Hallmark Mysteries: Mysterious Small Town Hijinks Ensue - General Discussion

[TVFan17]

1 hour ago, MerBearHou said:

As always, great intel, TVFan17.  I always look forward to your posts.

IMO they should lose at least 1/4 of the blasted Christmas movies and spend that money on mysteries.  I love Christmas and I love rom-coms but there are too many with bland actors and super-unoriginal stories.  The mysteries are far, far more interesting to me and I rewatch.  

I would rather have a full slate of movies on the regular Hallmark Channel and a growing slate of mysteries on the HMM Channel than to cut one category back in favor of another.  There should be no reason why any category has to suffer -- because we saw what they did last year, and it worked well.  They can make more movies of all themes when they actually plan it out and stick to their plan.  The people who don't like the super-unoriginal stories don't have to watch them, as they are easy to avoid. 

In other words, last year Hallmark did a good job of keeping the new movies of all themes rolling out on the main channel every Saturday night (until they got to July and Fall Harvest, when they decided to hold back 3 of the new movies that were supposed to premiere), and increasing the number of mystery premieres on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel.  The increase in Christmas movies in 2019 was not that significant based on how many new ones premiered in 2018.

And with the way this year is starting out already, the schedule is already weak.  There is no new movie on Sat., 2/29 (instead, it's an old PixL movie).  The Spring Fever event doesn't appear to even be starting until March 28th (much later than it started the last 2 years), and the movie airing on March 21st is, once again, an old PixL movie.  And we have no idea how many Christmas movies Hallmark is planning to premiere this year because they haven't announced a number.   On top of that, there is a big hole in the mystery schedule too.

So I would rather have Hallmark mirror what they did last year and increase the number of movies all across the board than to leave one category out.  It seems like when they cut back in one area of movies, they cut back in multiple areas.

_______________________________

My post about Mystery 101 and other mysteries got buried on the previous page, so I will re-post this info here for anyone who missed it --

"Mystery 101: An Education in Murder" (movie #5 in the series) is premiering on Sunday, March 29th (which, of course, could change).  https://www.hallmarkmoviesandmysteries.com/mystery-101-an-education-in-murder

Edited February 3, 2020 by TVFan17

[GaT]

3 hours ago, Kemper said:

Sadly, they must consider the Christmas/Royalty/Bride movies their bread-and-butter.  Maybe it is an age thing?  I know I love the mysteries...but I am a senior citizen; and I don't mind the rom-coms up to a point.  But I guess a younger demographic likes the Barbie/Ken romantic pairings and the naivete' of the romances.  And I get it.  Hallmark has gotten a bit like HGTV ... all shows and movies are the same.  It is getting a bit tired.

I agree. Even before they cancelled Garage Sale Mysteries, they had changed them to accommodate younger viewers. The 2 kids were getting a lot of story time which had nothing to do with the mystery, & which I found completely uninteresting. They were just trying to attract younger viewers.  

Edited February 3, 2020 by GaT

[MerBearHou]

I think of it in terms of Hallmark's overall budget and if the majority of the budget is going towards a whole slew of Christmas movies and very little seems to be going to developing mysteries and a level field of movies throughout each season, that is disappointing to me as one who tires of the Christmas movies really quickly.  And yes, I tune out pronto if I'm not caught by the actors or story which means two less eyes on their advertisers.  It just seems to happen more and more lately and I feel like Hallmark is getting lazy -- or am I just starting to notice/tire??  I love this channel and it's a real staple in my viewing so I wish it were getting better instead of worse IMO.

[SusanwatchingTV]

On 2/3/2020 at 2:06 PM, TVFan17 said:

"Mystery 101: An Education in Murder" (movie #5 in the series) is premiering on Sunday, March 29th (which, of course, could change).  https://www.hallmarkmoviesandmysteries.com/mystery-101-an-education-in-murder

That's WAY TOO LONG to wait!  I'm ready for another one now!

They really need to just turn all of these into TV series.

[TVFan17]

20 hours ago, SusanwatchingTV said:

That's WAY TOO LONG to wait!  I'm ready for another one now!

They really need to just turn all of these into TV series.

Yes, I agree -- at least for some of them, if not all!  Just to help even out the schedule on HMM a little more, it would be nice to at least have a couple of these movie series turn into weekly episodes.  Then maybe there are others that they could keep as limited movie series.   It could basically be structured the same way as what they do on the Hallmark Channel -- with a few weekly series that last about 2 months per season, roughly, and then other individual movies throughout the year.

Hallmark Channel has When Calls the Heart, Good Witch and Chesapeake Shores as the weekly series.  They have Home & Family covering the daily series slot.  They also have movie series with multiple installments such as "Christmas in Evergreen," "All of My Heart," Wedding March," "One Winter Weekend," etc.   And they have standalone movies that are not part of a series, such as "Pearl in Paradise" or "Easter Under Wraps" or "Rome in Love."   So they're dealing with several different formats for how they present their content.

I see no reason why the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel -- from January through October -- can't mirror the same sorts of formats used on the Hallmark Channel.  They should be able to pull off a couple of weekly episodic series, several movie series with occasional installments, and random standalone mystery movies that are not part of a series.  There should be room for all of those formats.

Edited February 5, 2020 by TVFan17

[AstaCharles]

On 2/4/2020 at 5:49 PM, SusanwatchingTV said:

That's WAY TOO LONG to wait!  I'm ready for another one now!

