Hallmark Mysteries: Mysterious Small Town Hijinks Ensue - General Discussion

[formerlyfreedom]

Let's please take general discussion of Hallmark channels and scheduling to the Hallmark Channel Movies topic (or if you would like to discuss the Christmas movies, the Holiday TV Movie topic) and keep this topic for the discussion of mystery movies. Thank you!

[MissyPoo]

16 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

I was wrong.  Hallmark is NOT airing the new Crossword Mysteries movie on Sunday night.  This is yet another one they announced and promoted, and then removed from the schedule.

Crossword Mysteries will return in January, according to this page - https://www.hallmarkmoviesandmysteries.com/crossword-mysteries-abracadaver

Ooooh that's the movie they were talking about. Someone on Twitter mentioned Brennan Elliot was on a flight to promote the movie but it got moved at the last minute to January. Dang. I can imagine the guy is super frustrated right now.

14 hours ago, Dani said:

It be nice to think Hallmark would learn from this and add in some holiday themed mysteries next year as a way to capitalize on both markets. I don’t expect that to actual happen though. 

That would actually be pretty cool. I know they put one out like in 2011 called Deck the Halls with Scottie Thompson and Kathy Najimy but it would be smart of them to exploit this niche. I fear they may be drowned out by the aim to play it straight from now on (with no magical elements and stuff). 

I like how they did the theme with the Murder She Baked series with the Plum Pudding one.

Edited October 18, 2019 by MissyPoo

[Happywatcher]

I was sort of looking forward to the new new one. The new Crossword and Red Herring were way better than the first one of each.

They must have some marketing numbers that say an extra week of Christmas is the way to go. 

I agree with a holiday mystery, even if it is stand alone. Christmas would be cool, but Halloween too (lots of jump scares as the plucky lead explores the scene which is also being set up as the haunted park).

Edited October 18, 2019 by Happywatcher
extra word

[BigDave2019]

1 hour ago, MissyPoo said:

Ooooh that's the movie they were talking about. Someone on Twitter mentioned Brennan Elliot was on a flight to promote the movie but it got moved at the last minute to January. Dang. I can imagine the guy is super frustrated right now.

That would actually be pretty cool. I know they put one out like in 2011 called Deck the Halls with Scottie Thompson and Kathy Najimy but it would be smart of them to exploit this niche. I fear they may be drowned out by the aim to play it straight from now on (with no magical elements and stuff). 

I like how they did the theme with the Murder She Baked series with the Plum Pudding one.

1 hour ago, MissyPoo said:

I swear when I went home to look at the guide it showed the crossword mysteries movie you are all referring to coming on before or after the good witch.  It was the Directv guide so maybe it hasn't updated yet?  I've never watched the crossword mysteries so I don't know what I speak of.

[LexieLily]

1 hour ago, Happywatcher said:

I was sort of looking forward to the new new one. The new Crossword and Red Herring were way better than the first one of each.

They must have some marketing numbers that say an extra week of Christmas is the way to go. 

I agree with a holiday mystery, even if it is stand alone. Christmas would be cool, but Halloween too (lots of jump scares as the plucky lead explores the scene which is also being set up as the haunted park).

The only thing that frustrates me is that I like to record all of each series before I watch them, i.e, all three of the Hailey Dean, all three of Aurora Teagarden, all four of Garage Sale Mysteries (well, year before last), etc. etc, before I watch them. So I can watch each "set" in a close setting. Does anyone else do this?

[MissyPoo]

33 minutes ago, BigDave2019 said:

I swear when I went home to look at the guide it showed the crossword mysteries movie you are all referring to coming on before or after the good witch.  It was the Directv guide so maybe it hasn't updated yet?  I've never watched the crossword mysteries so I don't know what I speak of.

Yep. As of this moment (until who knows when) the TV provider Hallmark schedules are a lie. Up is down. Out is in. And I don't know what to believe anymore.

(But at least their website schedules seem to be accurate).

[LexieLily]

As far as the Xfinity Comcast guide goes, the Crossword movie is still being recorded Sunday night. What actually records might be a different story!

