Hallmark Press Release...
HALLMARK CHANNEL RIDES
HISTORIC RATINGS SUCCESS INTO 2017
WITH AN AMBITIOUS SLATE
OF ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING
Popular Franchises Commemorating Celebrations
and Seasons, the Return of Original Primetime Series
and More Adorable Kittens in Store
HISTORIC RATINGS SUCCESS INTO 2017
WITH AN AMBITIOUS SLATE
OF ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING
Popular Franchises Commemorating Celebrations
and Seasons, the Return of Original Primetime Series
and More Adorable Kittens in Store
PASADENA, CA – January 14, 2017 – Hallmark Channel’s record ratings in 2016 are owed to its programming surrounding celebrations and seasons along with stellar performances by its original, primetime series and specials. This program strategy catapulted the 15-year-old network to historic audience levels and has positioned it to ride this success into the new year. A robust slate of new, original movies plus brand-new seasons of original, primetime series as well as specials will bring more original content to the network than ever before.
“Viewers have embraced our programming and we work hard to make sure our content not only stays true to the Hallmark Channel brand but also provides the audience with a television experience they can’t find on any other network,” remarked Michelle Vicary, Executive Vice President, Network Programming and Publicity, Crown Media Family Networks.
Hallmark Channel kicks off 2017 with its second annual “Winterfest” line-up of original movie premieres keeping viewers cozy on cold, snowy nights. Next, Cupid takes center stage with the popular “Countdown to Valentine’s Day” event starting with the premiere of “Love Locks,” the next offering from the Hallmark Hall of Fame, starring real-life husband and wife Rebecca Romijn (“The Librarians,” “Skin Wars”) and Jerry O’Connell (“Scream Queens,” “Mistresses”). As the country enters the waning days of winter, “Spring Fling” emerges from the frost with fresh stories in sunnier spaces. Not far behind, here comes the bride with “June Weddings,” a month-long celebration of all things love and matrimony, including “The Wedding March 2,” the follow-up to last year’s hit with stars Josie Bissett (“Melrose Place”) and Jack Wagner (“The Bold and the Beautiful”) reprising their roles.
Thirty weeks of Sunday night series drove Hallmark Channel’s historic 2016 ratings and are set to do so again in 2017. The network’s most socially engaged fan base (#Hearties) will enjoy 10 all-new episodes of “When Calls the Heart,” starring Erin Krakow (“Army Wives”), Lori Loughlin (“Fuller House,” “90210”), Daniel Lissing (“The Last Resort”), Jack Wagner, Pascale Hutton (“Sanctuary”), Kavan Smith (“Supernatural”), Niall Matter (“Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce”) and Paul Greene (“A Wish for Christmas”). The most dramatic, emotional season in the series’ history begins February 19 (9 p.m. ET/PT).
This will be followed by “Good Witch,” on April 30 (9 p.m. ET/PT), returning for a third season of magical adventures and romance. Based on “The Good Witch” movie franchise, the most successful in the network’s history, the series stars Catherine Bell (“Army Wives,” “JAG”), Bailee Madison (“Northpole: Open for Christmas,” Just Go with It, Trophy Wife ) and James Denton (“Desperate Housewives,” “Devious Maids”) and introduces new characters that take the show in an exciting direction.
Recently renewed for a second season, “Chesapeake Shores” premieres its first of 10 new episodes on July 23 (9 p.m. ET/PT). The most-watched series in the network’s history among W25-54 and A25-54 on a L+3 basis, fans of the show will be treated to 10 new episodes that continue the story of the multigenerational O’Brien clan that viewers fell in love with. The series stars Jesse Metcalfe (“Dallas”) stars alongside Meghan Ory (“Once Upon A Time”), Golden Globe® nominated actor Treat Williams (“Everwood,” “Hair”), Academy Award® nominee Diane Ladd (“Wild At Heart”), Barbara Niven (“Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove”), Laci Mailey (“Falling Skies”, Emilie Ullerup (“Sanctuary”), Brendan Penny (“Supernatural”) and Andrew Francis (“Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove”).