They really need to just turn all of these into TV series.

For some , I wouldn't mind seeing more, but I am o.d.'d on the Aurora Teagarden, and Murder She Baked series. Plus the actress from the Crossword Puzzle mysteries, because I see her so many other Hallmark stuff that I don't want to check the movies out. 

 

And just to add, I saw only saw one Matchmaker series but it was so badly written and ( my personal gripe as a native Philadelphian) showing a cop on duty eating a cheesesteak ( cuz der in Philly !) 

[TVFan17]

During Taylor Cole's new Valentine movie last night, there was a promo for Ruby Herring #3 -- which is supposedly airing on April 5th. 

They say that, of course, even though the movie has not been filmed yet!  I wouldn't even trust that April 5th date if the movie had already been shot, but the fact that it hasn't been filmed yet means that anything could happen to possibly delay the premiere.

But, if all goes according to Hallmark's plan, then Ruby Herring #3 will air on April 5th, one week after Mystery 101 #5 premieres on March 29th.  Matchmaker Mysteries #2 has not been filmed yet either, but I'm guessing that the plan is to air it in April too.  We'll see.

[Ashforth]

On 2/3/2020 at 2:34 PM, GaT said:

They were just trying to attract younger viewers.  

I don't think young viewers watch the Hallmark channels. According to this (which I'm not saying is accurate) https://www.statista.com/statistics/228961/cable-tv-networks-hallmark-channel-watched-in-the-last-7-days-usa/ only 15% of viewers are under 30. 

My young co-workers don't even watch TV. Hallmark, in its various iterations but especially the mystery genre, should focus on pleasing the viewers they have. As already mentioned: provide more new content, get some new talent, have more episodic series, lose the awful wigs. Overall, treat the viewers with some respect.

[mikeb]

I didn't pay attention to the start times of all the new mystery movie premieres in January, but know at least the first one was moved up to 8:00 pm.  I can see the two February ones are back at 9:00 pm, proving once again they can't stick to their own scheduling plans (like starting the HMM Christmas movies premieres on Thursdays and Fridays before quickly shifting to Saturdays and Sundays).

[LuvMyShows]

Excited about finally getting a new mystery tomorrow night!!!

[roctavia]

While I’m always glad to see new mysteries and will watch another picture perfect mystery, these ones are just okay. I don’t know if it’s the leads or the dialogue but the detective guy just always seems a little off. I know they are carefully crafting a tragic backstory for him, but the way he acted toward her towards the end, just storming out of the police station when she had a real lead for him seemed like a major tantrum instead of how an adult would act. 

I’m also going to call right now that if we get more of these the long cold case/ lost love won’t actually be dead and is going to show up right when the relationship starts getting serious with Allie.... 

The mystery was pretty predictable, though they did add in a lot more players in the heist than I expected.

Edited February 17, 2020 by roctavia

[LuvMyShows]

13 hours ago, roctavia said:

I know they are carefully crafting a tragic backstory for him, but the way he acted toward her towards the end, just storming out of the police station when she had a real lead for him seemed like a major tantrum instead of how an adult would act. 

True.  And I also didn't like the reverse, where she thought that they were "partners".  Police have partners, and what she has with him is so very very far from that, so I don't like that the writers had her use that word, which just made her character seem clueless and ditsy.  Also, she really barely knows him, so at this stage of their interactions together, that word was doubly inappropriate for her character to have said.

13 hours ago, roctavia said:

The mystery was pretty predictable, though they did add in a lot more players in the heist than I expected.

Usually I genuinely don't know who did it, but from watching every episode of ALL of the mystery franchises (OK, I'm not quite done with every Jane Doe and McBride episode), I have never known right away who did it...until last night.  I actually said to myself that I must be wrong and the writers must have something else up their sleeves, because there's no way it could be that obvious.

[MerBearHou]

2 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

And I also didn't like the reverse, where she thought that they were "partners".  Police have partners, and what she has with him is so very very far from that,

That surprised me.  Allie is a pretty level-headed character and this made her come across as almost stalkery, like "I thought we were partners" in a slightly delusional way.

I'm a pretty easy sell with the mystery movies because I so prefer them over the romance ones.  I watch literally all of the series -- and prefer some far more than others -- and the PenaVega duo is absolutely pleasing to me.  I just like both of them.  It's nice to see a couple of color and their chemistry is nice which makes sense since they're married (not always a guarantee!).  

Another area where I may differ from others is that I LIKE seeing the Hallmark rotating cast of actors show up in different roles.  It's become kind of a game when they walk onto the screen -- sometimes as a good guy/girl and sometimes as a villain.  It's a comfort thing for me that this channel has a "stable" of actors they turn to.

This episode had me guessing about who did it but I sure had my suspicions from the beginning.  

[ShelleySue]

On 2/9/2020 at 12:07 PM, Ashforth said:

On 2/3/2020 at 3:34 PM, GaT said:

They were just trying to attract younger viewers.  

I don't think young viewers watch the Hallmark channels.