[GaT]

1 hour ago, BigDave2019 said:

I swear when I went home to look at the guide it showed the crossword mysteries movie you are all referring to coming on before or after the good witch.  It was the Directv guide so maybe it hasn't updated yet?  I've never watched the crossword mysteries so I don't know what I speak of.

13 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

As far as the Xfinity Comcast guide goes, the Crossword movie is still being recorded Sunday night. What actually records might be a different story!

Yes, I checked my scheduled recordings, & Xfinity still has it setup to be recorded. 

[TVFan17]

It takes a while for some providers to get the schedules updated, so some people will still see the outdated schedules -- especially because this was such a sudden, unexpected change.  

But Crossword Mysteries is definitely not airing on Sunday - unless Hallmark has another sudden idea to change the schedule at the last second.  

The fact that Hallmark put the note on their website about CM returning in January is what seems to make it clear that it is not airing any time this year.

[LexieLily]

42 minutes ago, TVFan17 said:

It takes a while for some providers to get the schedules updated, so some people will still see the outdated schedules -- especially because this was such a sudden, unexpected change.  

But Crossword Mysteries is definitely not airing on Sunday - unless Hallmark has another sudden idea to change the schedule at the last second.  

The fact that Hallmark put the note on their website about CM returning in January is what seems to make it clear that it is not airing any time this year.

*sigh* Thanks, @TVFan17

[roctavia]

Wow, that sudden change is really frustrating!! 10 weeks of mysteries wasn't just kind of a farce it was a huge lie... 

With all of the advertising they were doing during this past weeks Crossword Mystery for the new one that was supposed to air this weekend, it's seems really weird to dump it all of the sudden at the last minute. Like many of us, I like it better than the first one.

Unless there was some strange subject matter that has suddenly become too close to home or something and they need to do some reshoots? (Like postponing the school shooter episode of Buffy because a real shooting happened) But something that dramatic in a Hallmark Mystery doesn't really seem to fit... 

But overall, disappointed. but I guess I won't need to check on the hallmark channel until January when the mysteries come back. 

I hope we have enough traffic in this thread that we can keep it, even if we will be a little quiet for a few months while Christmas takes over. 

Edited October 19, 2019 by roctavia

[chitowngirl]

It’s the Mystery of the Missing Movie!!

[Happywatcher]

Lacey posted this vague explanation:

[BlackberryJam]

Just now watching the Matchmaker movie.

Danica seems to be filmed through a filter. Combining that with her ‘youthful’ hair and squeaky delivery, it seems they want her to play 24 when she’s 44. Honestly, what is wrong with these shows that they can’t have women in their 40s be single and successful and still look 44. It bugs.

I do love Victor Webster not having his standard 80s hair.

[tvchick]

News on Gourmet Detective 5: Roux the Day, from Dylan Neal's Instagram today. After stepping in as director briefly, he said that the production wrapped on budget and on time.  Good news--maybe it will be on the schedule early next year!

Edited November 3, 2019 by tvchick

[TVFan17]

On 11/2/2019 at 5:16 PM, tvchick said:

News on Gourmet Detective 5: Roux the Day, from Dylan Neal's Instagram today. After stepping in as director briefly, he said that the production wrapped on budget and on time.  Good news--maybe it will be on the schedule early next year!

The movie started shooting last Monday, so it's not done yet.  Dylan finished his portion of the directing, and then the main director stepped in to continue on with it.    They're scheduled to wrap production on November 16th, but they could always finish a day or two early or late.

I think the plan is to get Gourmet Detective on the air early in the year, or as early as possible, because I think this is a standalone installment and not part of another group of 3 Gourmet Detective movies.  January seems to be a catchall month, for movies that have only one installment in the can and ready to air, whereas Hallmark will probably air 3 or 4 Aurora Teagarden movies in August again, and maybe 3 Mystery 101 movies in one specific month, etc.