As football season draws to a close, Hallmark Channel also gets into the game with “Kitten Bowl IV,” premiering Sunday, February 5 (12 p.m. ET/PT) featuring a stadium full of adoptable, furry felines as they pounce on the gridiron and strut their cuteness from goal post to goal post. A new addition to the network’s pet-centric programming this year is the recently announced “Meow Madness,” premiering Monday, April 3, a special that will showcase 100 adorable, adoptable “catl-letes” purr-fect an unstoppable zone defense while taking shots from the “flea throw” zone as each team claws its way to “The Final Fur.” Both programs are part of the network’s Pet Project initiative, aimed at raising awareness of the plight of homeless animals and shining a spotlight on the joy they bring to our everyday lives.
ABOUT HALLMARK CHANNEL Hallmark Channel is Crown Media Family Networks’ flagship 24-hour cable television network, distributed nationwide in high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) to 89 million homes. As the country’s leading destination for quality family entertainment, Hallmark Channel delivers on the 100-year legacy of the Hallmark brand. In addition to its signature new, original movies, the network features an ambitious lineup of other new, original content, including scripted primetime series, such as “Good Witch,” “When Calls the Heart” and “Chesapeake Shores”; annual specials including “Kitten Bowl” and “Hero Dog Awards”; and a daily, two-hour lifestyle show, “Home & Family.” Additionally, Hallmark Channel is the exclusive home to world premiere presentations of the acclaimed Hallmark Hall of Fame franchise. Dedicated to helping viewers celebrate life’s special moments, Hallmark Channel also offers annual holiday programming franchises, including “Countdown to Christmas,” “Countdown to Valentine’s Day,” “Summer Nights,” “Fall Harvest” and “Winterfest.” Rounding out the network’s diverse slate are some of television’s most beloved comedies and series, including “The Golden Girls,” “The Middle,” “Last Man Standing,” and “Frasier.”
Any clues on the Spring movies/June wedding ones?
ReplyDeleteMisty
The Wedding March sequel is the only June Wedding movie we know for certain, so far!
DeleteMisty -- The movie that Danica McKellar and Paul Greene are filming, "Campfire Kiss," is supposed to be a Spring Fling movie. Danica said it is a "spring camping movie" and that it is "set in Colorado" in one of her videos from a week or two ago.
DeleteAlso, "Love At First Bark" is supposed to be a Spring movie.
And the newly announced title, "Like Cats and Dogs" (which is one of the bits of news that came from the TCA event) is also supposed to be a Spring movie.
Personally -- and I have said this all along -- I think that "Curveball" with Lacey Chabert is intended to be a Spring movie, just based on when it is being filmed. I suspect that it was stripped of its original Christmas theme -- but I don't know for sure that it is going into Spring Fling. It's just my guess.
Last year's Spring movie schedule was a bit odd, with 3 movies premiering in April, then a gap of a few weeks, and then 2 random movies in the second half of May.
This year, I don't know if they are going to start the Spring Fling movies in March and carry them into May, or start in April and extend into May. But I think that there will probably be at least 4 Spring Fling movies this time around.
And if those 4 titles I mentioned above are all Spring Fling movies, then that might be the entire line-up -- or there could be a 5th movie thrown in somewhere down the line too. Hallmark got started early with the Spring Fling movie shoots, so they still have time to film another one or two in time for Spring Fling's arrival.
Officially, Hallmark has only announced "Love at First Bark" and "Like Cats and Dogs" for their Spring Fling event of new movies.
DeleteIt should be interesting to see where "Curveball" or "Campfire Kiss" end up. When I've seen set pics of "Curveball", it typically includes snow, which makes one think it still may be a Christmas movie after all. Guess we'll see!
There is snow in Danica's movie too. It's set in Colorado. And Lacey's movie appears to be at least partially set in Vermont.
DeleteBut, again, and I have said this a couple of times, under different posts -- Danica herself said that "Campfire Kiss" is a spring camping movie. In fact, at first she said in a video that it would air in late March or early April. Just tonight she said that it would air in mid-March or late March.
There are plenty of actors and production companies that we would not be able to "trust" with info. There have been plenty of false alarms in the past. If the actors are new to Hallmark, we probably could not trust them.
But Danica is one of the ones (much like Lacey or Candace) that we can trust to give the accurate "spring" label to the movie. If Danica is saying that it is a spring movie -- knowing how cautious she is about revealing details of Hallmark projects before Hallmark has released them -- I think we can believe her. :-)
Spring, of course, can encompass a few different months, so the actual premiere time could change (for example, maybe it will be April instead of March), but I can't see how or why it would not be a Spring Fling movie when she says it is a spring movie.