My daughters are 27 and 23.  My son is 19.  All three of them love Schitt's Creek.  I watch it too and am always pointing out characters that are on it that are also on Hallmark shows.*  For example, Kevin McGarry, was on the episode that aired last night.  When ever I do that the response is always something like, "Mom, you know I don't watch anything on Hallmark,"

*  Schitt's Creek is a Canadian show 

[LuvMyShows]

Another new mystery tonight!  I kind of liked the first Martha's Vineyard one, and am looking forward to seeing what happens with the character, especially since so few of the franchises feature a male as the 'star'.

[LuvMyShows]

Quickly, for anyone who is watching the Martha's Vineyard...I fell asleep after they discovered that the emeralds were missing and woke up right when I think they saw that someone named Willard is dead.  What did I miss?

[LuvMyShows]

Actually, I kept falling asleep during the whole thing, so I need help!

As far as I know, that guy Willard had been the godfather to Zee's best friend Britt.   The emeralds were stolen from the hotel safe.  Willard was killed.  Jeff and Zee used a clue in a card that Willard had sent to Zee before he died, and found the emeralds (in Willard's house? boat?)   Willard had stolen the emeralds from the hotel safe, having had his own secret code when he convinced Britt to install it.  Britt said that if he did steal the emeralds, someone was making him.  They suspected that a waiter, who had been hired at the last minute before the event at the hotel, was guilty somehow, but he was killed too.  I think that the end involved Willard's boat and that couple Freddy and Regina Fields, who had been the ones to have originally turned in the emeralds, when they had bought them and then found out that 60 years earlier, they had been stolen from Britt's family.

So...were the Fields the ultimate culprit and why?  How was the waiter tied into this?  Why did Willard steal the emeralds?  Anything else that was relevant?

[david gideon]

So he used to be a police officer, was injured on the job, left the force with a bullet in his back. Now he putters around with his boat in his spare time. It's like a remake of Harry O minus Farah Fawcett.

[GaT]

30 minutes ago, david gideon said:

So he used to be a police officer, was injured on the job, left the force with a bullet in his back. Now he putters around with his boat in his spare time. It's like a remake of Harry O minus Farah Fawcett.

Oh yeah, I forgot all about that show.

[roctavia]

9 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

Actually, I kept falling asleep during the whole thing, so I need help!

As far as I know, that guy Willard had been the godfather to Zee's best friend Britt.   The emeralds were stolen from the hotel safe.  Willard was killed.  Jeff and Zee used a clue in a card that Willard had sent to Zee before he died, and found the emeralds (in Willard's house? boat?)   Willard had stolen the emeralds from the hotel safe, having had his own secret code when he convinced Britt to install it.  Britt said that if he did steal the emeralds, someone was making him.  They suspected that a waiter, who had been hired at the last minute before the event at the hotel, was guilty somehow, but he was killed too.  I think that the end involved Willard's boat and that couple Freddy and Regina Fields, who had been the ones to have originally turned in the emeralds, when they had bought them and then found out that 60 years earlier, they had been stolen from Britt's family.

So...were the Fields the ultimate culprit and why?  How was the waiter tied into this?  Why did Willard steal the emeralds?  Anything else that was relevant?

Willard was dying of heart failure, so he stole the brooch so Britt would get a nice payout from insurance, but he also left them in the hotel so she got to keep them without essentially the curse of everyone knowing she had them. 

The fields were going broke and were pissed they had to give up the emeralds without getting paid, they needed the auction to happen. So they were trying to steal the brooch and figured out Willard took it so they killed him on accident trying to get him to tell them where the gems were. They figured he told Britt, hence kidnapping her at the end. 

The waiter guy was working with the Fields, I think, but was going to tell the auctioneer guy what was going on so they killed him... or something convoluted. 

The cousin was a red herring as was the auctioneer guy, but he was doing something else secretly too, I think... I might be remembering that part a little fuzzy!

[MerBearHou]

24 minutes ago, roctavia said:

Willard was dying of heart failure, so he stole the brooch so Britt would get a nice payout from insurance, but he also left them in the hotel so she got to keep them without essentially the curse of everyone knowing she had them. 

The fields were going broke and were pissed they had to give up the emeralds without getting paid, they needed the auction to happen. So they were trying to steal the brooch and figured out Willard took it so they killed him on accident trying to get him to tell them where the gems were. They figured he told Britt, hence kidnapping her at the end. 

The waiter guy was working with the Fields, I think, but was going to tell the auctioneer guy what was going on so they killed him... or something convoluted. 

The cousin was a red herring as was the auctioneer guy, but he was doing something else secretly too, I think... I might be remembering that part a little fuzzy!

Good recap.  Just have to add the super-important details that Mrs. Fields with the ketchup-red hair and horrible 70s eyeglasses looked like she could have been her husband’s mother. 

[Seelouis]

1 hour ago, roctavia said:

Willard was dying of heart failure, so he stole the brooch so Britt would get a nice payout from insurance, but he also left them in the hotel so she got to keep them without essentially the curse of everyone knowing she had them.

I think Willard also stole them to keep Britt safe after she was attacked. He made it look like they were stolen so nobody would come after her again looking for the emeralds. 

[roctavia]

Overall I think I liked this mystery better than the first one. I'm not sure why, but it was more interesting to me, or maybe just because we know the characters a smidge more than the first movie

It's still silly that the police keep asking rando retired guy to help out with cases, but at least this one started with him be hired as extra security which made a little more sense. 

The mystery also was convoluted enough to be interesting without being ridiculous but also not completely predictable. A lot of people had motive- it was nice they introduced so many new characters that it wasn't as obvious. 