At the moment, the mysteries that have already been filmed, or are filming right now, or are filming soon, are:

--Crossword Mysteries #3: Abracadaver (w/ Lacey Chabert & Brennan Elliott) -- already filmed and supposedly airing in January

--Martha's Vineyard Mysteries #1 (w/ Jesse Metcalfe & Chelsea Hobbs) - already filmed

--Picture Perfect Mysteries #2 (w/ Alexa & Carlos PenaVega) - will wrap up later this week

--Gourmet Detective #5 (w/ Dylan Neal & Brooke Burns) -- currently filming

--Martha's Vineyard Mysteries #2 -- filming supposedly starts this week

--Morning Show Mysteries #6 -- Holly Robinson Peete did not specify when filming begins, but she said it would be very soon

--The Destination Mysteries #1 -- the cast has not been revealed, but writer Rick Garman says that the first movie in the series is supposed to start filming in Malta (!!!) in January.

*************

Picture Perfect Mysteries #3, Martha's Vineyard Mysteries #3 and Crossword Mysteries #4 are all happening at some point too.

*************

Beyond those mentioned above, we'll definitely see more of Hailey Dean, Aurora Teagarden, Chronicle Mysteries and MatchMaker Mysteries in 2020, and probably more Mystery 101 and Ruby Herring too, but I have no idea of when any of those are filming yet. 

[TVFan17]

Jesse Metcalfe is apparently telling people at Christmas Con (which is taking place this weekend, in New Jersey) that the first 2 installments in his new Martha's Vineyard Mysteries series are supposed to air in January.

Brooke Burns also said on Instagram that Gourmet Detective: Roux the Day is supposedly airing at the "end of January."

And we were already told that Crossword Mysteries: Abracadaver would air in January when it was abruptly yanked from the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries October schedule.

So... if all of those plans stick, then that would be our full mystery line-up for January 2020.

However, knowing what we know about how freely and suddenly Hallmark can change schedules and plans, right now I would not count on all 4 of those movies airing in January.  It's too soon.  At least 2 of them will air in January, I'm sure, and possibly 3 -- but I won't bet on all 4 premiering quite yet.  In one month, I might have a different opinion.

[LexieLily]

Thank you for your continuous updates, @TVFan17. 

I do have one question. I've counted at least five new mystery series' or potential series in the last year - Ruby Herring, Mystery 101, Picture Perfect Mysteries, Chronicle Mysteries, Crossword Mysteries. And now this year here is The Destination Mysteries and Martha's Vineyard. 

Not to mention all the regulars that already have series'.

In a sad sort of sense Hallmark Movies and Mysteries is 'lucky' with the Lori Loughlin situation and how that freed up at least four Sundays for premieres. Did HMM think some of the 'older' series (CBB, etc) were going to be closing down shop and they needed to overload with new series' or what?

[TVFan17]

38 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Thank you for your continuous updates, @TVFan17. 

I do have one question. I've counted at least five new mystery series' or potential series in the last year - Ruby Herring, Mystery 101, Picture Perfect Mysteries, Chronicle Mysteries, Crossword Mysteries. And now this year here is The Destination Mysteries and Martha's Vineyard. 

Not to mention all the regulars that already have series'.

In a sad sort of sense Hallmark Movies and Mysteries is 'lucky' with the Lori Loughlin situation and how that freed up at least four Sundays for premieres. Did HMM think some of the 'older' series (CBB, etc) were going to be closing down shop and they needed to overload with new series' or what?

Also MatchMaker Mysteries debuted this year too! 

And Erin Krakow has a mystery series in development, though there is no clue as to when that one will go into production.

I would not be at all shocked if some of the longer-running mystery series (9 installments or more) were already expected to start winding down a bit in the next couple of years, even before the Lori Loughlin situation, and Hallmark is trying to make sure they have new content to cover those gaps in the schedule when they occur.   At some point, Candace Cameron Bure might just get tired of playing Aurora Teagarden.  Kellie Martin might want to move on from Hailey Dean.  I think some of them will slowly disappear, or there will be fewer new movies in a series, over time.

But, really, I think the main goal that Hallmark has is to simply build up programming on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel, and add more movies to the rotation, leaving fewer Sundays without new movies.  At one point in time they had tons of empty Sundays in a single year (before they added all of these new series) -- and that was when Garage Sale Mysteries was still a thing.   They still have gaps in the schedule now, even with all of the new series, but at least they have done a better job of keeping the new movies rolling out on HMM than they did a couple of years ago.

I would imagine that some of these new series have been development for a while -- in other words, they didn't all just get thrown together this year because of 4 empty Sundays where Garage Sale would have ordinarily been.   Maybe a couple of them were rushed into production a bit sooner than they might have otherwise been, but others were probably in development for at least 2 years.