Hallmark undoubtedly gave her permission to reveal that it is a spring movie.
And the 3 April Spring Fling movies of 2016 were filmed in January, or they at least began production in January. So the timing makes sense, based on when this one is filming.
I'm sure if Danica McKellar said it will air this Spring, then it will definitely, written in stone, air this Spring, but let's just whisper this... I don't want to announce this too loudly, so we can give Hallmark the chance to properly officially announce it for this Spring. Perhaps, there's a reason they didn't announce it at the TCA, they must be saving it for a bigger promotion!
DeleteHave a blessed day, Misty & Sherry!!! Net :)
I think you're right, Net. There is a bigger promotion in store.
DeleteWhile Hallmark is letting the actors in the movies talk about them and clearly say they are Hallmark movies that are being filmed, they must be planning to put out a whole separate press release about Spring Fling down the road.
There was so much info that came out of the TCA event on Saturday, and a lot of it probably got lost in the shuffle. Plus, some of it was coming out in Crown Media press releases. Some of the info was being revealed by separate press people (like the 10th Jesse Stone movie was mentioned by a media/press person, for example, as was the "30 Christmas movies"). And some of the info is announced by the actors themselves (like Alicia Witt mentioning her Christmas movie, and Victor Webster tagging "moviecomingsoon" on social media). There is info coming from all directions, all at one time.
There was a lot to absorb all at once, and throwing a Spring Fling release in there was probably unnecessary, when they can just put it out in February, maybe right before the Countdown to Valentine's Day comes to an end.
All I know is that last year's Spring Fling was a little kooky, with that strange schedule that had the gap in new movies between late April and mid-May. So, I wonder if this year Spring Fling will have 5 movies over 5 consecutive Saturdays, or just 4 movies, or jump up to 6 movies like we had with Summer Nights.
So happy to read that Chesapeake Shores has been renewed for a second season. Can't wait for it.
ReplyDeleteYes, should be interesting to see what happens next with the O'Brien family!
DeleteThanks for this update, Net. You were the first place I found this on Saturday night. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Michael! I'm so glad you stopped in Saturday night to get the latest Hallmark TCA scoop! Appreciate your support! :)
DeleteDo we know if When Calls The Heart will be back for Season 5?
ReplyDeleteNot yet. Renewal news typically comes after the full run of a series. It will be determined by numerous factors... Ratings, Social Media Feedback, Actors availability, Writers, Contract Negotiations, etc... There's also a whole team of people who work behind the scenes, with costumes, animals (mainly horses), and set design, and so on...
DeleteAs last season ended, Hallmark let viewers know, pretty much right away, that an announcement was forthcoming. Of course, that ended up being the Christmas movie and their season renewal.
Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long this year, but if Chesapeake Shores is any indication, viewers had to wait several months to officially find out! So, we will have to wait and see. But, until then, you can always let Hallmark know how much you enjoy the show!
Blessings!!! Net
What about Valentine's Again is totally disappear countdown to Valentine's Day on 2/12/17 is part of countdown of a Valentine's a Day but Valentine's Again is part of June Wedding or something
ReplyDeleteExcellent question! I haven't heard an explanation, yet, as to why the movie "Valentine's Again" was removed, but I was made aware on Saturday of this change in schedule.
DeleteFor now, it seems it definitely will not be airing as part of the *Countdown to Valentine's Day* lineup. Will it have a later air date? Maybe? Maybe not. If they did decide to air it later, I wouldn't be surprised if they changed the title to make it sound less like Valentine's day, and more like a simple love story.
In the meantime, if I hear any reasons, as to why it is not premiering, or any other updates, I will be sure to let you know!
There's a new movie called; "Love Blossoms", will premiere on 2/18/2017 on Hallmark Channel
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the new movie title - "Love Blossoms!" It is interesting that it is a Valentine-themed movie, but it will premiere after Valentine's Day! I have added it to the Valentine schedule - here!
DeleteFortunately, the title does not limit it to the Valentine Holiday. In fact, "Love Blossoms" would still sound cute and appropriate come Hallmark's "Spring Fling!"