I like the leads and we got a little bit more back story on Zee, which was definitely missing in the first movie. 
 

[LuvMyShows]

16 hours ago, roctavia said:

Willard was dying of heart failure.... 

Thanks for the summary!

14 hours ago, roctavia said:

I like the leads and we got a little bit more back story on Zee, which was definitely missing in the first movie. 

I must have slept through that...what did we learn?

[illini1959]

So, 2 questions I guess, about the new Vineyard mystery...

1 - Realizing a lot of leeway needs to be given here, but how plausible is it that a Boston (or any other) cop wouldn't recognize stun gun marks? 🤔

2 - And this is the first time anyone's told him what calibre of bullet is in his spine? There were xrays; the doctors who originally treated him wouldn't have said here's what's in your spine....?

Those 2 things stood out to me. 

[roctavia]

8 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

Thanks for the summary!

I must have slept through that...what did we learn?

We learned that Zee was a big time NYC doctor, but came back for a man, except he was cheating on her before they got married, so she dumped him and decided to stay because it was home. 

4 hours ago, illini1959 said:

So, 2 questions I guess, about the new Vineyard mystery...

1 - Realizing a lot of leeway needs to be given here, but how plausible is it that a Boston (or any other) cop wouldn't recognize stun gun marks? 🤔

2 - And this is the first time anyone's told him what calibre of bullet is in his spine? There were xrays; the doctors who originally treated him wouldn't have said here's what's in your spine....?

Those 2 things stood out to me. 

Yeah, the not recognizing the stun gun marks is a stretch, though maybe it was because their were multiples on Willard so it looked different? 

I guess I could see no one discussing the caliber of bullet because it's a bullet and it's stuck near his spine and while differences in caliber could have changed his injury, it doesn't actually matter after the fact? So he assumed it was a .38... I don't know enough about bullets to know how easily that could be discerned on an x-ray though...  Maybe it's something that she is special and knows because of some prior experience??

Or it's just a good way to tie in a long arching mystery to the series so we can solve his back bullet crime down the road. 

[rainsmom]

5 hours ago, illini1959 said:

1 - Realizing a lot of leeway needs to be given here, but how plausible is it that a Boston (or any other) cop wouldn't recognize stun gun marks? 🤔

*I* recognized the marks as stun gun marks and knew immediately how he died. (And I'm no kind of expert.)

It bugged me more that doctor lady didn't recognize them.

[TVFan17]

An update on new mysteries, and the order in which they are premiering (supposedly)...

1.  Sat., March 21st -- "2020 Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Preview Special" (w/ Danica McKellar & Victor Webster) -- This appears to be airing on both the Hallmark Channel and the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel, though that could change.

2.  Sun., March 29th -- "Mystery 101: An Education in Murder" (w/ a very pregnant Jill Wagner & Kristoffer Polaha).

3.  Sun., April 5th -- "Ruby Herring Mysteries: Prediction Murder" (w/ Taylor Cole, Stephen Huszar & John Wesley Shipp).

4.  Sun. April 12th -- Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Heist and Seek" (w/ Candace Cameron Bure & Niall Matter)

5.  Sat., April 25th -- "MatchMaker Mysteries 2: A Fatal Romance" aka "The Poison Pen" (w/ Danica McKellar, Victor Webster & Bruce Boxleitner)

6.  "Picture Perfect Mysteries: Exit Stage Death" (w/ Alexa and Carlos PenaVega) is supposed to air in May -- no specific date has been given.

 

So those 5 movies listed above should air in the spring (somewhere between late March and late May), even if the dates get changed and shuffled around a bit. 

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

 

Coming up later in 2020:

"Aurora Teagarden Mysteries #14: Reunited and It Feels So Deadly" is filming in March.

"Aurora Teagarden Mysteries #15 and beyond" (w/ Candace Cameron Bure & Niall Matter)  Candace said that she is supposed to be filming 7 movies for Hallmark this year.  I'm guessing one of them will be a Christmas movie, and at least 2 of those are definitely Aurora Teagarden movies.  So, out of the remaining 4 movies she's filming, I would have to assume that at least 2 of them will be additional Aurora Teagarden installments.  Perhaps she will film some extra Aurora movies that will premiere in 2021.

"Crossword Mysteries" -- Brennan Elliott said that there are supposed to be 3 movies filmed in the summer (probably with a plan to air them in October or so), but given how often plans change at Hallmark, I wouldn't be shocked if he and Lacey Chabert only end up filming one or two of the movies in the summer.  Whatever the case, I think we will see at least one more Crossword Mystery this year, if not 2 or 3 more.

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

 

Status Unknown:

I have no clue what happened to "The Destination Mysteries," which was supposed to film in January, but it seems like it must have been delayed (projects being delayed is not uncommon).  And a delay in production could possibly mean a change in location from Malta to something entirely different.

Holly Robinson Peete announced last July that she would be doing another "Morning Show Mysteries" movie, and she has confirmed since then that there is still a movie in the works.  I have no clue why it hasn't been filmed yet, but it seems like it will probably be a standalone movie and not grouped into a "Morning Show Mystery Month" again.