Edited November 9, 2019 by TVFan17

[Aliconehead]

2 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

And Erin Krakow has a mystery series in development, though there is no clue as to when that one will go into production

I might be in the minority on this opinion but I do not like Erin Krakow, she just never seems to have any energy in her roles.  So I can’t imagine that I will watch this series. 

[Guest]

27 minutes ago, Aliconehead said:

I might be in the minority on this opinion but I do not like Erin Krakow, she just never seems to have any energy in her roles.  So I can’t imagine that I will watch this series. 

I feel the same way. I’ve found almost all of her movies to be boring. I can’t see her successfully carrying a mystery series. 

[MerBearHou]

1 hour ago, Dani said:

I feel the same way. I’ve found almost all of her movies to be boring. I can’t see her successfully carrying a mystery series. 

Ditto here — I cannot stand Erin Krakow.  She annoys me to no end.  

[roctavia]

I am glad they are coming up with so many new mysteries, though... even if the quality is sometimes questionable. It's nice to have a new movie to look forward to each week since the regular hallmark stuff isn't my favorite... 

It's a mystery channel, right? It should have lots of mysteries :)

[Happywatcher]

Jill Wagner has gone public with her pregnancy, due in April. As she is a Hallmark princess, if not a full queen, of course she found out at her infertility appointment.

Anyone heard how this effects the mystery series schedule?

[catlover79]

I'm bingeing on the Hailey Dean Mysteries starring Kellie Martin. It tickles me that the series is set in Atlanta but no one speaks in a Southern accent. 😂

[GaT]

Just a few more weeks until they're finally back!

[TVFan17]

On 11/23/2019 at 11:04 AM, Happywatcher said:

Jill Wagner has gone public with her pregnancy, due in April. As she is a Hallmark princess, if not a full queen, of course she found out at her infertility appointment.

Anyone heard how this effects the mystery series schedule?

There is apparently another Mystery 101 movie filming next month, when she is 6 months pregnant.  Of course, we don't know how that will be handled in the movie.  She could be hiding under lots of bulky coats and sweaters.  It could also be a situation where her character (Amy) is out of town for most of the movie, only communicating with Travis (Kristoffer Polaha) over the phone to give him important insight and info as he tries to solve a crime.  It should be interesting to see how it plays out, as Hallmark generally doesn't do a great job of hiding the bellies of the pregnant actresses.

What I am thinking is that Hallmark wanted to be sure to at least have one new Mystery 101 movie to air in the first half of the year -- like sometime before July -- which is why they are going through with this one production.  If they were not planning to air it until September or October, they could wait to film it until after she has her baby.

So after she has her baby and recovers, they'll probably have her filming a Christmas movie and/or another Mystery 101 movie for the fall.   Jill also just recently wrapped up a new movie for the January/Winterfest event, with Victor Webster (called Hearts of Winter).

For some bizarre reason -- even though Hallmark has enough mysteries filmed and in the can to where they could air something new on every Sunday in January -- they are leaving one Sunday empty.  They've got Crossword Mysteries: Abracadaver scheduled for January 5th; they've got the first installment in the Martha's Vineyard Mysteries scheduled for January 12th, and they've got Roux the Day: A Gourmet Detective Mystery scheduled for January 19th.  

They have nothing scheduled for January 26th (at least not yet), even though another Picture Perfect Mystery installment was filmed, and a second Martha's Vineyard movie was filmed. 

Also, it is worthwhile to note that the mysteries are premiering at 8 p.m. on Sundays in January, instead of the usual 9 p.m. slot that Hallmark has stuck to for a long time.  I have no idea why they moved the mysteries to 8 p.m., but I guess they are hoping it will boost ratings.  The Winterfest movies over on the Hallmark Channel, however, are premiering at 9 p.m. on Saturday nights.

Edited December 14, 2019 by TVFan17

[chitowngirl]

Yay for the 8:00 start time! A 9:00-11:00 movie is too late for me on Sundays. I have to get up early for work.

