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

I wonder when the new Signed, Sealed, and Delivered movie is coming out.

It's supposedly filming in December, according to Eric Mabius (but he has to film his Christmas movie first).    Since the new SSD is airing on the Hallmark Drama channel instead of on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel, the schedule is harder to predict. 

If SSD were going to be a movie for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries again, then it might depend on which months are not dedicated to a single movie series, i.e., Crossword Mysteries month, Aurora Teagarden month, Hailey Dean month, etc.   They would probably put SSD into a month that didn't focus on one of those -- like perhaps January, March or July.    But since SSD is premiering on Hallmark Drama, which doesn't have a solid slate of new/original content yet, it's hard to know when they will air it.

I think that Hallmark Drama is premiering the JL Family Ranch sequel in January (if IMDB is correct), so SSD could air anywhere between February and late October, I suppose.

[Was-MArsenault]

2 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

It's supposedly filming in December, according to Eric Mabius (but he has to film his Christmas movie first).    Since the new SSD is airing on the Hallmark Drama channel instead of on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel, the schedule is harder to predict. 

If SSD were going to be a movie for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries again, then it might depend on which months are not dedicated to a single movie series, i.e., Crossword Mysteries month, Aurora Teagarden month, Hailey Dean month, etc.   They would probably put SSD into a month that didn't focus on one of those -- like perhaps January, March or July.    But since SSD is premiering on Hallmark Drama, which doesn't have a solid slate of new/original content yet, it's hard to know when they will air it.

I think that Hallmark Drama is premiering the JL Family Ranch sequel in January (if IMDB is correct), so SSD could air anywhere between February and late October, I suppose.

Thank you.

[tvchick]

HMM is running a Gourmet Detective marathon today, starting at 11 am ET.  

[EyewatchTV211]

I don't understand why they keep repeating the newest Darrow and Darrow, but they didn't repeat the previous one at all. I missed that one and still haven't gotten to see it. Why did that one go to the app but not the newest one?

[Happywatcher]

On 10/2/2019 at 11:00 PM, Irlandesa said:

ETA:  Is the blonde anchor in the Ruby movie an actual reporter from Dateline?

No. She was in Defying Gravity, which was Grey's Anatomy in space, only it had aliens with mind control.

It was a silly scifi show but a fun cheesy soap opera. We were mad when ABC cancelled it and then hid the second half of the season from US viewers.

[TVFan17]

Andrea Canning is one of the writers of the Ruby Herring movies (as well as appearing in this latest one) and she was, indeed, on Dateline & Today and other shows -- https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4253960/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1#self

Edited October 6, 2019 by TVFan17

[TVFan17]

I forgot to comment on this earlier.  I am late to the Gourmet Detective party in terms of seeing all the movies, as I didn't have much of an interest in watching them until this year, really.  And when I did finally want to see them, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries would only show two or three  of the 4 movies at a time, and I could never catch all of them.

So, thanks to yesterday's GD marathon on HMM, I finally completed the set and saw the other movies I had been trying to catch.

I must say -- I really have no idea what Hallmark was thinking by ending the Gourmet Detective series in the first place.  ( I know they're making a 5th movie, but that one will once again probably be the end of the series for a long time, if not forever.)   I think they're crazy to end it.   While the mysteries/murders themselves are more or less staged in the same ways as what we see in the other mystery series, it's the dialogue and the snappy banter between Dylan Neal and Brooke Burns -- and the supporting cast of characters -- that really puts it a couple of notches above some of the other series.  They even manage to work in some very mild double entendres every once in a while.  It just has a more "adult" feel to it, I guess, while still fitting the family-friendly Hallmark mold.

What's interesting to me is that the banter between Dylan and Brooke in the GD mystery series is the exact kind of thing I would like to see more of in Hallmark's actual romantic comedies on the main channel.  But, for some reason, Hallmark seems to be moving away from too much banter in the regular movies -- I can only guess that it's because they have to speed the romance along in a rom com, to get it wrapped up in 80-90 minutes or whatever the allotted time is.   But.... In a mystery series that spans multiple installments, they have time to 'play' with the lead couple a bit more, and not have them get together in the first movie.   So in that way, I think that the mystery series format works really well for what I want to see in the romances!  lol

In the case of Hallmark ending the Murder She Baked series, I think Alison Sweeney was ready for it to end because she wanted to move on to her Chronicle Mysteries series.  But in the case of Gourmet Detective, both Dylan Neal and Brooke Burns were willing and happy to do more movies.  Dylan even spent quite a bit of time trying to perfect the scripts with his wife so that he could adapt to what Hallmark wanted, as well as incorporate some of his own personal ideas (for a nice compromise).   And I think Hallmark should listen to Dylan & his wife and keep working with them, because they have good instincts about what the viewers would enjoy.