Also in question is the next "Hailey Dean Mysteries" movie (w/ Kellie Martin).  One of the actors and one of the producers said (last year) that there would be more Hailey Dean -- at least one movie, if not a few.  Nothing has been filmed yet, and if they were going to do another "Hailey Dean Mystery Month" in May or June, they would have already started filming something.  So this, too, could end up being a standalone installment IF it comes back at all.

"The Chronicle Mysteries" -- Alison Sweeney indicated that this could be an ongoing movie series with many installments, but no new Chronicle Mysteries have been filmed. 

"Martha's Vineyard Mysteries" -- It was just announced that "Chesapeake Shores" will be returning for a 5th season, so, if it starts filming soon, Jesse Metcalfe will probably be wrapped up with that for anywhere from 2 - 4 months.  Originally, there were supposed to be 3 Martha's Vineyard movies to start out with, but #3 has not been filmed yet.

No word on the fate of "Gourmet Detective" and whether or not there will be a 6th movie, other than Dylan Neal saying he is interested in doing more movies in the series.

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

 

Hallmark has definitely gotten off to a slow start with the production of mysteries this year, BUT they have also slowed way down on the production of their non-mystery movies and Christmas movies too.  No matter what the theme or genre, they have cut back on productions of all kinds of movies this year -- so far.  Where there is a huge gap in the mystery schedule in March, there is also a huge gap in the schedule on the main Hallmark Channel too.  They have cut back across the board.  They've only filmed one Christmas movie so far.

No one knows why the number of movies of all kinds has been cut back.  We can only speculate that it has something to do with not getting the ratings they wanted (for anything) in 2019, or maybe something to do with Bill Abbott stepping down and the internal office chaos that might have ensued.  Maybe a bit of both reasons, or maybe neither. 

But Hallmark might have already had a plan in mind to cut back, even before the end of last year.  The sudden removal of the some of the planned premieres on the Hallmark Channel in 2019 makes me think they had already decided to cut back on productions this year and save some of the movies they filmed in 2019 for 2020 premieres.  I am kind of leaning towards that belief now -- I suspect that Hallmark already knew last year that they'd be cutting back a bit in 2020.  But we just didn't know there would be a cutback in programming until 2020. 

Edited March 3, 2020 by TVFan17

[GaT]

39 minutes ago, TVFan17 said:

Candace said that she is supposed to be filming 7 movies for Hallmark this year (I'm guessing one of them will be a Christmas movie), so I would have to assume that at least 4 of them will be Aurora Teagarden installments.  Perhaps she will film some extra Aurora movies that will premiere in 2021.

It sounds like her entire career is now Hallmark movies & Star Kissed Tuna commercials.

Quote

No one knows why the number of movies of all kinds has been cut back.  

I wonder if the coronavirus is a problem, the latest "Mission Impossible" movie had to cancel filming because of it.

[chitowngirl]

On 2/26/2020 at 3:49 PM, GaT said:

It sounds like her entire career is now Hallmark movies & Star Kissed Tuna commercials.

Hey, it pays the bills!

[TVFan17]

On 2/26/2020 at 12:04 PM, TVFan17 said:

An update on new mysteries, and the order in which they are premiering (supposedly)...

1.  Sat., March 21st -- "2020 Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Preview Special" (w/ Danica McKellar & Victor Webster) -- This appears to be airing on both the Hallmark Channel and the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel, though that could change.

2.  Sun., March 29th -- "Mystery 101: An Education in Murder" (w/ a very pregnant Jill Wagner & Kristoffer Polaha).

3.  Sun., April 5th -- "Ruby Herring Mysteries: Prediction Murder" (w/ Taylor Cole, Stephen Huszar & John Wesley Shipp).

4.  "MatchMaker Mysteries 2: The Poison Pen" (w/ Danica McKellar, Victor Webster & Bruce Boxleitner) doesn't have a specific date yet, but Danica said it should be in April. 

5.  "Picture Perfect Mysteries: Exit Stage Death" (w/ Alexa and Carlos PenaVega) is supposed to air in May -- no specific date has been given.

 

So those 4 movies listed above should air in the spring (somewhere between late March and late May), even if the dates get changed and shuffled around a bit. 

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

 

Coming up later in 2020:

"Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Heist and Seek" (w/ Candace Cameron Bure & Niall Matter) has already been filmed, but I'm not sure if it is supposed to air in August, with 2 or 3 other Aurora movies, or if Hallmark Movies & Mysteries might air it to fill one of the holes in the schedule earlier in the year and then pile 3 additional Aurora movies into August.  I'm not sure how they are going to do that, but Candace said that she is supposed to be filming 7 movies for Hallmark this year (I'm guessing one of them will be a Christmas movie), so I would have to assume that at least 4 of them will be Aurora Teagarden installments.  Perhaps she will film some extra Aurora movies that will premiere in 2021.

"Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Reunited and It Feels So Deadly" is filming in March.

"Crossword Mysteries" -- Brennan Elliott said that there are supposed to be 3 movies filmed in the summer (probably with a plan to air them in October or so), but given how often plans change at Hallmark, I wouldn't be shocked if he and Lacey Chabert only end up filming one or two of the movies in the summer.  Whatever the case, I think we will see at least one more Crossword Mystery this year, if not 2 or 3 more.

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

 

Status Unknown:

I have no clue what happened to "The Destination Mysteries," which was supposed to film in January, but it seems like it must have been delayed (projects being delayed is not uncommon).  And a delay in production could possibly mean a change in location from Malta to something entirely different.