[TVFan17]

If Hallmark doesn't find a way to dig themselves out of this current controversy (removing the Zola ad from their channel after being pressured by the One Million Moms group), I fear that it will have a wider-reaching effect than anticipated.  There could be a ripple effect that extends to the mystery franchises as well.  I don't think they can undo the damage as far as getting Zola back as an advertiser, but they would have to find a way to move forward and address the issue in a better way than they have up to this point.

If some of Hallmark's own actors/writers/directors/producers jump ship, and if they end up losing other advertisers and sponsors, not to mention viewers, this will impact the movies that go into production, obviously.  Any actors that don't already have an existing, binding, contract with Hallmark could disappear.

So, for example, that Mystery 101 movie that is supposed to film next month -- who knows if it will even go into production at this point?  It could be postponed or cancelled, depending on what the contractual obligations may be.  The Destination Mysteries, which was supposed to film in Italy next month?  Who knows if that one will proceed?

Kristin Booth (from the Signed, Sealed, Delivered franchise) is openly rallying for her fellow actors to refuse to work for Hallmark until the Zola ad is put back on the channel (which, again, I don't think will happen because Zola cut ties).  Now, keep in mind that there was supposed to be a new SSD movie going into production soon, and it hasn't been filmed yet.  So if Kristin and Crystal Lowe stop working for the network, there is no more SSD.

Emilie Ullerup seems like she might be ready to step away too - which would mean that the expected Chesapeake Shores Ireland movie could be cancelled or postponed.  I'm sure her fellow cast mates will join her in protest.

And then some of the actors could refuse to promote their new, already-filmed movies if they are not contractually obligated to promote them.  So people such as Dylan Neal and Brooke Burns might bow out of doing appearances to promote Gourmet Detective.  Jesse Metcalfe might not appear to promote his new Martha's Vineyard Mysteries series.  Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliott might not appear to promote the new Crossword Mysteries movie.  Who knows?

Needless to say, this will all likely impact next month's Winter TCA media event too -- where we would normally be inundated with a flood of info about upcoming programming on Hallmark's various channels (including all of the mysteries).  At this rate, I am expecting Hallmark to cancel their TCA party unless a miracle happens very soon.

Edited December 15, 2019 by TVFan17

[TVFan17]

At the moment, so far, it appears that the 5th Mystery 101 movie is still scheduled to film in early January (despite a lot of mystery surrounding what could be going on in the Crown Media offices in the wake of the Zola ad removal/reinstatement controversy that continues on social media one week later).  Hopefully it goes forward with filming.

Also scheduled to start production in (late) January is the 13th Aurora Teagarden movie (to be directed by actor Peter Benson, who has appeared in many Hallmark movies as a supporting actor, and is a regular in the Aurora movies).

 

 

 

[roctavia]

Excited for the new mystery soon!!! The crossword mysteries aren't my favorite, but it will do after so long without a new mystery movie!!

[LuvMyShows]

11 hours ago, roctavia said:

Excited for the new mystery soon!!! The crossword mysteries aren't my favorite, but it will do after so long without a new mystery movie!!

Me too...Sunday evenings just aren't the same without them!

[TVFan17]

We know that 3 new mysteries are airing this month, on January 5th, 12th & 19th.

 

What I have found for February so far is this (and any dates or titles are subject to change):

2/16 - Dead Over Diamonds: Picture Perfect Mysteries (Alexa & Carlos PenaVega, and Erik Estrada)

2/23 - Riddled with Deceit: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (Jesse Metcalfe/Sarah Lind/Chelsea Hobbs)

 

At this point, I am not seeing any new mysteries scheduled for January 26th, February 2nd or February 9th.  That makes sense, because nothing else has been filmed and wrapped up yet, so these 2 mysteries are all Hallmark has ready to air in February.  But I think it is a big mistake to let 3 consecutive Sundays go by without anything new on the HMM channel.  They lose a lot of momentum that way.  That's too big of a gap without new content on that channel.

[mikeb]

37 minutes ago, TVFan17 said:

We know that 3 new mysteries are airing this month, on January 5th, 12th & 19th.

 

What I have found for February so far is this (and any dates or titles are subject to change):

2/16 - Dead Over Diamonds: Picture Perfect Mysteries (Alexa & Carlos PenaVega, and Erik Estrada)

2/23 - Riddled with Deceit: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (Jesse Metcalfe/Sarah Lind/Chelsea Hobbs)

 

At this point, I am not seeing any new mysteries scheduled for January 26th, February 2nd or February 9th.  That makes sense, because nothing else has been filmed and wrapped up yet, so these 2 mysteries are all Hallmark has ready to air in February.  But I think it is a big mistake to let 3 consecutive Sundays go by without anything new on the HMM channel.  They lose a lot of momentum that way.  That's too big of a gap without new content on that channel.

Any news on whether they are planning a new Ruby Herring?  I think every recent series has had at least three movies so it would be unusual to stop after only two. I thought the second was an improvement over the first, and was hoping a third would continue to show improvement.

[TVFan17]

6 minutes ago, mikeb said:

Any news on whether they are planning a new Ruby Herring?  I think every recent series has had at least three movies so it would be unusual to stop after only two. I thought the second was an improvement over the first, and was hoping a third would continue to show improvement.

I have not heard anything official, but I agree with you -- "3" seems to be the magic number.  It seems like all of the mystery series will get at least 3 installments, if not many more than that.  The initial contract/order might even be for 3 in some cases.  So, personally, I am thinking that there will be a 3rd Ruby movie.

Stephen Huszar did an interview not long ago (I think it might have been on the Hallmarkies Podcast) and he seemed to be encouraged that there would hopefully be more Ruby movies, as the kinks are being worked out and everything is being fine-tuned.  But nothing has been filmed yet.

The next 2 mysteries to film should be Mystery 101 and Aurora Teagarden, so those could always end up airing in March, I suppose, although I would have expected Hallmark to hang on to Aurora until August.

Edited January 2, 2020 by TVFan17

[JAYJAY1979]

I can't help it...I like Aurora Teagarden... but I'm happy with a new gourmet mystery to whet my appetite:)

[TVFan17]

49 minutes ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

I can't help it...I like Aurora Teagarden... but I'm happy with a new gourmet mystery to whet my appetite:)

Although I am curious about the new Martha's Vineyard Mysteries movie, I think that Gourmet Detective is the one I'm looking forward to the most (of the 3 airing in January).

Edited January 2, 2020 by TVFan17

[LexieLily]

1 hour ago, TVFan17 said:

The next 2 mysteries to film should be Mystery 101 and Aurora Teagarden, so those could always end up airing in March, I suppose, although I would have expected Hallmark to hang on to Aurora until August.

Any word on Morning Show Mysteries or Hailey Dean? Those have been airing in March or May and July, haven't they?

I also agree with you that I am excited to see Gourmet Detectives return. That was quite the gap in time between the last movie and this one.

[TVFan17]

23 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Any word on Morning Show Mysteries or Hailey Dean? Those have been airing in March or May and July, haven't they?

I also agree with you that I am excited to see Gourmet Detectives return. That was quite the gap in time between the last movie and this one.

Holly Robinson Peete recently said that there is one more definite Morning Show Mysteries movie that is supposed to film sometime soon, but there was no indication of when it would premiere. She said she would like to do more movies in the series after this one, though, but only one had been confirmed at the time she commented.

A couple of people who do the Hailey Dean Mysteries (Viv Leacock, and one of the producers) indicated/suggested that there would be more in the series this year, but they didn't specific whether there would be only one new movie or more than one.  Nothing has filmed yet, but I think that a lot of production activity slowed down in the last month of the year due to the holidays.  Hopefully everything will pick up again soon, and get back on track.

Hailey Dean month started out in June at one point, and then they moved it to May.  Morning Show month was April last year.

Edited January 2, 2020 by TVFan17

[LexieLily]

33 minutes ago, TVFan17 said:

Holly Robinson Peete recently said that there is one more definite Morning Show Mysteries movie that is supposed to film sometime soon, but there was no indication of when it would premiere. She said she would like to do more movies in the series after this one, though, but only one had been confirmed at the time she commented.

A couple of people who do the Hailey Dean Mysteries (Viv Leacock, and one of the producers) indicated/suggested that there would be more in the series this year, but they didn't specific whether there would be only one new movie or more than one.  Nothing has filmed yet, but I think that a lot of production activity slowed down in the last month of the year due to the holidays.  Hopefully everything will pick up again soon, and get back on track.