Holly Robinson Peete announced last July that she would be doing another "Morning Show Mysteries" movie, and she has confirmed since then that there is still a movie in the works.  I have no clue why it hasn't been filmed yet, but it seems like it will probably be a standalone movie and not grouped into a "Morning Show Mystery Month" again.

Also in question is the next "Hailey Dean Mysteries" movie (w/ Kellie Martin).  One of the actors and one of the producers said (last year) that there would be more Hailey Dean -- at least one movie, if not a few.  Nothing has been filmed yet, and if they were going to do another "Hailey Dean Mystery Month" in May or June, they would have already started filming something.  So this, too, could end up being a standalone installment IF it comes back at all.

"The Chronicle Mysteries" -- Alison Sweeney indicated that this could be an ongoing movie series with many installments, but no new Chronicle Mysteries have been filmed. 

"Martha's Vineyard Mysteries" -- It was just announced that "Chesapeake Shores" will be returning for a 5th season, so, if it starts filming soon, Jesse Metcalfe will probably be wrapped up with that for anywhere from 2 - 4 months.  Originally, there were supposed to be 3 Martha's Vineyard movies to start out with, but #3 has not been filmed yet.

No word on the fate of "Gourmet Detective" and whether or not there will be a 6th movie, other than Dylan Neal saying he is interested in doing more movies in the series.

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

 

Hallmark has definitely gotten off to a slow start with the production of mysteries this year, BUT they have also slowed way down on the production of their non-mystery movies and Christmas movies too.  No matter what the theme or genre, they have cut back on productions of all kinds of movies this year -- so far.  Where there is a huge gap in the mystery schedule in March, there is also a huge gap in the schedule on the main Hallmark Channel too.  They have cut back across the board.  They've only filmed one Christmas movie so far.

No one knows why the number of movies of all kinds has been cut back.  We can only speculate that it has something to do with not getting the ratings they wanted (for anything) in 2019, or maybe something to do with Bill Abbott stepping down and the internal office chaos that might have ensued.  Maybe a bit of both reasons, or maybe neither. 

But Hallmark might have already had a plan in mind to cut back, even before the end of last year.  The sudden removal of the some of the planned premieres on the Hallmark Channel in 2019 makes me think they had already decided to cut back on productions this year and save some of the movies they filmed in 2019 for 2020 premieres.  I am kind of leaning towards that belief now -- I suspect that Hallmark already knew last year that they'd be cutting back a bit in 2020.  But we just didn't know there would be a cutback in programming until 2020. 

 

Okay, there are just a couple of adjustments to the upcoming mystery premiere lineup on HMM (I just spotted the changes on Hallmark's website a few minutes ago):

 

1.  Sat., March 21st -- "2020 Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Preview Special" (w/ Danica McKellar & Victor Webster) -- This appears to be airing on both the Hallmark Channel and the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel, though that could change.

2.  Sun., March 29th -- "Mystery 101: An Education in Murder" (w/ Jill Wagner & Kristoffer Polaha).

3.  Sun., April 5th -- "Ruby Herring Mysteries: Prediction Murder" (w/ Taylor Cole, Stephen Huszar & John Wesley Shipp).

4.  Sun., April 12th -- "Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Heist and Seek" (w/ Candace Cameron Bure & Niall Matter)

5.  Sat., April 25th -- "MatchMaker Mysteries 2: A Fatal Romance" aka "The Poison Pen" (w/ Danica McKellar, Victor Webster & Bruce Boxleitner) -- This is scheduled to air on both the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel and on Hallmark Channel for the premiere.  The date could change, though.

 

Not sure why there is no new movie on April 19th.

 

"Picture Perfect Mysteries: Exit Stage Death" (w/ Alexa and Carlos PenaVega) doesn't have a date yet, so it could possibly either be added to an empty April slot, or just air in May (which is what was originally stated).

Since one of Candace's Aurora Teagarden movies is airing in April and she is filming another one this month as well as more in the near future, I wonder if they will be scattered throughout spring and summer, or if there will still be 3 or 4 of them airing in August again.

Edited March 3, 2020 by TVFan17

[LexieLily]

Thank you for always updating us!

[TVFan17]

Keep in mind that, due to the current pandemic and related delays and cancellations, any planned productions could be postponed or stalled indefinitely.  So there is no guarantee at this point.  BUT...

Shockingly, I see that a 4th Emma Fielding Mysteries movie is or was scheduled to start filming at the end of this month!!  I didn't think there would be a 4th Emma Fielding movie.  Again, the production could be postponed or canceled, but at least there is a plan for it to happen.

Also, the 3rd Martha's Vineyard Mysteries installment -- called "Ships in the Night" -- is scheduled to film in late March, but that, too, could be postponed.  Hallmark probably wanted to get it into production before Jesse Metcalfe has to start filming the new season of Chesapeake Shores, but even Chesapeake Shores could be delayed if this virus situation continues to spiral out of control and shut down normal operations all over the world.

Edited March 14, 2020 by TVFan17

[rainsmom]

15 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

Shockingly, I see that a 4th Emma Fielding Mysteries movie is or was scheduled to start filming at the end of this month!!  I didn't think there would be a 4th Emma Fielding movie.  Again, the production could be postponed or canceled, but at least there is a plan for it to happen.

THRILLED to hear this! Filming will likely be postponed, but fingers crossed it is rescheduled. I think these were my favorite!

[TVFan17]

2 hours ago, rainsmom said:

THRILLED to hear this! Filming will likely be postponed, but fingers crossed it is rescheduled. I think these were my favorite!

The Aurora Teagarden movie that just started filming this past week has now stopped production, so who knows when that one will be rescheduled at this rate?

I think you're right that Emma Fielding's production will inevitably be postponed.  I can't picture it filming even late this month.  Maybe not next month either.  I hope they can get it into production at some point in the near future, as James Tupper seems to always be busy working on something, and he might not be available when they finally get it going.

[Ashforth]

I'm cross-posting this in multiple threads and if I get banned, this is the hill I'm willing to die on:

Tom Colicchio is out front in publicizing that the need to feed our nation's children during the COVID-19 crisis is even more critical than it quietly is every "normal" day. With schools closing because of the pandemic, millions of kids in the U.S. will lose their primary source of nutrition. https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/2174246/coronavirus-children-school-lunch/

Not only that, millions of people, especially in the service industry, are going to lose their incomes and may be faced with going hungry.

If you can afford to, please donate to your local food bank. You can save lives with a $5 donation.

[TVFan17]

Rick Garman -- one of Hallmark's regulars in their rotation of writers -- is the one behind The Destination Mysteries, and he isuggested on Twitter sometime last week that the movie was still about to film or go forward... until the world essentially shut down.  So, although who knows what will happen at this point, it's good to know that The Destination Mysteries movie was still on track to happen.  It is Rick's first mystery for Hallmark, so I think he was excited about it.

In addition to that 4th Emma Fielding Mysteries movie and the 3rd Martha's Vineyard Mysteries movie that were supposed to be filming soon (which I mentioned here a week or two ago), and the 14th Aurora Teagarden movie that was already in production when they had to shut down, I also see that the 3rd MatchMaker Mysteries movie (called Deadly Dose) was supposed to be shooting in April as well.  I think it's safe to guess that it, too, will have to be postponed.

Actually, now that I think of it, the 3rd Picture Perfect Mysteries movie (called Exit Stage Death) had luckily already finished filming and was supposed to air in May, but their production just ended this month.. meaning that the post-production would come next.  I'm not sure if all of their post work is done in Canada, or if they can do most of it from anywhere.  But, just in case the post-production work on PPM #3 has been impacted by everything shutting down, then we might not see it in May.

Edited March 23, 2020 by TVFan17

[TVFan17]

Update to my previous post: 

After I posted the mystery updates here earlier in the day, I saw a video interview with Candace Cameron Bure pop up on my YouTube home page -- it's from 2 days ago, but I didn't see it until today. 

Candace mentioned the Aurora Teagarden movie (#14 in the series, called Reunited and It Feels So Deadly) that was one week into production when they had to shut it down.  She said that the hope was that they would resume filming after 2 or 3 weeks, but she doesn't think that is going to happen.  She said it's hard to plan when to resume filming because the news changes all the time.  She doesn't think they are going to know anything for at least another 10 days, if not longer, but it's a waiting game. 

Candace was also asked about the 13th Aurora Teagarden movie (Heist and Seek) that is scheduled to premiere in April.  She said that there is some sound work (I guess she means ADR) that still needs to be done on that movie before it can air, but it (her sound work session) got cancelled.  She said they're hoping that within the next week she can either do the sound work from home or figure out some other way to do it.  If that remaining sound work doesn't get done, then Heist and Seek won't air in April, as planned.  It would be delayed.

[In2You]

You're Bacon Me crazy is a middle grade book (ages 9-12) yet Hallmark adapted it and instead made it a romance between adults. Odd choice.

[Irlandesa]

Oops, this probably should be in the other thread. I'll respond there.

Edited March 26, 2020 by Irlandesa

[nokat]

A new Mystery 101 on Sunday. 
 

[LuvMyShows]

As frivolous as these mystery movies are, and as insignificant in the grand scheme of things, it is such a welcome distraction from all the awfulness.  I'm really looking forward to having a new movie tonight and being able to just escape everything for two hours, and enjoy letting my mind drift onto something more pleasurable (if it's even 'correct' to call a murder show 'pleasurable'). 

[nokat]

5 minutes ago, LuvMyShows said:

and as insignificant in the grand scheme of things, it is such a welcome distraction from all the awfulness

Me too, I'm looking forward to a show about murder. They are usually a good distraction.
 

[LuvMyShows]

OK, just checking to see if I got it right.  That student killed the first prof because she found out he plagiarized?  And that was also why he killed the second prof?  And he killed the young writer because she was looking into the murders and would expose him?  It would seem to me that someone that wacko, who would go to such enormously disproportionate lengths, would also manifest other wacko traits.  But all we got was the compete-with-the-father thing.  

It looked like in the flashback at the beginning, that the person who killed via the inhaler, had a key to where she lived.  Did they ever explain that?  Also, there was the copy of the supposed Twain papers in the original guilty guy's safe.  That means that the student somehow got in and planted them...was that explained?

Unfortunately, they telegraphed the murderer at the very start because of the specificity of how the character was introduced...it just stuck out.  I think it was kind of cheap for that character to have been the murderer, because the vast majority of the movie was spent on other characters that we became more invested in. 