Hailey Dean month started out in June at one point, and then they moved it to May.  Morning Show month was April last year.

I missed all of the Hailey Dean, Morning Show, and Aurora ones that premiered last year. I need to catch up!

[Veronica]

Jill Wagner said in an Instagram story that tomorrow she starts filming the  next Mystery 101) - her last movie before the baby is born. 

[TVFan17]

2 hours ago, Veronica said:

Jill Wagner said in an Instagram story that tomorrow she starts filming the  next Mystery 101) - her last movie before the baby is born. 

Yes!  It should be good.  She's due in April, so I wonder how they will conceal her belly.

I think I mentioned it somewhere above in the thread, but that Mystery 101 movie and the 13th Aurora Teagarden installment are the next two mysteries I know of to go into production.  I'm not sure of the status of The Destination Mysteries, which was supposed to be filming this month (in/on Malta), as there haven't been any updates on whether it was delayed or is still going forward, on schedule!

Edited January 5, 2020 by TVFan17

[GaT]

Well, that was....meh. First, the series is called "Crossword Mysteries", besides Tess occasionally mentioning  taking magic lessons for a crossword she's working on (huh?), this had pretty much nothing to do with crosswords, or even the newspaper. Tess could have bred horses, or been a firefighter, or a nurse & it wouldn't have changed the story any. Second, I still hate Lacey Chabert's little girl voice. Third, the solution seemed a little ridiculous & over complicated to me.  I hope next week's movie is a lot more interesting.

[rainsmom]

At least it wasn't Christmas schmaltz.

[Seelouis]

Did they ever explain the doctor who pronounced him dead?  Was he someone they paid to do that? 

[TVFan17]

I keep thinking that the two leads in next Sunday's Martha's Vineyard Mysteries -- Jesse Metcalfe and Sarah Lind -- are not going to be a good match.  It's his show - he was the one first cast and announced - and I think she was chosen as his leading lady later on down the line.  I have seen her in a couple of Lifetime things, I think, but am not that familiar with her otherwise.

It's a mystery and it's not supposed to be about romance right away, but, of course, almost every Hallmark mystery either has a couple that is already together when the series starts, or a couple that will get together eventually, over the course of the series.  I don't know if they seem like a good pair to me, but I will reserve judgment until I watch it.  This is Sarah's first movie for Hallmark, whereas Jesse is already established on the channel, so there's no real sense of what kind of chemistry she has with leading men in a Hallmark setting.

Chelsea Hobbs is also a Martha's Vineyard series regular (she played the cat-hating model girlfriend, Blair, in Nine Lives of Christmas, and she was in the most recent Ruby Herring movie too).  At first I thought she was supposed to be Jesse's leading lady, until Sarah's role was revealed!

Edited January 6, 2020 by TVFan17

[chitowngirl]

Was last night’s Crossword mystery the one that got bumped last year so HMM could start Christmas movies earlier?

[TVFan17]

20 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

Was last night’s Crossword mystery the one that got bumped last year so HMM could start Christmas movies earlier?

Yes.  Same one.

[SusanwatchingTV]

12 hours ago, GaT said:

Well, that was....meh. First, the series is called "Crossword Mysteries", besides Tess occasionally mentioning  taking magic lessons for a crossword she's working on (huh?), this had pretty much nothing to do with crosswords, or even the newspaper. Tess could have bred horses, or been a firefighter, or a nurse & it wouldn't have changed the story any. Second, I still hate Lacey Chabert's little girl voice. Third, the solution seemed a little ridiculous & over complicated to me.  I hope next week's movie is a lot more interesting.

Yeah, I enjoyed it anyway, but you're right. It needed more crossword-type clues or something. There was *some* of that, but not enough and it wasn't as obvious as it was in the previous two movies.

Still, my issue is the romance.  I need more! I like a mystery, but I love a romance, so I wish they'd move things along just a bit faster!

[TVFan17]

Brennan Elliott said today (on Twitter) that they are supposed to be making 3 more Crossword Mysteries in the summer.  That probably means that Hallmark is planning to put them into a designated month, like September or October.