I really like Kristoffer and Jill together.  And her planting a kiss on him at the end was unexpected.

She sure was wearing a lot of ponchos!  i had assumed that was to hide her pregnancy, but she only found out in November that she was pregnant, she is due in April, and the movie shows a 2019 date.  So either she got real big real fast in December, or some scenes were filmed in 2020?

At any rate, the acting is pretty good in this series so in spite of the plot issues, it was still enjoyable.  Excited that we get another new movie next Sunday!

[roctavia]

Overall, I did like the new Mystery 101, but in general I enjoy this cast.... and I'm glad they finally kissed!! I just hope they don't rush to like a proposal in the next one... just let people be together and solve crimes!

I agree that this one was kind of easy to call from the start, but is kind of a flaw to all of these mystery series. They only introduce so many new characters, and we all know it has to be one of them.  They did the crooked cop last time (right, that was a mystery 101?) so Mac was a definite red herring... and the spouses... they are always suspects and look really guilty but it's never them. 

The freeing an innocent man was a nice new way to get this case going, so I did like that... and there was definitely some mystery to connecting all the first 2 murders. 

I'm just glad to have a new mystery this week and next... since who knows when we'll get more!

[redpencil]

Quote

It looked like in the flashback at the beginning, that the person who killed via the inhaler, had a key to where she lived.  Did they ever explain that?  Also, there was the copy of the supposed Twain papers in the original guilty guy's safe.  That means that the student somehow got in and planted them...was that explained?

I don't think he had a key; it was a screwdriver or some other tool used to jimmy the lock. The papers were explained, yes. The other guy's wife was a physical therapist who worked out of her home, and he was her client. They showed him planting the papers and strychnnine in the safe on one of his visits.

[TVFan17]

21 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

She sure was wearing a lot of ponchos!  i had assumed that was to hide her pregnancy, but she only found out in November that she was pregnant, she is due in April, and the movie shows a 2019 date.  So either she got real big real fast in December, or some scenes were filmed in 2020?

 

The whole movie was filmed in January of this year.  None of it was filmed in 2019.  I think I mentioned in this thread that Jill was going to be 6 months pregnant when the movie was in production or before it started filming, and I wondered how they would deal with concealing the pregnancy, but it was a while back and it probably got lost in the shuffle (either that, or I posted it somewhere else and thought I posted it here!  lol).

21 hours ago, roctavia said:

I'm just glad to have a new mystery this week and next... since who knows when we'll get more!

One encouraging thing is that Lexa Doig (from the Aurora Teagarden movies) posted something on Instagram about doing her ADR/sound work from home.  Their producer made it happen and they got it figured it out, I guess. 

And Candace replied to Lexa to say she was doing her ADR work the next day!

So this means that, even if the next Aurora movie (Heist and Seek) doesn't air on the April date it was scheduled for, at least it is moving forward instead of just stalled in place!

 

Another scheduling update --

The next MatchMaker Mysteries movie (A Fatal Romance) was scheduled to air on both the Hallmark Channel and the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel on Saturday, April 25th (not a Sunday).

However, as expected, MM has been removed from the schedule on April 25th -- I am guessing that it's due to the same issue that the Aurora Teagarden/Heist and Seek movie was having, which is that post-production and ADR can't proceed at the same pace (or maybe even at all) during this pandemic-related shutdown.

So in place of MatchMaker Mysteries on April 25th, the J.L. Family Ranch 2 sequel/movie (with Jon Voight, James Caan, Bo Derek, Teri Polo & Trevor Donovan) is finally scheduled to air -- on both the Hallmark Channel and the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel!  https://www.hallmarkmoviesandmysteries.com/jl-family-ranch-2

J.L. Family Ranch 2 was originally planned as a premiere for the Hallmark Drama channel (no air date had been set), but since there isn't enough new programming to go around for all 3 of Hallmark's linear channels I guess they decided to scrap the Hallmark Drama premiere and air it on the other 2 channels on April 25th instead.

Edited March 30, 2020 by TVFan17

[WhyAmIHere]

20 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

As frivolous as these mystery movies are, and as insignificant in the grand scheme of things, it is such a welcome distraction from all the awfulness.  I'm really looking forward to having a new movie tonight and being able to just escape everything for two hours, and enjoy letting my mind drift onto something more pleasurable (if it's even 'correct' to call a murder show 'pleasurable'). 

I couldn't agree more with this sentiment.  It was nice to have a distraction last night.   I appreciate the Hallmark movies and their predictableness even more these days.   

I really enjoy the chemistry between Kristopher and Jill.  Liked them in Pearl in Paradise too. Hope they will do some other movies together in addition to the Mystery101s. 

[rainsmom]

Watched this last night and have to agree with the comments above. I guessed the killer when he was introduced -- but it doesn't matter. I don't watch these mysteries for their originality. I watch them because they're comfortable and fun.

I think Jill and Kristopher are my favorite mysteries couple. I love how their relationship is directed. It's professional when it needs to be, respectful always -- without emasculating him or victimizing her, and convincingly friendly. The flirting is appropriate and not over-the-top. Neither is falling over themselves because they're suddenly tongue-tied in the presence of a crush. They're NORMAL.

I love her dad too!

[AAEBoiler]

5 hours ago, rainsmom said:

I love her dad too!

I haven't been able to watch yet ... has her dad's royalty check cleared yet so he can buy a razor?